The Assembly Elections of 2011 have swept Didi and Amma to power, but is life for Indian women in politics any easier?

By Amrita Rajan

In addition to the President of India and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, not to mention Sonia Gandhi, the results of the 2011 Assembly Elections mean that four of India’s states are now governed by women. You’d think this was a wonderful moment for women in our country’s history, but only if you don’t read any further. Says the Globe and Mail:

They are extraordinary individuals, these women – a former film star, a woman from the “untouchable” caste who grew up in a slum, a rabble-rouser in flip-flops whose skull was once splintered by the Communists she has implacably opposed. But when they are considered as a group, their ascension to power offers a number of insights into change in India.

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Mangoes as sex aids and deodorants turning women into nymphomaniacs – Indian advertising seems unable to think beyond Sex to Sell.

By Amrita Rajan

The beautiful woman on the TV screen has a secret smile on her face as she fondles and caresses a mango into full ripeness. A sexy, languorous voice informs the viewer that it’s always better to take your time. Wait for it, she insists. The camera zooms in on her fingers as she delicately squeezes a single drop of juice onto her waiting lips. Greedily, she licks at it. This Katrina Kaif ad is selling mango juice.

Mummy’s summer stand-by is now practically a sex-aid, re-packaged and re-imagined as “Aamsutra”: a combination of delicious mango and imaginative sex, I presume. Try pouring out a glass of that for your kid. But perhaps your kid will insist upon it: the fantastic drink that put such a smirk on Katrina aunty’s face.

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Confused what to wear today? Fear not! Bollywood is here to help you dress right for every occasion!

By Amrita Rajan

Dressing for an occasion can be often be the most stressful part of going out. You want to look put-together, but you don’t want to be horribly overdressed; and the only thing worse than being overdressed is walking into a room and realizing that you’ve underdressed. Office wear, of course, can be its own species of hell. What does “formal” mean exactly and why can’t you ever look good in it? How “casual” is too casual and at what point does your business casual begin to resemble your last-day-of-vacation clothes? And what about makeup?

It’s hard not to feel resentful of all the men waltzing around, merrily putting on and removing ties to ‘go formal’ while you struggle. But like it or not, your clothes make a statement – to your colleagues, your boss and your clients.

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The New Indian Woman in the Star Plus anthem: is she Superwoman or just on some powerful drugs?

By Amrita Rajan

The new Star Plus anthem introduces us to a fresh ideal of the modern Indian woman: the superwoman in her guise of the everywoman. A fetching young lady wakes up at the crack of dawn, salwar kameez-and-dupatta in place, to fix her adorable toddler a school lunch, before bullying her mother-in-law into sticking with her vocal exercises and her father-in-law his diet. She makes out with her amorous husband in the bathroom, hangs out with a senior citizen, circles around to blow her husband a goodbye kiss on his way to the office, and then jogs in friendly fashion around her neighborhood.

A round of socializing with the family, friends and random passersby is interspersed by her communing with nature. Next comes a dance class at home and flying kites with her devoted family and helping out with the household chores. She ventures out in between to direct traffic and beat off villainous-looking political types trying to plaster the walls of her home with illegal posters. Afterwards, she heads off to anchor a TV show where she works overtime like a good employee even if it means she’s late to her own birthday party. But that’s all right, because she makes up for it by rousing her family and showing them a jolly good time before cuddling on the rooftop with her husband and stargazing late into the night. When the sun comes up, we are left to assume, the cycle begins all over again.

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No one killed Jessica is both respectful and faithful, weaving in fictional elements into Jessica Lall’s story to make it more cohesive.

By Amrita Rajan

At a pivotal moment in No One Killed Jessica, Sabrina Lall (Vidya Balan) remembers a day when her sister Jessica (Myra Karn) chased down a man who “eve-teased” Sabrina. A diffident Sabrina pleads with her younger sister to let her attacker go instead of creating a scene at which a furious Jessica turns on her and storms, “Today he touched you, tomorrow he’ll rape you. Wake up, you idiot! This is Delhi – learn to fight!”

Although others have tried to replicate its success, the case of Jessica Lall’s murder (its investigation, the acquittal of the accused despite overwhelming initial evidence, subsequent controversy and eventual sentencing of her murderer) remains a singular event in the history of New India – a moment when the Indian middle class woke up and learned to fight. Public outcry met media sensationalism in a rare, happy marriage that gave birth to a successful movement that ultimately saw justice served. Thus, I greeted the arrival of a movie based on her killing with curiosity mixed with trepidation.

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Sridevi, Madhuri, Kajol – all had big hits when past their salad days. Is age still a barrier for Bollywood’s women?

By Amrita Rajan

Save the odd young actor like Konkona Sen Sharma, the average female lead of a Bollywood movie goes through three distinct phases of development:

1.They have no idea what they’re doing and depend on their directors/producers to guide them; easily recognized by skimpy outfits and lack of acting skills.

2.They know enough about themselves and their craft to draw boundaries and work within them; this is when announcements of “I will no longer kiss/take my clothes off on screen because it is against our culture” appear in interviews.

3.Talent and box office success permitting, they are now big enough stars to dictate terms – secondary to the heroes, of course. Rare strata includes: Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, etc.

Madhuri’s career is perhaps the best example – Bollywood loves to wax nostalgic about her today, but back in the late 80s/ early 90s, she was a controversial figure with her now-celebrated numbers like Chholi ke peechche drawing tremendous fire from moralists. A cute Rajshri Pomeranian and some Yash Chopra chiffon later, she transformed from a pin-up girl to the epitome of womanly grace. And in so doing, became something more than just another successful star of a certain period.

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Eclipse, part 3 of the Twilight movie series based on Stephanie Meyer’s novels, is thoroughly enjoyable, if a little obtuse to newcomers.

(Love to read? Or are the movies your cup of tea? Women’s Web is interested in publishing book and movie reviews from readers. Send your review to editor@womensweb.in. Click here for guidelines on contributing.)

By Anne John

(Anne John is a software engineer by education, a freelance journalist by choice and a completely confused young woman by nature! She blogs at www.abstractadmissions.blogspot.com)

Social networking sites have quizzes such as “Which Twilight character are you?” and questions like “What would you like to be born as in your next birth?” lead people to answer ‘Vampire!” exuberantly. No surprise then, that Twilight fans are rejoicing, with the release of Eclipse.

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Angelina Jolie. Twists and turns. Spy thriller. Salt is no game changer, but this one-woman show still delivers the thrills.

By Anne John

Phillip Noyce’s Salt starring Angelina Jolie in the title role of Evelyn Salt is a power-packed movie to satisfy your thirst for action thrillers. The story revolves around an undercover CIA operative whose already dangerous double-life gets even more treacherous, when she is accused of being a Russian agent on a mission to destroy America.

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In Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up once again to create compelling cinema that will stay with viewers.

By Anne John

(Love to read? Or are the movies your cup of tea? Women’s Web is interested in publishing book and movie reviews from readers. Send your review to editor AT womensweb.in. Click here for guidelines on contributing.)

Shutter Island, a psychological thriller is yet another captivating work of art from the Martin Scorsese stable. Based on Dennis Lehane’s eponymous novel, it begins with US Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) along with his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo), arriving at The Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane, on a remote place called Shutter Island. They have been assigned to investigate the disappearance of a dangerous inmate.

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Mani Ratnam’s Raavan gives the old story of Good vs. Evil a makeover, but the result may startle some viewers! 

By Amrita Rajan

Ragini Sharma (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) has a simple question for her husband Dev (Vikram): why doesn’t he just shoot Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) dead? Surely that’s the obvious choice for a police officer hunting down a notorious criminal in his own backyard, rather than wasting time debating whether his quarry is a Raavan or a Robin Hood.

Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, evocatively shot by cinematographers Santosh Sivan and V. Manikandan, is an excellent bait-and-switch operation. You think you’re going in for an exciting Naxalite-ish Gangaajal loosely based on the central conflict of the Ramayana, and you exit from a two hour meditation on what it means to be a human being.

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