Failed Masculinities

Devapriya Sanyal is Assistant Professor of English at St Joseph’s University, Bangalore. She has degrees in Literature and Cinema from Lady Brabourne College, Calcutta and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She is the author of Salman Khan: The Man, The Actor, The Legend (2022).

• Introduction: Satyajit Ray’s films, his men and the inscription of the nation1. The colonial and the pre-modern: Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Jalsaghar, and Devi2. An Uncertain India: Early Nationalism in Ghare Baire and Charulata 3. Breaking with the Past: The Apu trilogy 4. 'For all we have and are': The Post-independence bourgeoisie in Kanchenjungha and Kapurush 5. The Hollow Men: The complacent ‘achiever’ in Nayak, Aranyer Din Ratri, and Seemabaddha 6. Trying times: Aspiration and failure in Kanchenjunga, Mahanagar, Pratidwandi, and Jana Aranya. 7. At Odds with the Nation: Joy Baba Felunath, Hirak Rajar Deshe, and Sadgati. 8. ‘An Essay on Man’: The wise person in Ganashatru, Shakha Prasakha and AgantukConclusion: Moving Away from the Nation

This is a marvelous volume that shows how a filmmaker, a national industry, and emerging modern masculinity impact one another, deepening questions of identity and manhood. Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals.