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Paper No. : Women, Media and Films Module : Actresses and Stardom Development Team Principal Investigator Prof. Sumita Parmar Allahabad University, Allahabad Paper Coordinator Prof. Sisir Basu Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi Kurukshetra Content Writer Mr. Sudarshan Yadav, Assistant Professor Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi Content Reviewer Prof. Sisir Basu, BHU, Varanasi 1 Women, Media and Films Women’s Studies Actresses and Stardom Description of Module Subject Name Women’s Studies Paper Name Women, Media and Films Module Name/Title Actresses and Stardom Module Id Course – 10, Module - 34 Pre-requisites The reader is expected to have the knowledge of Bollywood. The kind of films made in India and different actors and actresses known in the media. They are also required to keep in their mind the time and the context in which different actresses appeared on-screen. Objectives To make the readers aware about the idea of stardom and star system. In doing so dominance of male actors in the film industry would be discussed. Further the cases of female stars with their prominence would be brought into notice of the reader. Keywords Actress, Star, Stardom, Star System, Positioning, Advertising, Product, USP, Box-office. Actresses and Stardom 1.0. Objectives This module is designed to familiarize you with the idea of Star and the Star system in the film industry. It would tell you about its origin in Hollywood and its extension to Bollywood. Since the focus of this module is on film actresses and their stardom, you will be introduced to the idea through different cases from different eras. After having studied this module you would be able to: • Define Star, Stardom and Star System; • Analyse the monopoly of male actors in the film industry; • Describe the appearance of different female actors in different eras; • Find out the film actresses and stardom in Bollywood at different times; and • Evaluate the appearance of Bollywood’s new female stars and whether they are able to give competition to the male actors. 1.1. Introduction 2 Women, Media and Films Women’s Studies Actresses and Stardom The module, Actresses and Stardom, will cover altogether five themes for establishing the idea of stardom and where the female actors exist under this framework. It will further look into the appearance of female actors from different times and how with changing times their role and image also changed. This discussion would lead us further into analysing the emergence of new female stars in the present Bollywood and how they are changing the role of women in the cinema business. Let us now discuss each theme which has been mentioned in the order as put above. 1.2. Star System and Stardom Whenever we watch a movie or a trailer, we find there is a reference to stars. The actors and actresses in the films are referred to as Stars. But why are they referred to as stars when there is an existing terminology like actor and actress. Also, what is the significance of this term (viz., Star) and why is it used in the film industry? The terms ‘actors’ and ‘actresses’ have a broader meaning (one who acts in one of the mediums of entertainment) which can be used in the context of films, TV serials, drama, theatre, etc. But, Star has a very specific meaning. It conveys to the audience an image, an aura or an idea by which a particular actor and actress is known. It is a kind of identity or positioning (Unique Selling Proposition, USP) of a particular actor in the minds of the audience. This image is made and sold by the film industry in order to market their product (viz., films). Earlier, the actors used to work on their own for their image and the audience also would look for a particular style of an actor whom they imitated. The concept of star came first in the Hollywood during the studio system to promote their films and actors/actresses. Later on the same thing influenced other national cinemas which include Indian cinema (Bollywood) too. Let us now understand what we mean by a Star. A Star is an image, not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g. advertising magazines, films and music, etc.). With stars, the terms involved are essentially images. ‘Image’ here means a complex configuration of visual, verbal and aural signs. This configuration may constitute the general image of stardom or of a particular star. It is manifest not only in films but all kinds of media texts.1 Thus an image (idea) by which an artiste is known with particular reference to films and is sold to the audience is known as Star and the kind of celebrity status those Stars enjoy is known as Stardom. This whole process of development of a star image in the film industry through different media texts comes under the purview of Star System where images are constructed and sold. 1.3. Monopoly of Male Actors in Film Industry 1 Richard Dyer, Stars as Images, p. 153, chapter 8, http://ollicelebrityinamerica.weebly.com/uploads/3/7/1/9/37199089/dyer.pdf, Accessed on 20 July 2015 3 Women, Media and Films Women’s Studies Actresses and Stardom 1.3.1. Ever since the first film was screened in India by the Lumeire brothers and later on the first feature film was released in 1913 (Film: Raja Harishchandra; Director: Dadasahab Phalke), the film as a creative art and business has been the domain of males. Even the female characters were played by male actors, as the women were reluctant to act in films because they considered it derogatory to their image (even the women who were involved in sex-work and kothas of that era were not interested). To some extent the scenario in Hollywood was different but it still was governed by males. So was the case of stars and stardom; the males ruled the film industry and the hearts of the audience and women actors were mainly portrayed as family beings (portrayed as mother, sister, wife, aunt, lover, etc.), entertainment fillers or objecst of spectacle in the films. This was the only image to which the women stars were subjected to for many years except in some of the remarkable films (Acchut Kanya, Duniya Na Mane, Bandini, Mother India, etc.) where female protagonists had stronger characters. Figure 1 A screenshot from Bimal Roy's female centric film Bandini Although there were some female actors making their space in the male dominated industry, it was ruled by male stars of the ilk of K. L. Saigal, Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Rajesh Khanna (first Superstar), Guru Dutt, Ashok Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, etc. But the real zenith of male actor’s dominion in the industry came with the arrival of the Khan-trio in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Khan trio refers to Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, and Shahrukh Khan, who dictated to the film industry on their own terms. Let us now discuss the Khan Hegemony in the next sub theme. 1.3.2. Khan Hegemony It was in 1988 that Aamir Khan joined the industry as a leading actor with the film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Only a year later, Salman Khan joined the industry with his film Maine Pyar Kiya while Shahrukh Khan came in 1992 with his films Deewana, Dil Aashiana Hai, Chamatkar and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. 4 Women, Media and Films Women’s Studies Actresses and Stardom Aamir Khan went on to gain the title of Mr. Perfectionist, who would act in only one film in a year which would become a box-office success. While Shahrukh Khan owing to his good looks, charming personality and romantic image got the title of King Khan/ Baadshah of Bollywood (King of Bollywood). Salman Khan, the one who popularized chiselled body (6-pack abs, with the influence of Bruce Lee) became the 100-Crore actor whose every film would break Bollywood’s box-office records. Initially he did romantic films which gave him a lover-boy image but later on a rebellious action hero image with a large-hearted persona got attached to him. Initial films like Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, were romantic films while later on Ek Thaa Tiger, Kick, Wanted, Dabangg, Dabangg 2, Jai Ho were action thrillers. Initially, Aamir Khan also worked in romantic films (romance is an integral part of movie plots and stardom in India; 80s and 90s are the era of romance in Bollywood as many films of this age are still considered to be the best romantic films ever made in Bollywood cinema). Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Dil, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi, Ishq, Rangeela, Raja Hindustani, Dil Chahta hai, etc., were the romantic films of Aamir Khan; while Baazi, Earth, Sarfarosh, Lagaan, Mangal Pandey: The Rising, Rag De Basanti were his patriotic films and related to nationalist idea. Thus, in the name of these stars, the films are sold to the distributors and to the market which in turn gives a certain assurance that the film would be successful. For almost two and a half decades this trio has ruled the Bollywood industry and in many ways changed the rules of the game. Also, each one of them have their own production houses to promote themselves (now they have become a brand of a production house which is similar to Inc.) as brands as well as make films with upcoming actors. It is interesting to know that in these two and a half decades of their reign, many actresses came and left the industry (owing to their age, marriage, falling demand by the audience or less offers from the industry) but the charm of these three men never evaporated.