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"A new book discussing how masculinity is represented in Bollywood has been published. The book, entitled Popular Masculine Cultures in India: Critical Essays, has been edited by Rohit K Dasgupta, associate lecturer and doctoral student at University of the Arts London, and Digital Spy&amp;#039;s own Steven Baker, a UK academic and journalist based in India.  Describing the key themes of the volume, Baker said: &amp;quot;Bollywood is the dominant popular culture in India and the way masculinity is depicted in Hindi films is quite different to how it is presented in the West.  &amp;quot;The Bollywood hero breaking into song and dance, shedding tears, and being so closely attached to his mother, are signs of masculinity synonymous with Indian cinema.&amp;quot; The book looks at how masculinity is presented on the big screen from Shah Rukh Khan&amp;#039;s portrayal of the classic Hindi film lover in Devdas to Satyajit Ray&amp;#039;s presentation of Bengali men in films such as Mahanagar and Seemabaddha.  According to Baker, the traditional image of the Bollywood hero has changed dramatically as a result of films such as Dostana, which he says have &amp;quot;gone some way towards opening the Bollywood closet&amp;quot;.       &amp;quot;Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham playing it gay in Dostana emerged from the enthusiastic reception to Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan&amp;#039;s gay subplot in Kal Ho Naa Ho back in 2003,&amp;quot; added Baker. &amp;quot;Ten years later it will be interesting to see how far Johar pushes the envelope with the long-awaited Dostana sequel.&amp;quot; According to Dasgupta, writings on masculinity are a new area of discussion in India. &amp;quot;Masculinity in Bollywood has seen a sea change from the sensitivity of Dev Anand; we are now confronted with the hypermasculinity of John Abraham, Salman Khan and others.&amp;quot; Popular Masculine Cultures in India: Critical Essays has already received widespread critical acclaim. Professor Wimal Dissanayake, University of Hawaii, said: &amp;#039;By focusing on diverse forms of popular culture and how they produce newer masculinities, Rohit K Dasgupta and Steven Baker have opened a most important window onto modern Indian society.&amp;quot; Author Mayank Austen Soofi described the book as &amp;quot;engaging and elegantly written&amp;quot; and went on to say: &amp;quot;This book offers persuasive arguments on the myths and half-truths of the Indian male.&amp;quot; Published by Setu Prakashani, Popular Masculine Cultures in India: Critical Essays is available in India. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/bollywood/news/a448286/new-book-discussing-masculinity-in-bollywood-released/>