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productive, if at times uneasy, coexistence of heterogeneous capitalist prac-
tices defined as much by kinship networks and interpersonal relations as by
modes of speculation and practices of risk management that Hollywood has
rendered globally recognizable.

“Celebrating a Decade” at FRAMES 2009

The 2009 edition of the FICCI-FRAMES convention, as I have already men-
tioned, spanned three days (February 21–23) and was attended by media
industry professionals and policymakers from around the world. Held in
the five-star Renaissance Hotel in suburban Bombay, the main space of the
convention was defined by an L-shaped hallway. This hallway was flanked
on the one side by stalls and on the other side by rooms of varying sizes
for panel sessions, workshops, and keynote speeches. Like other such indus-
try-focused conventions, the stalls featured technology exhibits relating to
design and special effects (companies like HP, Intel, and Adobe), media com-
panies for whom the convention was a key site for raising brand awareness
as well as a space for networking (Sony Entertainment Television, ZEE TV,
Nokia, X-Box 360), and organizations that were trying to forge ties with the
media industry in Bombay (UK Film Council, MIP TV). With a number of
tables stocked with water, coffee, tea, and biscuits throughout the day, this
hallway served as the primary space for interaction among attendees. These
interactions, moreover, were mediated by television networks that were
reporting on the convention in “real time” (that attendees could watch on
television screens throughout the hotel) as well as a number of pamphlets
and brochures that were distributed by representatives of various companies
and film councils. For instance, UTV, one of the main sponsors of FRAMES
2009, had set up a stall at the entrance to the hallway where its business news
correspondents conducted interviews with a range of high-profile indus-
try professionals who were attending the convention. Taken together, the
spatial layout, networking events, entertainment shows each evening, and
“live” television and print coverage did serve, as Caldwell argues based on
his observations at trade conventions in the United States, to “interpret and
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chart the meanings, the social significance, and the economic logic” of the
entire convention. FRAMES 2009 was, as this official interpretation would
have it, about “celebrating a decade” of media globalization in India and in
particular, Bollywood.
Among the many artifacts circulating at FRAMES 2009, there was one
publication, called Picklemag, which was in the hands of virtually every
attendee by the end of the first day. Featuring advertisements from major