Gender, culture and performance : marathi theatre and cinema before independence / Meera Kosambi.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 375-388) and index.

Preface and Acknowledgements. Introduction 1. Vishnudas Bhave's Stylised Mythologicals (1843) 2. Prose Plays: Reinventing and Founding Traditions (c. 1860) 3. B.P. Kirloskar's Musical Plays (1880) 4. New Paradigms of Social Realism (1930s) 5. The Kirloskar Trio: Deval, Kolhatkar, Gadkari 6. 'Natyacharya' Khadilkar: Ideology and Entertainment 7. Selected Renowned Playwrights 8. Major Theatre Companies 9. The Theatre World 10. Enter Women: Pioneering Women Dramatists and Actresses 11. Bal Gandharva: From Female Impersonator to Icon of New Womanhood 12. Drama as a Mode of Discourse 13. Silent Films and Talkies 14. The Early Silver Stars. References. About the Author. Index

This book presents a lucid, comprehensive, and entertaining narrative of culture and society in late 19th- and early 20th-century Maharashtra through a perceptive study of its theatre and cinema. An intellectual tour de force, it will be invaluable to scholars and researchers of modern Indian history, theatre and film studies, cultural studies, sociology, gender studies as well as the interested general reader. -- Amazon.com