Shero worship: Female stardom in Tamil cinema

ABSTRACT Post-millennial Tamil cinema has seen a marked increase in casting women as protagonists or in pivotal roles. In a historically patriarchal industry that rests on an almost sycophantic male star system, this proliferation of women characters has proven significant in expanding the possibilities of female stardom. In turn, the potential of women stars and women’s narratives participates in and showcases the broader globalising impulses of Tamil cinema in the twenty-first century. This paper focusses on two actors – Jyothika and Nayanthara – who have been instrumental in bringing to the fore a new figure in Tamil cinema, i.e. the ‘lady (super)star’. This paper theorises their rise to stardom as a set of complex negotiations between their personal and professional lives while navigating and resetting the boundaries of the ‘good Tamil woman’.