Scholarship on Indian stardom has traditionally focused on the Hindi film industry (Bollywood) (Mishra, 2002; Rai, 2009) or the large South Indian industries (Srinivas, 2016). Research on the Bengali film industry has largely been historical (Gooptu, 2011) or focused on the auteur-driven “parallel cinema” of Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. However, a new wave of media studies has begun to analyze Tollywood’s popular turn (Mukherjee, 2018).
Bangla actresses have been part of various entertainment content, including:
The rise of Bangla actresses can be attributed to several factors:
Bengali television remains a primary site of entertainment content. Actresses in long-running family dramas like Mithai , Khorkuto , or Mohor are household names. The content here is hyper-melodramatic: familial betrayal, sacrifice, and social reform. The actress’s role is often dichotomous—the ideal bou (daughter-in-law) versus the vamp. However, actresses now use their off-screen personas to subvert this. For example, on talk shows like Dadagiri Unlimited or Rannaghor , they display wit, ambition, and modernity, creating a gap between the character and the celebrity that audiences find engaging.
