Conformity and subversion: Autobiographical strategies of Marathi film actresses in shaping their celebrity personas (1930s–50s)

The actresses from the Marathi film industry’s studio era (from the 1930s to the 1950s) were among the first in the profession to write autobiographies. Their writings emphasize the everyday aspects of their lives and reject the glamour and extravagance associated with the lives of film stars. This article studies the interplay between the media representations and autobiographies of Durga Khote (1905–91), Mi, Durga Khote ( I, Durga Khote ) and Hansa Wadkar (1923–71), Sangtye Aika ( You Ask, I Tell ), to understand the crafting of their celebrity personas. It argues for evaluating celebrities like Khote and Wadkar through their personas, which integrates their public image with their interpretations of themselves, crafted and performed through their autobiographies. Thus, this work studies their autobiographies as texts that respond to the narratives of their public image and examines whether the authors corroborated or contradicted the prevalent perceptions. In doing so, the article aims to facilitate an understanding of the agency of these celebrities in crafting their personas.