Mainstreaming socially relevant themes
It is an interesting time for Indian, especially Hindi cinema. Films with different storylines and on subjects that border on reality are being made. It is also the time when the industry has seen an influx of talent, not just people who have the glamour quotient in the right proportions but also people who dare to think and ¿act¿ different. While both talented men and women have entered the industry in good numbers, this piece will concentrate on women and how they are taking up sensitive subjects that cry for attention.
Films bordering on reality and the reflecting issues of the day have always found space in the Hindi film industry at regular intervals. The films made by Raj Kapoor were noted for its socially relevant themes, often with women playing strong roles. In the movie Satyam Shivam Sundram, Raj Kapoor had taken a dig at the superstitions prevailing at the time through this character Rupa, enacted by Zeenat Amman. Another classic example of a woman essaying a key role that reflects the scenario of the day is Mother India, directed by Mehboob Khan. The film, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language film in 1957, poignantly tells the tale of a peasant woman¿s hardships in an agrarian economy. Nargis had enacted the part of the peasant woman Radha, around whom the film revolves.
What makes the current phase an interesting time for Hindi cinema is that women have come back to portraying characters that echo currently relevant social issues. Significantly, all the lead women actors of the day have tried to address sensitive and socially relevant issues. Be it Aishwarya Rai (Bachchan) or a Kareena Kapoor, they have not confined themselves to portraying just run-of-the-mill roles. These women have managed to portray characters that take up social issues even while they were in the successful phase of their careers. It is perhaps their education or wide exposure that they have had before their entry to films, which has contributed to their taking up social causes through their portrayals. While beauty queens like Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya have the opportunity to assess issues at a wider perspective during the one-year period as Miss Universe or Miss World, actors like Amisha Patel or Kareena Kapoor have had the benefit of education in internationally reputed institutions.
Take the case of domestic violence, which has found space through the film ¿Provoked¿ (2007), with Aishwarya playing the protagonist. An issue that needs to be addressed through all effective forums, domestic violence is no slur; it is a painful reality that confronts hundreds of women across class, creed or race. It is a universal malaise. Every day, scores of women are subject to assaults from ¿loved¿ ones. While men in the family feel that they have the right to ¿discipline¿ women, as abuse is portrayed, women have been conditioned to suppress cases of abuse. The common reply that most abusive husbands would give to anyone who tries to intervene is, ?she is my wife; I have the right to beat her?. Cultural taboos and the fear of being implicated add to such instances being suppressed by women. Domestic violence is again not something that is confined to any women belonging to any particular income or educational bracket. It affects women irrespective of their educational or income status. By enacting the part of an abused wife in the film ¿Provoked¿, Aishwariya has given domestic violence a much wider forum for thought and discussion. Kudos to Jagmohan Mundra, the director of the film, for taking up this sensitive issue. Whatever the fate of the film at the box-office, the fact needs to be appreciated that the subject has been tackled well in the film.
Tabu, who has time and again proved that she is a thinking actress, had donned the role of a bar girl in the Madhur Bhandarkar directed film ¿Chandni Bar¿ (2001). The film portrays the precarious lives led by women who take up this profession. Though Tabu¿s character in the film, Mumtaz tries to break away from her occupation and to protect her children from this world, she fails to do so. She is trapped in this vicious circle and has to return to this world, so also her children. The film won Tabu the National Award for the best actress in 2002.
Sushmita Sen and Kareena Kapoor also score for portraying real-life roles in the films ¿Chingari¿ (2006) and ¿Chameli¿ (2004). Both these films portrayed the life of sex-workers, who are a denigrated lot. In an interview with a newspaper, Kareena Kapoor said: ?My role as Chameli made me realize one thing - sex workers should not be treated differently. They are as human as you and me; they have the same emotions like any other woman? (http://www.boloji.com/wfs2/wfs228.htm). While both films have other plots woven in them and are set in different socio-cultural milieus, they still provide a peep into the lives of these women and the ploys that they have to undertake. The Kalpana Lajmi directed film ¿Chingari¿ is set in Rangpur, a village in
In ¿Phir Milenge¿ (2004), directed by noted South Indian actor Revathy, Shilpa Shetty plays the role of a person who has been afflicted with AIDS. The film takes one into the lives of persons who were affected with this disease and how they are kept away by even their near and dear ones. This issue could do with many and multiple forms of awareness generation and the part played by Shilpa Shetty could be very well viewed as one such form. For this, the director, the artistes and all the other members of the crew need to be complimented.
The current breed of leading women actors is not just confining themselves to portraying stereotypes. Mostly after starting with regular fare, they slowly graduate to handling bold and sensitive subjects. It would be deemed more worthy if the guiding factor in the choice of these subjects is not merely the urge to experiment or satisfy the artist¿s creative call but a larger societal perspective. Also what is more important is to sustain the interest that has been generated through these films. It would do very well if these actors take up these issues on a more regular basis, rather than just restricting themselves to the production and pre-release phases of the film. Undoubtedly, the support that they would provide to such causes would ensure greater outreach, which augurs well for these subjects and for the society at large.