The Making of the Man's Man: Stardom and the Cultural Politics of Neoliberalism in Hindutva India
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Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 6-1-2021 THE MAKING OF THE MAN’S MAN: STARDOM AND THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF NEOLIBERALISM IN HINDUTVA INDIA Soumik Pal Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Pal, Soumik, "THE MAKING OF THE MAN’S MAN: STARDOM AND THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF NEOLIBERALISM IN HINDUTVA INDIA" (2021). Dissertations. 1916. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/1916 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE MAKING OF THE MAN’S MAN: STARDOM AND THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF NEOLIBERALISM IN HINDUTVA INDIA by Soumik Pal B.A., Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, 2005 M.A., Jadavpur University, 2007 PGDM (Communications), Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, 2009 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree College of Mass Communication and Media Arts in the Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale May 2021 DISSERTATION APPROVAL THE MAKING OF THE MAN’S MAN: STARDOM AND THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF NEOLIBERALISM IN HINDUTVA INDIA by Soumik Pal A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Mass Communication and Media Arts Approved by: Dr. Jyotsna Kapur, Chair Dr. Walter Metz Dr. Deborah Tudor Dr. Novotny Lawrence Dr. Joe Shapiro Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale April 5, 2021 AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Soumik Pal, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Mass Communication and Media Arts, presented on March 26, 2021, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: THE MAKING OF THE MAN’S MAN: STARDOM AND THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF NEOLIBERALISM IN HINDUTVA INDIA MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Jyotsna Kapur In this dissertation, I trace the contours of state control and capital in India, starting from the 1970s and see how the state’s increasingly centralizing tendencies and authoritarianism, in the service of capital, creates cultures of violence, fatalism, desperation, and ultimately, even more desire for authoritarianism. I study male stardom in Bombay cinema, beginning with Amitabh Bachchan (who was the reigning star in the 1970s and 80s), and following up with Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan (who have been successful stars from the early 90s), to understand how changing subjectivities, responding to changing socio-economic reality, were formulated and expressed through these star texts by the film industry. Through the study of these stars, I try to understand how dominant ideas of masculinities were being formulated and how misogyny came to be a prominent aspect of those formulations, because of social structures of caste and patriarchy as well as neoliberal precarity. I also study the cultures of fascist violence that have emerged in India under the rightwing Hindu nationalist BJP government in the light of increased individualization and self-commodification under neoliberalism. I contend that the socio-political system that enhances individualization and self-commodification and thus, gives rise to a heightened celebrity culture, is also responsible for the limits on the agency of the stars and celebrities through the formation of a totalitarian state. I study Indian prime minister Narendra Modi as the ultimate celebrity commodity text to understand the future of stardom itself in India. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My first acknowledgment will obviously go to my advisor Dr. Jyotsna Kapur. She has taught me how to pay attention to both intricate details of film analysis as well as be cognizant of larger, historical reality. (I know I have only begun to get a hang of its rigor) The most admirable quality about her, that I will try to imbibe all my life, is her unflinching fidelity to truth. Through her guidance and scholarship, Dr. Kapur has inspired me (and all my fellow-students of hers) to be a part of a socialist tradition, seeking for change, that is international in its scope. I have always deeply admired her relationship with her own mentors (Randhir Singh, Tanika Sarkar, Chuck Kleinhans), from what I have known through her words, and see in that an invitation to join a glorious, life-affirming, egalitarian, scholarly tradition that is deeply aware of its own place in history and works tirelessly (and joyfully) so that the future can be welcomed into the world. I am deeply grateful to all my committee members – Dr. Deborah Tudor, Dr. Novotny Lawrence, Dr. Walter Metz and Dr. Joe Shapiro, who are all brilliants scholars and teachers in their own ways, and have helped me, mentored me, pushed me towards arriving at better analyses. I have known Dr. Tudor, Dr. Lawrence and Dr. Metz for all my long PhD life and their help, both as wise scholars and generous mentors, has been immense. Dr. Shapiro very graciously accepted to be a part of my committee as a late stage and I am grateful to him for that. I also thank Dr. Nilanjana Bardhan for being a part of my committee at an earlier stage. I am also thankful to all other MCMA faculty and faculty from outside my college with whom I have taken classes, for opening up entire worlds to me. Special mention to Dr. Lisa Brooten for being both a teacher and a dear friend over these years. My dissertation acknowledgments could have either been an acknowledgment of just the ii people who have helped in my writing or of all people who have helped me in my PhD life overall. With the risk of omitting several people, I choose to do the latter. I would begin by acknowledging Joseph, Alev and Irfan, my first friends in my department. I would also thank Namrata who showed me how to write perceptively on Hindi cinema. I would thank Sandipan, Nafis, Rwik, Ayan, Wahid bhai, Sujoy for welcoming me to Carbondale and making the town home for me. Over the years, I have had amazing friends who have given me life – Debadatta, Manisha, Sangeeta, Sujata, Shaoni, Purab, Arpan, Rohit, Yusaku to name only a few. Performing music with Purab, Rohit, Yusaku, Annie, Yvet was an amazing experience. I am also thankful to Purab and Devjani for being gracious hosts and letting me live with them for a few months while finishing my work. I am thankful to Dr. Naushad Ali and Donna Ali, Dalia Chowdhury and Dhrubodhi Mukherjee for being gracious hosts and indulging me in so many wonderful gatherings we had at their places. And of course, little Nirbhik for being my best friend in Carbondale. I am also thankful to all the community members that I got to know, mostly through churches and community lunches, especially Jean Plunkett and the late Paul Plunkett, who have just given me unconditional love and care. I am thankful to all my supervisors and fellow workers at all the campus student jobs that I had over the years at housing maintenance, the REC center, university tour guide etc. Apart from providing much required funding, the jobs reinforced in me the sense of acknowledgment of the importance of the work of maintenance – cleaning, mopping, dusting, moving things etc. - that are essential to keep up the institutions that we cherish so much and the dignity of the labor involved in these activities. Coming from India, where almost everything is caste-coded, this experience was valuable to me beyond the funding it provided. I also want to thank all the SGI members, most of whom I have not even met, who chanted for my well-being. iii The fact that they cared for me meant a lot. I would like to thank the Morris Library staff for maintaining the incredible institution and making research possible. I would also thank the Illinois state library system. Such public systems of knowledge are treasures. I am also a supporter of free and unrestricted access to knowledge. So, I would like to thank anarchist projects such as Sci Hub, Z Library and the overall LibGen project. Special thanks to Alexandra Elbakayan, a role model and champion of free knowledge. I would also like to express gratitude towards all torrent sites for allowing people like me to go past prohibitive payment obstacles and access cinema. Finally, I would like to thank my family – my parents (Amita Pal and Susil Pal) for being so supportive of my career choices, my brother Soumen for taking up all family responsibilities so that I could pursue my PhD, my sister-in-law Sudipta for holding our family together. However, I am most thankful to my nephew Soujanyo, not because he has anything to do with my work or career, but because he exists! iv DEDICATION I dedicate this work to the memory of the late David Graeber, the finest thinker I have ever known, whose work not only helps us understand our world better but also instills hope for the future. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION .................................................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................................