Research
Yahudi Ki Ladki (Daughter of a Jew):
Jews on the Indian Stage and Screen from the 1920s to the 1950s (tentative title)
My doctoral project creates new narratives in Indian cultural history by connecting the seemingly disparate worlds of Bombay cinema history and the Baghdadi Jewish diaspora by suturing together the spectacular on-screen lives and the mundane off-screen experiences of these racialized women between 1920s and 1960s. By focusing on Jewish actresses and their representation in public culture, this project has the potential to reframe stories of race and gender in India by describing how they operate in the cusp of colonial and post-colonial India.
Nadira (Farhat Ezekiel) limited edition studio still from the 1952 movie, Savage Princess
Publications
Journal Article
From Classroom to Public Space: Creating a New Theatrical Public Sphere in Early Independent India, Theatre research international, vol. 42 | no. 3 | pp326–331 International Federation for Theatre Research 2017 doi:10.1017/S0307883317000621
Encylopedic Entry
"Jewish Actresses in Bollywood." Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. 16 June 2023.
Jewish Women's Archive.
<https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jewish-actresses-bollywood>.
Book Review
Forthcoming:
Radio for the Millions: Hindi Urdu Broadcasting Across Borders. By Isabel Huacuja Alonso. New York: Columbia University Press, 2023; pp. 295.
Theatre Survey, January 2024
Blog and Video Posts
Portrait Of A City By Jignesh Panchal
Urban Realities by Manojkumar M. Sakale
Mughal Miniature Style by Abak Kundu
Let's talk!
Do you remember watching old Hindi movies? Did you know some of the earliest "Bollywood" actresses were from Baghdadi Jews and Anglo-Indian communities? If you would like to talk about Bombay cinema, theatre, or about Indian Jewish communities, reach out to me at manjari.tufts@gmail.com