For more than a decade, from the villages of Uttar Pradesh to the night clubs of Delhi, Shrayana Bhattacharya followed the economic and personal lives of a diverse group of Indian women. Divided by class and community, these women are united in their quest for economic independence, love, fun and actor Shah Rukh Khan. The result is the dazzling book of non-fiction—Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence which tells an intimate history of how women, across classes, have experienced post liberalisation India through the lens of finance and fandom.

Historian Manu S Pillai and economist Janhavi Nilekani engage Shrayana in a conversation on key themes of her book: How far have Indian women travelled? How has liberalisation treated women in the economy and society? How are professional and love lives of women intertwined? And what’s Shah Rukh Khan got to do with it?

This episode is an extract from a live in-person event which took place at BIC on 12 November 2021