01843cam a2200217 i 4500020001800000041000900018082001800027100003500045245013500080260003700215300001600252504006700268520105400335546001301389650003601402650003601438650004301474650003901517650003401556650003501590  a9789354891939  aeng-  a306.81bBHA-D1 aBhattacharya, Shrayanaeauthor10aDesperately seeking Shah Rukh :bIndia's lonely young women and the search for intimacy and independence /cShrayana Bhattacharya.  aHaryana :bHarperCollins,c2021.  axxii, 445p.  aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 405-424) and index.  aIn this pathbreaking work, Shrayana Bhattacharya maps the economic and personal trajectories--the jobs, desires, prayers, love affairs and rivalries of a diverse group of women. Divided by class but united in fandom, they remain steadfast in their search for intimacy, independence and fun. Embracing Hindi film idol Shah Rukh Khan allows them a small respite from an oppressive culture, a fillip to their fantasies of a friendlier masculinity in Indian men. Most struggle to find the freedom-or income-to follow their favourite actor. Bobbing along in this stream of multiple lives for more than a decade-from Manju's boredom in 'rurban' Rampur and Gold's anger at having to compete with Western women for male attention in Delhi's nightclubs, to Zahira's break from domestic abuse in Ahmedabad-Bhattacharya gleans the details on what Indian women think about men, money, movies, beauty, helplessness, agency and love. A most unusual and compelling book on the female gaze, this is the story of how women have experienced post-liberalization India.  aEnglish. 0aWomenxSocial conditionszIndia 0aFeminismxSocial aspectszIndia 0aMotion picturesxSocial aspectszIndia 0aCelebritiesxPublic opinionzIndia 0aWomen fansxPsychologyzIndia 0aIndiaxSocial life and customs