Luca Caminati, “RR Does Dams” N. S. Thapa’s Films Division of India (FDI) documentary Bhakra Nangal (1958) celebrates the building of the eponymous dam on the Sutlej River. Towards the end of this 20-minute film, a group of workers is allowed to introduce themselves in their native tongues, and in a gesture of unity for a common cause, the diversity in physical features, dress, and languages is channeled towards the common cause of Indian modernity. As the late Fifties saw…