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Most readers of this journal are familiar with the robust fan following Amitabh Bachchan has secured over the years. When he was ill, fans maintained an extended vigil outside the hospital where he was being treated; some even sacrificed their lives to ensure his health. Similarly, there are numerous stories that attest to Tamil film star M. G. Ramachandran's fan following as well as South Indian actor Rajinikanth's global popularity. We would be hard-pressed, however, to provide an equally compelling account of enduring stardom for Indian female actors. Neepa Majumdar's book offers such a corrective analysis, filling in some crucial gaps in accounts of early Indian cinema history. Wanted Cultured Ladies Only! helps to rewrite female star personas and female stardom back into narratives of early Indian cinema; the book simultaneously helps us to understand how the female star persona was different from her male counterparts and the constitutive elements that prevented these women from securing an enduring spot in fan culture.
The book offers a series of complex arguments and makes a number of interventions in existing cinema studies scholarship. On one level, it offers an account of female stardom in early Indian...