The Changing Construction of Women Characters in Popular Hindi-Language Cinema from 1970 to 2007
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The Changing Construction of Women Characters in Popular Hindi-language Cinema from 1970 to 2007 Asma Ayob 8604355H A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a degree in Masters in Dramatic Art at the University of the Witwatersrand Supervisor: Dr. Haseenah Ebrahim Johannesburg 2008 1 The Changing Construction of Women Characters in Popular Hindi-language Cinema from 1970 to 2007 Asma Ayob 2 Abstract This study examines the changing construction of women characters in popular Hindi- language cinema from 1970 to 2007 using six films, typical of the genres at their times of release, as case studies: Pakeezah (1971, Kamal Amrohi), Umrao Jaan (1981, Muzaffar Ali), Prem Rog (1982, Raj Kapoor), Salaam Namaste (2005, Siddharth Anand), Baabul (2006, Ravi Chopra) and Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007, Siddharth Anand). The study examines general elements of Indian culture, religion, politics and economics in order to contextualise an understanding of Bollywood films as cultural products. The analysis reveals that in the films of the 1970‟s and 1980‟s, women characters were portrayed as docile and submissive, unable to articulate their needs even in the face of oppression, or as independent but cruel or hard- hearted; more specifically, women characters were portrayed as preservers of tradition. The 1980‟s began to witness a shift in the psyche of women characters, who displayed a need to break free of their environments, thereby rising above what is traditionally expected of Indian women, namely to show tolerance toward society and men, even when unjustly treated. The findings suggest that more contemporary films show women characters as being more independent and making choices about family and work that are not based on traditional expectations of Indian womanhood. Links to some key findings from the literature are made. 3 Declaration I, Asma Ayob, declare that this report represents my own work, and has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. Johannesburg Signed:___________________ ____day of _____________2008 4 Acknowledgements Special thanks to my family for their continued support. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Haseenah Ebrahim. I am grateful for her patience in guiding me through this process and for her constant encouragement. 5 Table of Contents ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. 3 DECLARATION ...................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 7 Aim of the study ..................................................................................................................... 8 Rationale ................................................................................................................................. 9 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........ 12 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 12 General elements of Indian culture and religion .................................................................. 12 Key shifts in Indian culture, politics, economy and the social climate that influenced development in Hindi cinema .................................................................................. 19 From India’s independence in 1947 to the present – key periods ................................... 19 Developing local and international markets .................................................................... 21 Diaspora ........................................................................................................................... 22 The construction of women characters ................................................................................. 24 Bollywood films as cultural products ............................................................................... 24 The stereotyping of women characters ............................................................................. 29 CHAPTER 3: WOMEN AS PRESERVERS OF TRADITION IN HINDI-LANGUAGE FILMS OF THE 70’S AND THE 80’S ................................................................................. 39 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 39 Pakeezah (1971, Kamal Amrohi) ......................................................................................... 41 Umrao Jaan (1981, Muzaffar Ali) ........................................................................................ 50 Prem Rog (1982, Raj Kapoor) .............................................................................................. 57 CHAPTER 4: LIBERALIZATION AND THE “NEW” INDIAN WOMAN ................... 63 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 63 Salaam Namaste (2005, Siddharth Anand) .......................................................................... 63 Baabul (2006, Ravi Chopra) ................................................................................................. 73 Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007, Siddharth Anand) .......................................................................... 82 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 105 FILMOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................. 110 6 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction As a member of the Indian community in South Africa, I have been exposed to a wide variety of Hindi-language films from an early age, since they were a form of entertainment in my home. The different Hindu rituals and traditions that were portrayed in these films intrigued me, especially since in many instances, they closely resembled Muslim rituals. Therefore, even as a child, I was able to relate to and identify with the narratives and the depiction of women characters in Hindi-language films. Later on in life, I began to reflect on the portrayal of women in these films and while I understood the premise from which the character arcs were created, I felt a need to explore more closely the messages that are being conveyed through this increasingly popular medium of entertainment. Of course, the fact that “Bollywood” cinema is becoming increasingly more visible all over the world made me want to probe the matter on a deeper level. In particular, I felt the need to look at the construction of women characters, because it is this construction that perpetuates Indian society and creates a following. I also intend to investigate whether the way in which women characters are constructed has changed over a period of time. Although various scholars in the past have embarked on studying the construction of women characters, these studies did not always clearly study changes occurring over time. With the turn of the century/millennium, new global challenges as well as more global markets opening to the Hindi-cinema industry, this study is timely and one that will be of great value by means of a review of more recent film releases that will be compared to older films. The films selected are considered typical films of the era under consideration and provide a platform for the generalisation of findings. “Bollywood” is a term associated with the prolific Hindi-language film industry centred in Bombay (renamed Mumbai in 1995) (Ganti, 2004). The term “Bollywood” is, however, often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema. “Bollywood” is only one of several Indian film industries and more specifically refers to Hindi-language cinema. For the purposes of this report, the term “Bollywood” will refer specifically (and correctly) to the Hindi-language film industry. 7 The Hindi-language film industry is dedicated to the goal of being commercially successful (Dasgupta, 1996; Ganti, 2004) and has become increasingly visible in the international marketplace with box-office success and enthusiastic audiences from India to West Africa to Russia, and throughout the English-speaking world. The web-site Wikipedia.com notes that Bollywood and other major cinematic hubs such as Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Malayalam and Assamese constitute the broader Indian film industry, and have the largest output in the world in number of tickets sold. This is indicative of Bollywood‟s significance in the world-wide film industry. Bollywood is a strong part of the popular culture not only of India, but also of the rest of South Asia, in countries such as Pakistan (despite the ban on Indian films there), the Middle East, parts of Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, and among the South Asian