Post-millennium Bollywood film stardom: transnationalism, gender and ethnicity

<p dir="ltr">This thesis uses a combination of methodologies to analyse four post-millennium female Indian film stars -Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin-through the critical frameworks of transnationalism, gender, and ethnicity. These film stars each present a unique opportunity to investigate a different set of issues, such as ethnicity in India or the representation of Indian women in Hollywood. The first chapter establishes the key frameworks of transnationalism gender, and ethnicity with reference to Ezra and Rowden (2006), Thornham (2007), Chatterjee (1993), Dyer (1997) and Beltran (2009). The subsequent chapters analyse my case studies: Padukone, Chopra, Kaif and Koechlin. The first case study chapter examines Padukone as a post-millennium Bollywood performer and celebrity, tracing how her film roles and celebrity persona negotiate femininity and feminism through a particular modernised Indian identity. Priyanka Chopra's rise to fame as a former Miss World and subsequent move to Hollywood is also of interest; I look at her career through a transnational prism. Katrina Kaif's career is also significant as I present her career as a critique of race in India and how her mixed race identity impacts her career. Finally, I turn to look at Kalki Koechlin's film career. I analyse her status as a White star in India and seek to understand her marginalisation in mainstream cinema. My thesis investigates the changes that have occurred during the post-millennium era that have most impacted female film stardom. These four stars, I argue, offer a new type of assertive film stardom, but they must nevertheless navigate many extant prejudices and issues.</p>