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Conclusion >> 189

Thus, for Chatterjee political society is the domain of the population, not cit-
izens. Using the example of illegal settlements in the city of Calcutta, Chat-
terjee further argues that such individuals and groups are not completely
outside the purview of the state. As individuals who reside within the territo-
rial and juridical boundaries of the state, they have to be cared for and con-
trolled by government agencies. Even if it is clear that such individuals and
groups “transgress the strict lines of legality in struggling to live and work,”
the state cannot ignore them and is forced to enter into different kinds of
negotiations. 27
Chatterjee’s formulation can certainly be employed to understand rela-
tionships between fan associations and the democratic process, especially
given that such extralegal domains have typically been neglected in political
theory. Using the term “political society” accords this domain of participa-
tion a certain visibility previously denied it. Film star Vijaykanth mobilizing
his fan base in the state of Tamilnadu does speak to the ways in which cin-
ema serves as a staging ground for contests over regional and linguistic iden-
tity. Vijaykanth’s decision to articulate a vision of a “Dravida Nadu” (Dravid-
ian Nation), one in which there would be “no blind opposition to Hindi,” was
seen as a significant departure, given the history of conflict over the impo-
sition of Hindi as a national language and the resistance that this faced in
states like Tamilnadu where film stars-turned-politicians campaigned on a
28
pro-Tamil platform. The entanglement of language- and caste-based poli-
tics is also evident in Andhra Pradesh where, as Srinivas has shown, Chi-
ranjeevi, as the first non-kamma star, became the basis for the formation of
non-kamma publics. 29
However, to bracket fans as a nonelite public and theorize “rowdy” fan
practices as an expression of subaltern politics can also be misleading if it
leads us to ignore the overlaps and intersections between different sites and
modes of fan expression. Consider the issue of illegal networks of film and
music piracy in a city like Bangalore and the Rahman fan community, a
space of participation constituted by a large number of elite youth in urban
India with access to new media technologies. While the Internet remains the
main site of interaction, it is crucial to recognize that in cities like Bangalore,
Rahman fans also navigate and participate in the extralegal world of pirated
VCDs, DVDs, and mp3 collections. The extralegal world is not an exclusive
and closed-off subaltern space but rather one that intersects with online fan
communities. In fact it informs the practices of Rahman fans online. It is
also critical to recognize the ambivalence that marks Rahman fans’ attitudes
and practices when it comes to the issue of being part of the “illegal city.” 30
While some Rahman fans create ftp sites and upload collections of Rahman’s