大象传媒

Sunil Khilnani explores the life of south Indian singer MS Subbulakshmi.

Subbulakshmi鈥檚 singing voice, striking from the start, would ultimately range three octaves. A perfectionist, she had the capacity to range across genres but narrowed over the years to what another connoisseur of her music has called a 鈥榩rovokingly small鈥� repertoire. In time, the ambitions of those who loved and profited from her combined with her gift to take her from the concert stage to film to the All-India Radio to near-official status as an icon of independent India.

But, as Professor Khilnani says, 鈥渨hat was required of Subbulakshmi, in moving from South Indian musical celebrity to national cultural symbol, is deeply uncomfortable when considered through the prism of contemporary feminism.鈥�

Producer: Martin Williams