INDIA NEWS
SPECIAL COMMENTARY
Objectified men and female gaze: Male ‘item numbers’ in Bollywood
So, despite receiving backlash for exploiting the materialistic culture of voyeurism, it contributed immensely towards bringing popularity to Bollywood blockbusters, and at times, a single ‘item number’ would lead to a box office hit. Eventually by the 1990s, Bollywood blockbusters would invariably incorporate an innovatively picturized ‘item number’ and soon, India and its “Indianness” was being defined by gendered performances of actors with an ‘exotic body’ performing an ‘item number.’ This was a watershed in the sense that the gaze had shifted from the “immoral woman” to male actors doing ‘item numbers.’ Then
came a smooth shift of dancing bodies where every woman would inevitably be a spectacle of desire, lust and fetishization. But this led to a lot of criticism within feminist movements who felt the urgency of addressing the anxiety and low self-esteem that they triggered. So, from the consciousness to fit into the size zero image portrayed by the ‘item numbers’ featuring female stars there came a need to focus on male stars. The dancing male body emerged as a novelty to replace the scantily clad female stars. The provocative dance moves with underlying sexual appeal that captured primarily male audiences now shifted to women patrons. The woman from being the centre of gaze became the gazer. Time for a change in Bollywood’s gender dynamics Times are changing and reversing the stereotypical gendered dynamics in Bollywood narratives. Under this transformed representation female protagonists now would gaze at the eroticised men doing ‘item numbers.’ Men possessing machismo and flamboyance are now a striking feature of Bollywood productions where the shirtless hero is doing an ‘item number’ feeding female fetish. The quintessential “King of Romance”- Shahrukh Khan and the heart throb for millennials Ranbir Kapoor were eroticized,
catering to female spectators in the movie, Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, respectively. The bold display of machismo in the songs contradicted the normative constructs of masculinity in Bollywood. Although the films did not do well at the box office, the two item numbers appealed to the female gaze. In contrast to the 1960s style of dancing by Shammi Kapoor or the Dabbang style
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Male nudity can be viewed as an indicator of how the stereotypical constructs of masculinity, normative ideals of heterosexuality and established gaze at female stars within the script has changed
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n the 1970s, Helen had grooved her way in Bollywood through performing songs now labelled as ‘item numbers’ while being caricatured as a ‘vamp.’ A woman draped in skimpy clothes would instantly raise eyebrows and trigger debates about morality for luring the attention of men and defying the stereotypical construct of a “cultured Indian woman.” Song and dance have been the cornerstone of Bollywood cinema since ever, and the picturization of songs increased their popularity overseas making it a centre of debate and social chats. ‘Item numbers’ now target the vast youthful constituency that craves for a visual escapade on the silver screen.
Priyam Sinha
Salman Khan moves, the two songs offered a visual escapade for the female patrons by zooming into their bodies. In a departure from the stereotypical masculine construct jab se terenaina portrayed a waxed and toned semi-nude man dancing in a towel, similar to shirtless
Shahrukh Khan performing in a fire fighting gear in the song dard-e-disco. It is imperative to highlight differing locations for portraying masculinity in the songs. In Saawariya, Ranbir not only attracted female gaze off the screen but within the movie as a lonely character on a dingy street also became the centre of the gaze of sex workers as well, making him uncomfortable. On the other hand, the fair-skinned extra dancers were shown smitten by the charisma and six-pack image of Shahrukh in the darde-disco song capturing the imagination of the millennials. Change in gender portrayal in Bollywood The two songs symbolise the transformations in gender portrayal in Bollywood over the last few decades. But it also triggers debate about morality and commodification of men in ‘item numbers’ and diverting attention from portrayal of women’s sexuality. But it would be interesting to view masculine ‘item numbers’ as a new form of sexual representation from the yore. Male nudity can be viewed as an indicator of how the stereotypical constructs of masculinity, normative ideals of heterosexuality and established gaze at female stars within the script has changed. But the new trends beg the query
whether the new form of six-pack shirtless masculinity perpetuates a ‘desirable’ body image and thereby generates self-esteem among the vast population of men not able to match it. So then, should the new trend of male item numbers be welcomed as an alternative to objectification of women’s bodies? The gender implications of this reversal are difficult to ignore as it could lead to lopsided perceptions of inducing anxiety now among men.For now, let us see it as a novel space for celebrating sexuality of not only females but also males. Priyam Sinha is pursuing doctoral research on ‘Sexuality and the disabled woman: Tracing the incorporation of feminist agenda in Bollywood and portrayal of the sexual culture’ at the National University of Singapore.
To retire or not
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etirement finally hits one in all occupations. The world is getting younger and so should the elders if they want to survive the progressive world that is flashing fast before them. Modern technology is progressing at a pace that requires the young and the old to keep themselves abreast. The young ones are striving hard to make a life whereas the old are becoming fitter and mentally sharper to keep alive. Their bodies may be aging but their minds are exploding with the wealth of knowledge that they can access with just one click of the finger. In the corporate world, the retirement age restrictions play a significant part to end one’s career, even though one is fit mentally and physically to continue. The reason for this is to primarily make way for youngsters as well as for the elderly to enjoy the remainder of their lives in relaxing and pursuing their passion. Unfortunately, the world today has brought a complete change in
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the way one looks at life. Passionplus-interest is the new modus operandi and people are making their living by following their dreams. In sports, age is a very important factor. In India, a sportsman after the age of 30 is usually on a declining graph. A 30-plus cricketer is referred to as a veteran. As he grows older, he gradually loses his buddies and becomes a loner, who was once respected but somehow is not on the same wavelength as the rest. A present day sportsperson is a different breed entirely. The money that is being generated, and earned by one, is a very important factor in continuing one’s sport. Players now have access to fitness machines and regimes and with monitored diet control, they are at least 10 years younger than their age, so to speak. In cricket, it is no different. The skill to play the game is what a cricketer develops when he is young. And the agility, strength, and stamina that differentiates the old and the new has now
become redundant. The decision to retire, especially for an Indian cricketer, is a very difficult one. One puts in hours and hours of hard work, at times in hot and sizzling weather, playing matches at every given opportunity to hone one’s skill. The conditions are very tough in one’s early days. To make it to the first-class level a cricketer needs to forgo everything to reach there. An outsider only sees the glamour quotient at the end of it, but the time that a cricketer spends on cricket gives one very little opportunity to educate himself or make another career. The intense competitiveness in Indian cricket is a scorching task at present, and just to sustain and be a part of it requires a phenomenal amount of dedication and sacrifice. Fortunately, money is there in Indian cricket, but it has taken away the options of pursuing another career when cricket is done. The earlier cricketers were amateurs and as cricket was not a eprofession’ as such, the game could not give them a lifetime
support. Education, therefore, was an important factor in providing them with a job and so retirement from cricket was a far easier option than what a cricketer is facing today. Cricket is now a big business and with no other options available, a modern cricketer hopes to engage in as many years playing the sport as possible. Yuvraj Singh has been a very successful Indian cricketer and when he announced retirement a year ago, one felt he deserved to finally rest and relax. A year in oblivion was enough to draw him back to his favorite sport. He has requested the BCCI to grant him permission to play domestic cricket again as he wants to represent his home state Punjab. Yuvraj is a good example of how life can become dull while staying away from the only profession that one has mastered. He may have made plenty of money, invested in businesses, and may have been involved in several ventures outside the game. But all that becomes insignificant when he compares
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it to what he is most comfortable with -- and that is playing cricket. Players such as Yuvraj, Dhoni, Raina and so many of the other senior lot of cricketers who have retired, or are on the verge of retirement, need to be encouraged to continue doing service to cricket for their state associations. The BCCI should allow them to play T20 league cricket tournaments around the world, if they so desire, once they have officially retired from representing the country. Why shouldn’t such cricketers be permitted to play wherever they want to? The rule that one needs to retire from all formats of the game in India to play in other leagues is unfair. It takes one back to the famous quote by Lord Tennyson: “Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die”. (Yajurvindra Singh is a former Test cricketer. Views expressed are personal) By Yajurvindra Singh
SEPTEMBER 2020
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