Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal: The Life and Times of a Female Impersonator

Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal: The Life and Times of a Female Impersonator

Roy, Sandip

Hardcover

Series: The Pride List

ArtistsBiographies General

Publisher Price: $29.00

ISBN10: 1803095512
ISBN13: 9781803095516
Publisher: Seagull Books
Published: Mar 2 2026
Pages: 520
Weight: 2.00
Height: 1.80 Width: 6.40 Depth: 9.10
Language: English
Blending biography with evocative vignettes, Chapal Rani traces the career of Bengali stage actor Chapal Bhaduri and his struggle for artistic identity in a changing world.

As the last great female impersonator of Bengali theater, Chapal Bhaduri--known as Chapal Rani--once held audiences spellbound in the jatra tradition, where men became goddesses and heroines. But when women finally took their place on stage, Chapal found himself exiled from the world he had ruled. In this groundbreaking biography, Sandip Roy captures the rise and fall of a performer whose art was inseparable from his identity.

Told in Chapal's own voice and interwoven with evocative fictional vignettes, Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal brings to life Kolkata's golden age of theater and the resilience of a man who refused to disappear. Through decades of research and deeply personal interviews, Roy crafts a moving portrait of gender and belonging.

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