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Guest Blogger Roopa Prabhakar describes herself as a a new mother, a working woman who believes her face is plastered on the glass ceiling, a closet feminist and writer.
Some days back when Nirbhaya (God rest her soul!) was supposedly recuperating and had taken a turn for the better, I was listening to the radio on the way home. The bubbly RJ informed the listeners about this wonderful piece of news and said that she would play a peppy number to celebrate. I started to smile in hopes of a full recovery for Nirbharya only to hear the RJ announce that the song was Sheila ki Jawani!
My smile froze midway as I wondered how any normal, sane, logical, humane person could think that Nirbharya’s recovery deserves a song like Sheila ki Jawani? How do these knuckleheads at the radio station even dream up such things? Maybe it was a last minute scramble for a song but it felt all wrong to me.
Anyways, I decided to ignore it for some time and as is always the case you are automatically drawn to the very thing you wanted to ignore. Sheila Ki Jawani ended with a bang and the next number was the ‘super fresh’ Fevicol se. Usually I am fine with these item numbers, the music is upbeat and you see pretty people doing all these aerobics-with-yoga like steps with great enthusiasm. I don’t mind tapping my foot to Munni, Sheila, Chamak challo and the rest of the gang but I have to draw the line when I hear lyrics like..
Main to tanduri, main to tanduri murgi hoon yaar
Gatkale saiyan alcohol se oh yeah.
(Roughly translated: I am like tanduri chicken, wash me down with alcohol.)
I suddenly felt the bile rising in my throat, sickened and disgusted not only at the radio station’s insensitivity in playing such songs after talking about Nirbhaya but also at the heroine’s readiness in mouthing these lyrics. The actress probably thinks that this is part of her job but when you have millions who worship you and treat you as a role model shouldn’t you think twice before taking up item numbers with such lyrics? I read somewhere that Kareena Kapoor has said that she really likes the lyrics of the song and is confident that her niece (who I’m sure is not in her teens yet) would love it too.
I was stunned; it’s amazing how far our heroines will go to ensure their item numbers are a Super Hit! Did she really think about her fans, about all the women who strive to achieve her size zero figure, read all her interviews and look up to her? If things are bad in Bollywood it’s not much different in Tolly and all the other Woods where the demented hero keeps bugging the heroine and takes her every “No” for a secret “Yes” and is so irritatingly confident that his charm will and “has to” work on anything and everything female.
Maybe I am overreacting because of the focus on Nirbhaya, maybe such ghastly acts happen every 20 minutes in our country and if not for the media hype this particular case would have gone unnoticed but right now, all I can think of is, what message do songs like Fevikol se send out to men (educated and uneducated alike) about how a woman wants to be treated.
So my request to all the “X”ollywood Heroines is, be bold, be adventurous, take on challenging roles and if the scripts really requires it then go ahead but when you are thinking of increasing your popularity with an item number please use your discretion. Think for a second on how you would feel if the cloak of stardom that protects you now is removed and the same titillating and suggestive songs are used by eve-teasers to make you feel vulnerable, scared and unsafe. It is not enough to hold candles and come to marches, you have to take a stand and say “No” to directors who will try anything to get the “masses” in. The public are counting on you, do not trade your two minutes of item number fame for the lifelong adoration of your fans.
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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