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Dangal is a much-needed breath of fresh air in Indian cinema with its ageing heroes romancing young heroines.
Profound wisdom emanates from the simpler moments of life, when one halts for a moment and changes perspective. So is the case when a 14-year old bride says to the disgruntled daughters of Mahavir Singh Phogat, “Your father at least takes an interest in you. He accepts your existence and is striving to give your life a shape worthy enough of dignity.”
That is enough to awaken in the daughters a renewed zeal to follow the drill and agonizingly disciplined regime their father has set for them.
Indian cinema needed this Dangal for so many reasons! We will digress for a while but well, I am inundated with so many thoughts that each reason can make a blog post in itself.
The Indian male protagonist is so self-centered to date that very rarely do we see him allowing himself to look anything less than perfect. He always wants to be in command and if possible, present in every frame right till the end. His real age notwithstanding, he is the epitome of eternal youth. He has to romance beauties half his age. He has to win and if he cannot, he will use his progeny to break his bones to near death (Apne, remember?) There are long drawn guilt trips for the poor unsuspecting progeny and ultimately a grander end.
Aamir Khan as Mahavir Singh Phogat is so adorable with this big paunch and Haryaanvi dialect. There is a very simple equation with his wife, Daya Kaur played by Sakshi Tanwar – “I don’t understand your decisions but…” and he requests “Ek saal de de munne…”
Aamir dominates the screen as the father with an ambition… a father with a vision; a father with an iron hand at discipline and yet, one who is willing to change perspectives. I too wish to say “Kaash ye mere Pappa hote…”
It is a Dangal of sorts for its perspective on the girl-boy paradigm. What they can or cannot do or rather, what we think ‘they can or cannot do’! Again from deeper disappointment and little moments, the mindset changes in a father who is living in a very orthodox, rural set up.
Kudos to a Movie that might go on to become a classic for us like Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots. It is a grounded effort par excellence. Indian cinema needed Dangal for all these reasons and many more.
For Indian movies to move out of thinking that domestic violence and marital abuse and rapes are just maladies that women go through!
For Indian movies to stop thinking that a woman is attractive only when she sways her hips in little clothing. For Indian movies to stop thinking that a man has to have six pack abs and is needed always to rescue a woman from dire circumstances in the form of a father or husband.
Blogger, Teacher, Spiritual Healer. Endeavors to establish Women's dignity by effective assertion and active blogging. Compassion, assertiveness, re-invention of self keeps her going. A quadragenarian, who is amused at everything in life! Author read more...
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Shows like Indian Matchmaking only further the argument that women must adhere to social norms without being allowed to follow their hearts.
When Netflix announced that Indian Matchmaking (2020-present) would be renewed for a second season, many of us hoped for the makers of the show to take all the criticism they faced seriously. That is definitely not the case because the show still continues to celebrate regressive patriarchal values.
Here are a few of the gendered notions that the show propagates.
A mediocre man can give himself a 9.5/10 and call himself ‘the world’s most eligible bachelor’, but an independent and successful woman must be happy with receiving just 60-70% of what she feels she deserves.
You do not have to be perfect. There’s no perfect daughter, perfect employee, perfect wife, or perfect mother. These are just labels created by society, for their convenience.
Dear Preethi,
So here you are, just out of engineering college, having no clue why you pursued Electronics Engineering. Yes, I know, like many others your age, you too were persuaded by your parents to opt for engineering because it supposedly gets you a lucrative job.
Believe me, however strange this might sound, you’ll soon come to realize that a high paying job need not always make you happy. And there are a myriad courses and career options out there, you should definitely consider something that’ll make you look forward to go to work every day.