Feminine Filmy Story PRO FEMINIST BOLLYWOOD
OF
NEW MILLENNIA
Anuj Vijay Gadre Guide: Arun Gupta National Institute of Design, Paldi, Ahmedabad, India. August 2011
The reason behind my taking up this paper is my intimacy to the topic. Being a selfproclaimed-movie-buff, I took the liberty to choose relevant films from the last ten years to be discussed here. This I could do from the basic understanding of the subject. The crucial thing, I would like to point out here is that Bollywood films have matured, at least a bit, to understand the changing times and this reflects in the kind of female roles that are being written these days.
Me, myself and Feminism 1 The findings of this colloquium and the discussion I want to initiate, comes from my in-depth connection to its fundamental philosophy. I can, without any inhibition say that I‟m a pro-feminist2. Of course, there is a reason behind my beliefs. My constant questing and upbringing makes me follow the principles that make me a person who sees things a little differently. As the basis of Feminism is, I strongly believe and accept that men and women are equal and should be treated equally. I strongly condemn all violence based on gender discrimination. I practically hate Sexism3. As far as I believe men are most sexist, and it turns out to be a drawback to the whole system. I also feel against gender discrimination towards women, based on religious and social opinions.
Me, Myself and Bollywood 4 There is something with films and me. Cinema as a medium has always fascinated me. I was exposed to films at a very early age. Not that I had a taste and was exposed to the best of world cinema. No! It was Bollywood right from the beginning. I have grown up on a heavy-duty dose of Bollywood films, across all eras. So, why this? This is because right from the beginning there was this one thing I could notice, that is, why the female lead of the film is never the deciding factor. Apart from few exceptions, Bollywood films of yesteryears, predominantly the time between 60‟s to the 90‟s is stuck by the „formula‟. What happened otherwise was categorised as „art‟ and not considered in the male league of films and actors. Women especially, were shown powerless, in a miserable state of dependence and weakness. The male stereotype was the liberator and the precious one who was also loved by the general audience. On the other hand women were just for the sake of glamour, misery and very bluntly, sex. The female lead was neglected and given restricted screen presence when the male counterparts were dominant and acted as crowd pullers. Women mostly, if popular, were portrayed only as a sex-symbol and to add glamour.