The protagonist of the book is Aasha Rani, a dark, chubby girl from Madras who has striven for seven years to become a famous Bollywood starlet. Her mother, Amma, has pushed her to attain this status by selling herself into the world of blue films before she was twelve years old, and when she was fifteen to Kishenbhai, a once-famous producer who was encouraged by Amma to take her as a lover in exchange for a film role.
The main character of the book is Aasha Rani, a dark, plump girl from Madras who has worked seven years to become a renowned Bollywood actress. Her mother, Amma, pressured her to achieve this status by prostituting herself at twelve and then marrying Kishenbhai, a once-famous producer who was urged by Amma to have sex with her in exchange for a film role when she turned fifteen.