Neoliberal Self in Bollywood

This book explores the consequences ofunbridled expansion of neoliberal valueswithin India through the lens of popularfilm and culture. The focus of the book isthe neoliberal self, which, far from being astable marker of urban, liberal, millennialIndian identity, has a schizophrenicquality, one that is replete withcontradictions and oppositions, unable tosustain the weight of its own need for self-promotion, optimism, and belief in anarrative of progress and prosperity thathas marked mainstream culturaldiscourse in India. The unstable andschizophrenic neoliberal identity that isthe concern of this book, however, beliesthis narrative and lays bare the sense ofprecarity and inherent inequality thatneoliberal regimes confer upon theirsubjects. The analysis is explicitly political anddraws upon theories of feminist mediastudies, popular culture analyses, and filmstudies to critique mainstream Hindicinema texts produced in the last twodecades. Rele Sathe also examine a variety of otherperipheral 'texts' in her analysis such asthe film star, the urban space, web series,YouTube videos, and social mediacontent.