This paper analyzes the adaptation of Samaresh Basu’s Uratiya into Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s film Uttara using Gérard Genette’s theory of hypertextuality. Uratiya’s symbolic narrative of jealousy and sexual tension is reimagined in Uttara with new subplots, characters, and sociopolitical themes, reflecting contemporary Indian realities. Through qualitative analysis, the study examines how Uttara preserves the essence of Uratiya while re-contextualizing it as a hypertext, addressing themes like religious violence and cultural hegemony. This research highlights hypertextuality’s role in transforming narratives to bridge past and present discourses, enriching their cultural and political relevance.

Close reading has evolved into a ubiquitous yet ambiguous method of literary study, and its emergence necessitates reevaluation. Rather than assuming close reading as a clearly defined entity, it is more pertinent to examine its current state as a phenomenon. One of the crucial reasons for the enduring presence of close reading is its applicability across all literary genres. The New Criticism focused on poetry during the primary developing period of close reading, but later, the novel became its main object of study. This transition in genres is closely linked to the development of media technology in the mid-20th century, accompanied by the rise of the modern novel and the formation of a selective canon. Starting with Percy Lubbock's The Craft of Fiction, there emerged an idea of accurately articulating the reading process, distancing itself from the entertainment-oriented approach to novel reading, and transforming reading from a passive state into one with a resistant aspect. The New Criticism coined a series of terms but did not turn close reading into rigid rules, maintaining its ambiguity. Close reading has consistently sought a balance between intuition and craft. The transformation in reading practices is part of the modernist turn against the populism of literary art, helping to establish the profession of literary critics in universities and enabling more readers to engage in textual interpretation, rather than limiting this authority solely to a select few.