Star Systems and Performance Analysis

This unit examines Bollywood star personas, family dynasties, and representation through close readings of actors, actresses, and landmark films. Students synthesize industry, aesthetic, and cultural perspectives to evaluate how casting, marketing, performance, and genre shape meaning and audience reception.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how family dynasties, star personas, and industry practices (e.g., pageantry, dubbing, star-launching) shape film production, marketing, and audience reception, citing at least three examples from unit lessons
• Evaluate representations of gender, sexuality, and stereotype-challenging performances by identifying cinematic and performance techniques across unit films and figures (e.g., Madhuri Dixit, Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu, women from Bollywood families)
• Apply film analysis methods to compare the narrative, musical, and casting strategies that construct national and diasporic identity in films such as Swades and Veer-Zaara and produce a focused written comparative analysis with supporting evidence
• Demonstrate research and communication skills by developing and presenting a multimedia portfolio on a selected actor or actress from the unit that synthesizes biography, critical reception, star image, and scene-level analysis with proper citations