Sridevi's Stardom as A Cultural Vehicle for Women Empowerment and Social Commentary: A Textual Analysis of English Vinglish (2012) and Mom (2017)

In the Indian film sector, stardom is more than mere performance; it operates as a cultural text that produces impacts and negotiates with social values, ideals, and contradictions. Female stardom, in this way, is particularly potent in generating discourses of gender and empowerment, both disrupting patriarchal norms while enacting socially accepted moral orders. Sridevi's stardom carries specific cultural resonance, as the films she stars in offer a blend of popular entertainment while carrying deeper social significance. This study seeks to understand Sridevi's stardom and the potential for her representation of women's empowerment, as well as social commentary by analysing the films English Vinglish (2012) and Mom (2017). The study explores the implications related to Sridevi's star persona as a cultural and ideological site for women's empowerment and social critique in contemporary Indian cinema. It applies a purposive sampling method, and utilises textual analysis to investigate performance style, narrative structures, visual framing and symbolic meaning signifying women's power and resilience. The textual analysis of English Vinglish finds empowerment framed through self-assertion and linguistic competence within familial and social spaces whereas in Mom empowerment emerges in the more ambiguous domain of maternal justice and moral authority. Taken collectively, these films showcase how Sridevi's stardom functioned as a cultural vehicle, entertaining audiences while provoking critical consideration of women's roles, autonomy, justice, and empowerment within contemporary Indian society.