The actor as parallel text in Bombay cinema

Indian Women In The Flesh: From Prose To Screen

“…The changes taking place in society, with women moving more comfortably outside the traditional sphere of the home, are revealed at their extreme by the scrutiny of the sexuality of actresses. The actress can here be seen as a "parallel text" (Mishra, 1990) for change in society. Actresses are the vehicle by which loose women can walk from page to screen and they face the same ambivalence in society as do the characters they portray.…”

Framing the Feminine: Diasporic Readings of Gender in Popular Indian Cinema

“…For exa mple, Thomas ( 1989) recount s the rumors and stories that surrounded the actress Nargis and star of Mother India to demonstrate how they influenced the Indian audie nce's reading of the film. Mishra et al ( 1989) demonstrate the construction of the actor as parallel text by deconstructing the multiple discursive frames that position Indian cinema's most well-kn own male star, Bachchan. They argue that stars are themselves "cultural interfaces" that embody historical, cultural, and eco nomic meanings.…”

Anthropology and its contributions to studies of mass media

“…Indeed, we need to expand our notion of what constitutes a text, and recognize the possibility that multiple 'texts' may be operative in any settingnot just in the sense that there are divergent constructions of meaning, but that there are altogether different kinds of texts that can be produced and read. It has been suggested, for example, that film stars constitute a 'parallel text' in Indian cinema (Mishra, Jeffery and Shoesmith, 1989). In India, stars are crucial to the financial success of most movies, and each major actor has a distinctive image, crafted through his film roles, formal publicity networks (including fan club propaganda and movie magazines), and informal gossip networks.…”

“…In India, stars are crucial to the financial success of most movies, and each major actor has a distinctive image, crafted through his film roles, formal publicity networks (including fan club propaganda and movie magazines), and informal gossip networks. The information that circulates about these stars is now substantial enough to constitute a secondary text, which audiences interpret simultaneously and in tandem with individual film texts, using them to augment the filmic texts (Mishra, Jeffery and Shoesmith, 1989).…”