Notifications can be turned off anytime from settings.
Item(s) Added To cart
Qty.
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and try again.
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and try again.
Exchange offer not applicable. New product price is lower than exchange product price
Please check the updated No Cost EMI details on the payment page
Exchange offer is not applicable with this product
Exchange Offer cannot be clubbed with Bajaj Finserv for this product
Product price & seller has been updated as per Bajaj Finserv EMI option
Please apply exchange offer again
Your item has been added to Shortlist.
View AllYour Item has been added to Shopping List
View AllSorry! Dancing with the Nation: Courtesans in Bombay Cinema is sold out.
You will be notified when this product will be in stock
|
Acknowledging courtesans or tawaifs as central to popular Hindi cinema, Dancing with the Nation is the first book to show how the figure of the courtesan shapes the Indian erotic, political and religious imagination. Historically, courtesans existed outside the conventional patriarchal family and carved a special place for themselves with their independent spirit, witty conversations and transmission of classical music and dance. Later, they entered the nascent world of Bombay cinema—as playback singers and actors, and as directors and producers.
In Ruth Vanita’s study of over 200 films from the 1930s to the present—among them, Devdas (1935), Mehndi (1958), Teesri Kasam (1966), Pakeezah (1971), Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985), Ahista Ahista (1981), Sangeet (1992) and Ishaqzaade (2012)—courtesan characters emerge as the first group of single, working women depicted in South Asian movies. Almost every female actor—from Waheeda Rehman to Rekha and Madhuri Dixit—has played the role, and compared to other central female roles, these characters have greater social and financial autonomy. They travel by themselves, choose the men they want to have relations with and form networks with chosen kin. And challenging received wisdom, in Vanita’s analysis of films such as The Burning Train (1980) and Mujhe Jeene Do (1963), courtesan characters emerge as representatives of India’s hybrid Hindu-Muslim culture rather than of Islamicate culture.
A rigorously researched and groundbreaking account of one of the less-examined figures in the study of cinema, Dancing with the Nation is also a riveting study of gender, sexuality, the performing arts and popular culture in modern India.
About the Author
Ruth Vanita is a professor at the University of Montana, where she directs South and South-East Asian Studies. She earlier taught at Delhi University and co-founded Manushi, India’s first nationwide feminist magazine. Her books include Gender, Sex and the City: Urdu Rekhti Poetry in India 1780-1870; Love’s Rite: Same-Sex Marriage in India and the West; Gandhi’s Tiger and Sita’s Smile: Essays on Gender, Sexuality and Culture; and Same-Sex Love in India: A Literary History (co-edited with Saleem Kidwai). She has translated the work of several Hindi writers.
The images represent actual product though color of the image and product may slightly differ.
Register now to get updates on promotions and
coupons. Or Download App