ISSN 2395-4396 (Online) National Seminar on ‘Women at Crossroads: Multi- disciplinary Perspectives’ Publication Partner: IJARIIE ORGANISE BY: DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH PSGR KRISHNAMMAL COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, PEELAMEDU, COIMBATORE Volume-2, Issue-6, 2017 Vol-2 Issue-6 2017 IJARIIE-ISSN (O)-2395-4396 A Comparative Study of the Role of Women in New Generation Malayalam Films and Serials Jibin Francis Research Scholar Department of English PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore Abstract This 21st century is called the era of technology, which witnesses revolutionary developments in every aspect of life. The life style of the 21st century people is very different; their attitude and culture have changed .This change of viewpoint is visible in every field of life including Film and television. Nowadays there are several realty shows capturing the attention of the people. The electronic media influence the mind of people. Different television programs target different categories of people .For example the cartoon programs target kids; the realty shows target youth. The points of view of the directors and audience are changing in the modern era. In earlier time, women had only a decorative role in the films. Their representation was merely for satisfying the needs of men. The roles of women were always under the norms and rules of the patriarchal society. They were most often presented on the screen as sexual objects .Here women were abused twice, first by the male character in the film and second, by the spectators. But now the scenario is different. The viewpoint of the directors as well as the audience has drastically changed .In this era the directors are courageous enough to make films with women as central characters. The stereotype roles of women are not seen in the 21st century films. The movies like „ Kahani‟ and „ The Dirty Picture‟ are very good examples for it. Both are absolutely women centered films. However, in the serials, women are still given just stereotype roles. They are often presented as jealous characters and epitomes of sacrifice. The „ Chandhnamazha „ one of the popular Malayalam serials is a typical example of it. This paper „A Comparative Study of the Role of Women in New Generation Malayalam films and serials‟ focuses on how women are portrayed in those different genres. Keywords: Women-Centred, Male gaze, Stereotype, Malayalam Film, Television Serials, New Generation. Mass media has a significant place in the history and in the present scenario. One of the most important features of mass media is their accessibility; they can be accessed easily and can reach a very large audience at a time. Films and television programs are very popular forms of mass media, which come under the broadcasting media. The films and television program have the capacity to capture the attention of the viewers and they can reach to people like a wild fire. Mass media influences the viewpoint and culture of the audience and at the same time, it changes itself according to the current scenarios or settings. In this digital era, everything is accessible in one touch. A digital gadget can help us reach the vast world of www.ijariie.com 1 Vol-2 Issue-6 2017 IJARIIE-ISSN (O)-2395-4396 knowledge. Thus, mass media is becoming a kith and kin to the society due to its acceptability and flexibility. The mass media and the society are very closely connected and mutually enriching; they are interrelated and interdependent. Media always plays a considerable role in the formation of values, beliefs and life style of the society. Media always moves along the society, they carefully examine the trends and taste of the society. For example, nowadays people are interested to watch reality shows and almost all the channels broadcast a number of reality shows, which target different age groups. Films are generally considered as culture centered; they powerfully influence the culture and at the same time reflect the cultural changes of a particular time. The movies in the 19th century are poles apart from the 21st century movies; there are differences not only in the technical aspects but also in the perspectives, nature of the scripts, settings and style. The love relationships between the hero and heroines and the members of a family were depicted in a different style in the 19th century movies; gender roles of that time also were entirely different from the modern films. The differences reflect the cultural settings of those times. The patriarchal norms and rules of the society once influenced the films very much. The roles of women in those times were biased. Devoted and loyal woman dedicated to her husband was considered to be ideal woman. No woman should disobey her parents or husband; she should always perform her womanly duties faithfully. During childhood she should be loyal to her father, after marriage she should be truehearted and loyal to her husband and in old age she should be obedient to her son. Thus, in each stage of her development the role of woman was to live without a soul of her own. Sita from Ramayana and Savitri from Mahabharata were the two ideal women in those days. The films like ‗Sati Savitri‘ and ‗Sati Seeta‘ are the best examples of that concept in the 19th century films. Every woman in those days was expected to posses the ideal qualities of Sita and Savitri in their life. If one tried to break them or rebel against those norms and rules then she would be pictured as an immoral woman who lacked womanly virtues. The male chauvinism always wanted her to be inferior throughout her life. The patriarchal Indian society made her stereotype not only at home but also in every aspect of life including films. The role of women was stereotyped in Indian films. She played roles not with soul but with flesh; both the directors and audience wanted her to be a mere epitome of sexual pleasure. Women were appearing on screen as an object to satisfy the sexual hunger of the audience. They did not need a story or dialogues; the only thing they were required to do was to satisfy the lustful heart of men. Laura Mulvey in her essay ―Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema‖ introduced a concept called ‗Male Gaze.‘ The ‗male gaze‘ according to her, is the way in which the visual arts and literature depict women from a masculine point of view, presenting women as objects of male pleasure. She argued that in many of the films women are portrayed as an erotic object for the sexual satisfaction of the male characters as well as of the audience. The roles played by Silk Smitha in the films are good examples for that. She had been always on the screen as an erotic object for both the hero and the viewers. The amorous expressions and the style of her talking and dressing were deliberately chosen to satisfy that purpose. Even after her death, she has been still alive only because of her erotic performances in the films. www.ijariie.com 2 Vol-2 Issue-6 2017 IJARIIE-ISSN (O)-2395-4396 The 21st century witnesses revolutionary changes not only in the field of Science and technology but also in various other fields. Nowadays, the culture of the society has got a new face. It keeps on changing. The status and the role of women have also undergone a number of changes.The modern society is ready to accept men and women as equal. Many women in recent times are coming to the different mainstreams of life including politics, administration and films. Of late, even films without heroes are being produced. Concisely, the viewpoint of the society is undergoing a drastic change from the past. Recently Indian films try to provide fine platforms for women. The movies like ‗Kahaani‘, ‗The Dirty Picture‘ and ‗Mary Kom‘ are such outstanding movies from bollywood, which delineate the inner strength, hardships and sufferings of women from multiple points of view. Even in Malayalam films, this radical shift is very evident today. In recent past, there were some films, which came up with woman -centered stories and became successful both aesthetically and commercially. Now the directors are ready to take woman-centered scripts; producers welcome this attitude without any hesitation; the viewers are also ready to accept the changes. While discussing the status of women in the 21st century Malayalam films, one cannot overlook the groundbreaking movie called 22 Female kottayam. It is a 2012 Malayalam film, directed by Aashiq Abu and starring Rima Kallungal and FahadhFasil as Tessa and Cyril. The style of the narration and treatment of the women characters in the film are commendable. The story revolves around the central character Tessa, a 22 year old woman from Kottayam. She is working as a nurse in Bangalore with a dream to fly to Canada; she falls in love with Cyril. The character of Cyril was played by Fahadh Fasil, the youth icon of Malayalam Film industry. She loves him with full heart and they start to live together. Tessa completely offers herself to him. But, later the innocent and beautiful flower Tessa is brutally crushed by the boss of her beloved Cyril. Afterwards, she is betrayed and trapped by Cyril by putting some drugs in her bag. Actually, Cyril is a pimp; she unfortunately fall a victim to his well plotted treachery. So she is sent to prison where she meets Zubaida who is sentenced for murder; they bond well with each other. Zubaida moulds her to take revenge on Cyril and his boss. And with the help of another character called DK, she kills the boss by poisoning him with a cobra.