City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2017 Smita Patil: Fiercely Feminine Lakshmi Ramanathan The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2227 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] SMITA PATIL: FIERCELY FEMININE BY LAKSHMI RAMANATHAN A master’s thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, The City University of New York 2017 i © 2017 LAKSHMI RAMANATHAN All Rights Reserved ii SMITA PATIL: FIERCELY FEMININE by Lakshmi Ramanathan This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in satisfaction of the thesis requirement for the degree of Masters of Arts. _________________ ____________________________ Date Giancarlo Lombardi Thesis Advisor __________________ _____________________________ Date Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis Acting Executive Officer THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT SMITA PATIL: FIERCELY FEMININE by Lakshmi Ramanathan Advisor: Giancarlo Lombardi Smita Patil is an Indian actress who worked in films for a twelve year period between 1974 and 1986, during which time she established herself as one of the powerhouses of the Parallel Cinema movement in the country. She was discovered by none other than Shyam Benegal, a pioneering film-maker himself. She started with a supporting role in Nishant, and never looked back, growing into her own from one remarkable performance to the next.