Artists’ film directors Hijra Collective and Elliott Gonzo set out to explore one of India’s fastest growing sporting obsessions: the engrossing world of professional bodybuilding. While the industry is clearly booming, what this means for masculinity and modernity in twenty-first century India is less clear.
As globalization rapidly transforms India’s traditional, conservative society, young men are increasingly responding to a crisis of masculinity by attempting to shape themselves into superhuman muscle men.