Changing Trends in the Cinematic Reflections of Women
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For commercial re- use or republication permission, please contact [email protected] 40 | The Question of Women… The Question of Women: Changing Trends in the Cinematic Reflections of Women Nitika Chhillar Abstract: The interest of this paper lies within the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema. The paper traces the Hindi films produced from 1930s to look at the changing trends of female portrayal from decade to decade striving to uncover the workings of patriarchal mindset and outlook in films. It further goes on to discuss some path breaking films that deviated from the norm in an attempt to identify and analyse areas where feminism comes into contact and, at times conflict, with our society’s traditional values and also how the films have reflected the changing times along with opinions and ideologies of our society. This gives us a chance to probe deeper into the psyche of our society which is both shaped and reflected by the movies produced as a whole by a segment that itself is a part of our society. Key Words: Hindi cinema, stereotypical characterization, mainstream Hindi films, cinematic portrayal, objectification of women. *** Cinema does today what literature did before cinema was born- entertains, educates, informs and influences. It is not just influenced by the society, it also influences society. Cinema has the power to both reinforce ideology and reform society. The Hindi film industry has come a long way and while it is true that women in Hindi cinema are treated and represented in the fixed moulds of stereotypes, either as sex symbols or as suffering martyrs, it is also true that there have been attempts to break those moulds and showcase the real woman encouraging and enabling her to fight the forces of patriarchal oppression. Ours is a patriarchal society and commercial Hindi cinema reinforces the dominant societal narrative. It seems that representations of characters and situations are carefully controlled playing into the hands of societal diktats and always reinstating hegemonic ideologies. Be that as it may, a glance at the history of Hindi cinema unveils some leaks or rather lapses in the cinematic portrayal of women which resist or challenge the reigning patriarchal ideology that seeks to objectify women. As Virdi puts it “Points of rupture, break, and destabilization can be traced within the dominant paradigm, and they sometimes—speaking optimistically—point to the possibility of change”(126). Working within the parameters of mainstream Hindi film format, some creative and innovative directors have had the courage and conviction to give us some meaty and substantial characters. Although rare, such fault lines allow for the cinematic narrative to present to the audience an alternative to the patriarchal order. The image and attitude of the women in Hindi cinema has changed from time to time to reflect the changing trends and time. Each decade had its own brand of women in films, most of them were stereotypes but some deviated from the fixed mould. Each decade presented fresh challenges for women, probing them to find their place in the changing times, in a business that was constantly changing and evolving. Even though the movies of the 1930s raised social movies, there were some movies that focussed on the issues of women. What’s surprising is that the movies that came out in 1930s, just two decades past the release of first Indian film, were more daring in terms of content and portrayal as compared to the post-independence decades. Cinema of that era also talked of issues like female Lapis Lazuli: An International Literary Journal 41 ISSN 2249-4529 AUTUMN 2019 emancipation among other social issues. Miss 1933 (1933), by Chandulal Shah dealt with the issue of woman’s freedom of choice and female autonomy. Homi Master’s Samaj Ki Bhool (1934), was about a widow’s right to remarry as was Hemchandra’s Anath Ashram ( 1937). V. Shantaram’s Amarjyoti (1936) portrayed a woman who rebels against injustice by becoming a pirate queen while Duniya Na Mane (1937) portrayed a young girl refusing to consummate her forced marriage with a much older widower. R.S. Choudhury’s Hamari Betiyan (1936) dealt with the issue of gender discrimination. Sohrab Modi’s Talaaq (1938) dealt with the issue of women’s right to divorce. Such films and female portrayal were few, as Hindi cinema in those days predominantly churned out films with conventional mythological and historical themes but overall the mood of the industry was less conservative as compared to the subsequent decades. The following decades denied any depth or dimension to the female characters in the films. The decade also saw the Australian actress Mary Ann Evans, who later became popular as Fearless Nadia. She appeared or rather exploded on screen with stunt films brought out by the Wadia brothers in the mid-'30s. Her movie Hunterwali (1935) saw Nadia as the hunter-wielding masked woman who fought injustice in her own unique style. Even though a foreigner, she was India's original stunt queen with a career that spanned for over three decades. The bold characterization and the image that she portrayed, that of a masked woman with a whip, played on the submerged sexual fantasy of the predominantly male audience. In the decades that followed after the Indian Independence, the depiction of females in cinema was in a way less emancipated and less bold but the heroines were still spirited. On one hand 1953 saw Sohrab Modi’s Jhansi Ki Rani, which portrayed the female lead on a battlefield fearlessly fighting the British, and on the other hand Bimal Roy’s Parineeta, portrayed a submissive female surrendering her freedom at the altar of tradition. Bimal Roy’s adaptation of Saratchandra Chatterjee’s novel Devdas came out in 1955, which portrayed two extraordinary women, both opinionated and strong willed, in love with the same man who was weak and shirked responsibility. Sujata (1959), raised voice against the social issue of untouchability with the love story about a Brahmin boy and an untouchable girl. Roy’s Bandini (1963) on the other hand was about a woman in prison for murdering her lover’s insane wife, and who is ultimately faced with a choice between two very different men, Devendra, the loving and understanding prison doctor, and Bikash, her lover from the past whose wife she murdered. The image was a deviation from the sati-savitri image showcased so often in the Hindi cinema. It is true that Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957) portrays Nargis in the role of a stereotypical mother who towards the end of the movie becomes a universal mother, defying the micro state of being a biological mother so as to transform into the mother of the nation, by killing her own biological son in order to save an innocent woman. But the movie can also be seen as a strong political statement about a woman who stands to make sure that justice has been done. Film makers like K.A. Abbas, Guru Dutt and Bimal Roy portrayed strong female characters in their films, throughout the 1950s. They were shown to have a voice and an opinion of their own. Guru Dutt’s Kagaz Ke Phool (1959) portrayed the character of an actress getting into an affair with a married filmmaker which consequently destroys the filmmaker while the actress later jilts him and goes on to become the biggest star of the industry. The movie shows a strong female character and a weak male character completely ruled and destroyed by his emotions. V. Shantaram’s Navrang (1959) had a female protagonist who misunderstands and remains immune to her poet husband’s talent and creativity and consequently leaves him. Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anuradha (1960) is about a city woman’s momentary yet memorable rebellion against being taken for granted by her busy doctor husband along with whom she lives in 42 | The Question of Women… a remote, distant village. She chooses her husband when she is finally faced with a choice between her husband and her love for the city life. K. Asif’s lavish Mughal-e-Azam (1960) had Madhubala playing the role of Anarkali who daringly defies the formidable emperor with the song Jab Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya, a song that till date inspires suffering lovers. Anarkali refuses to reject the prince even when imprisoned by the emperor, giving up only in the end, by allowing the emperor to declare her dead to the world and to the prince ( her lover), only to save the prince’s life. “Sometimes the tragedienne, sometimes the seductress, sometimes aggressive, and sometimes diffident beyond logic, both in happy and sad moments, the dignity of the Hindi cinema heroine remains untarnished. If anything it is overstated under extreme provocation” (Gulzar, Nihalani and Chatterjee 394). All of it shields the ordinary woman from being visible in Hindi cinema. But if one analysis the trends in cinema it can be seen that the actresses indirectly dictated the terms of their portrayal in cinema.