This book analyses the role of women in the films one of the leading filmmakers of the 'Third World' in the 1950s, Satyajit Ray, a national icon in filmmaking in India.

Devapriya Sanyal is Postdoctoral Fellow at Centre for Women's Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

Introduction: Satyajit Ray: Nation, Modernity and Gender. 1. Searching for Antecedents: Feminine Portrayals in Literature and Cinema. 2. The Receding Mother Figure: Pather Panchali (Sarbojaya), Devi (Doyamoyee), Kanchenjhunga (Anima and Labanya), Aranyer Din Ratri (Joya). 3. Transgressors - Charulata (Charulata), Ghare Baire (Bimala), Pikoo (Seema). 4. Moral Beacons: Nayak (Aditi), Aranyer Din Ratri (Aparna), Seemabaddha (Tutul). 5. The New Woman: Mahanagar (Arati), Samapti (Mrinmoyee), Kanchenjunga (Monisha), Kapurush (Karuna). 6. The Amoral Woman - Pratidwandi (Sutapa), Jana Aranya (Kauna and the prostitutes). 7. Women on the Periphery: Apur Sansar (Aparna), Abhijan (Gulabi and Neeli), Ashani Sanket (Ananga), Shatranj ke Khiladi (the wives) and the Last Trilogy. Conclusion: Satyajit Ray and Art Cinema: The Issue of Agency.