Sunny Deol’s star persona: Constructions of caste, class, religious, and regional identities among Jat Sikhs and Dalits of Punjab

ABSTRACT This paper attempts to discuss the varying perceptions and interpretative responses of Jat Sikhs and Dalits of a Punjabi village with respect to Sunny Deol, the popular Hindi film star, and relates these variations to certain salient aspects of their respective identity constructions, in the context of their day-to-day patterns of being, including such identities as caste, class, gender, religion, age, education, exposure to media relating to ideas or values about masculinity, femininity, honor, shame, as well as propriety and morality. These factors become significant as Sunny Deol enters politics and attempts to make a transition from reel to real.