This book explores representations of gender, sexuality and ethnicity in Hindi films, in the socio-political context and in terms of how young audiences in India and the UK construct them. In-depth interviews, observations and photographs provide insights into spectatorship and comparison with theories about Hindi film and popular culture.
'Her [Banaji's] book is theoretically well grounded, both in debates concerning Hindi films and in audience studies more generally.' - Per Ståhlberg, Young (Nordic Journal of Youth Research) 'Banaji's insightful account in Reading 'Bollywood' enables a substantially finer appreciation of the practices of film-viewing among youth audiences in India and the UK. The refreshing approach and analysis set out in this book compel a serious reconsideration of theories around spectatorship, ideology, identity, and agency. An important contribution to film and cultural studies.' - Rashmi Sawhney, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland 'This is a really brave book: brave in its exploration of responses to Bollywood films among Indians in Bombay and London; brave in its range - exploring both personal and political aspects in them; and brave in its honest admission when findings challenge her expectations. Banaji's book is a major contribution to empirical audience research.' - Martin Barker, Emeritus Professor, Aberystwyth University, UK