Professor Shakuntala Banaji

This book is concerned with the contexts, nature and quality of the participation of young people in European democratic life. The authors understand democracy broadly as both institutional politics and civic cultures, and a wide range of methods are used to analyse and assess youth participation and attitudes

Set in contemporary India, this gripping literary suspense novel explores the mindsets and paranoia of individuals caught up in the search for a savage killer, but finding along the way seduction, self doubt, and redemption. Truth Lake was shortlisted for the Debut Dagger, and will appeal to readers with an interest in exciting locations, detective fiction and those who enjoy top notch prose.

In the sweltering heat of a Delhi summer, Sara and Adam, two British backpackers, arrive in… Show more

Set in contemporary India, this gripping literary suspense novel explores the mindsets and paranoia of individuals caught up in the search for a savage killer, but finding along the way seduction, self doubt, and redemption. Truth Lake was shortlisted for the Debut Dagger, and will appeal to readers with an interest in exciting locations, detective fiction and those who enjoy top notch prose.

In the sweltering heat of a Delhi summer, Sara and Adam, two British backpackers, arrive in Delhi in a state of fear and exhaustion. Their story is deceptively simple: trekking near an isolated lake in the high Himalayas, they have encountered a forest village full of hostile women, and stumbled on a grotesque corpse, almost certainly a White male.

Their host in Delhi is Antonio Sinbari, an expat Italian tycoon with an interest in acquiring Himalayan land for his latest development project. He insists that acting police chief Hàrélal should investigate, and do it discreetly. Hàrélal who is beset by personal demons – his fiesty daughter Tanya, a desire to be promoted – agrees. A suspicious foreign death in India does not look good for anyone. Show less

'South Asian Media Cultures' is a collection of essays that pulls together field-based audience and textual research in areas such as the politics of new media, contemporary television and film in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and their audiences. Through a careful analysis of the various media cultures and practices from across South Asia, this collection addresses pertinent issues such as how discourses on gender, nationalism, ethnicity and class are being expressed by… Show more

'South Asian Media Cultures' is a collection of essays that pulls together field-based audience and textual research in areas such as the politics of new media, contemporary television and film in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and their audiences. Through a careful analysis of the various media cultures and practices from across South Asia, this collection addresses pertinent issues such as how discourses on gender, nationalism, ethnicity and class are being expressed by mainstream media texts across South Asia, and how different groups within the public discern meanings from such discourses.

With this collection, Banaji aims to reduce the reliance on commercial Hindi cinema ('Bollywood') for reference on the politics and history of South Asian Media. Instead, key current research and theoretical debate are presented in an accessible manner. They are organised around three clear themes: 'Audiences, meanings and social contexts', which focuses on the responses of particular social groups to specific media formats, ideas or genres; 'Media Discourse, Identity and Politics', which discusses the complex links between media representations and socio-political identities; and 'Alternative Producers: New Media, Politics and Civic Participation', which describes and assesses the various civic practices and possibilities opened up in South Asia by digital and mobile communications. Show less

'Her [Banaji's] book is theoretically well grounded, both in debates concerning Hindi films and in audience studies more generally.' - Par Ståhlberg, Young (Nordic Journal of Youth Research)

'Banaji's insightful account in Reading 'Bollywood' enables a substantially finer appreciation of the practices of film-viewing among youth audiences in India and the UK. The refreshing approach and analysis set out in this book compel a serious reconsideration of theories around spectatorship… Show more

'Her [Banaji's] book is theoretically well grounded, both in debates concerning Hindi films and in audience studies more generally.' - Par Ståhlberg, Young (Nordic Journal of Youth Research)

'Banaji's insightful account in Reading 'Bollywood' enables a substantially finer appreciation of the practices of film-viewing among youth audiences in India and the UK. The refreshing approach and analysis set out in this book compel a serious reconsideration of theories around spectatorship, ideology, identity, and agency. An important contribution to film and cultural studies.'

- Rashmi Sawhney, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland

'This is a really brave book: brave in its exploration of responses to Bollywood films among Indians in Bombay and London; brave in its range exploring both personal and political aspects in them; and brave in its honest admission when findings challenge her expectations. Banaji's book is a major contribution to empirical audience research.'

- Martin Barker, Emeritus Professor, Aberystwyth University, UK Show less