The first Indian to become an international film star, Sabu rose to fame as a child actor in Elephant Boy (1937), and subsequently appeared in a succession of British pictures before relocating to Hollywood, where he died in 1963. Repeatedly cast in orientalist extravaganzas and jungle thrillers, he was associated with the ''exotic'' and the ''primitive'' in ways that reflected contemporary attitudes towards India and ''the East'' more generally.

In this captivating study, Michael Lawrence explores the historical, political, cultural contexts of Sabu''s popularity as a star, and considers the technological and industrial shifts that shaped his career – from the emergence of Technicolor in the late 1930s to the breakdown of the studio system in the 1950s. Attending to the detail of Sabu''s distinctively physical performances, Lawrence shows how his agency as an actor enabled him to endure, exceed and exploit his unique star image.