Bollywood Will Have Us Believe That Adultery Is OK And Even Funny, If You’re A Man

Why do Bollywood movies normalise and magnify misogyny and often glorify adultery? Is adultery acceptable if you are a male?

Sometimes I talk about the misogynistic society we live in, and the more I write the more I find people complaining and lamenting, equating feminists with ‘feminazis’.

Umm, so here’s the thing. I’m a feminist, I love my bra (it’s very supportive!), and I don’t hate men. Coming from a privileged part of society with a very cocooned life, I feel all the more inclined to write about the ingrained misogynistic practices in our society.

So here’s a thought on how patriarchy, sexism, misogyny is celebrated through our cinemas and social conversations. For all those who think that I am riled up for no reason, I am ready to take on some attackers and mansplainers. I feel it’s not ‘just harmless cinema’ if it normalises, magnifies, and often glorifies misogyny.

Men will be men?

So, is adultery good or bad?

No, am not here to pass a judgement about that today. But why is it so gender biased? Why is it still permissible, often justified, in case of a man but you will never see it as acceptable for a woman? If it’s immoral then why is the scale different for the two genders?

Let’s not get serious, after all I am only talking about Bollywood movie story lines, which are allowed to have a man as an adulterous being. That is somehow supposed to be funny, yet you never find a ‘funny’ joke or a story line about a woman adulteress?

There are so many such movies where the roving eye of a man is also seen as innocent behaviour. A man with a bit of ‘loose character’ is just a harassed husband who needs some respite from his taxing married life. And what better way to do that than drooling over a highly objectified version of a woman in the shape of a secretary / neighbour etc., dressed in high heels, red dress and dark lip colour?

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

‘Poor, harassed husbands’?

Tell me how many jokes have you read about the tormented husband. Yes it’s a well known fact that men suffer in marriages, isn’t it? Of course the poor guys need some spice in his life!

Thus often having a fling (harmless) on the side, and in some cases, even being married to two women at the same time can easily be justified by cinema writers. Oh yes the male protagonist deceives two women at a time, by marrying them both. 

It may be illegal as per his religion, but he is shown to be doing it for higher altruistic reasons. Like saving the womenfolk from social stigma or financial ruin etc. 

Poor fellow can’t help it, right?

And husbands with a roving eye?

Bollywood has made a fortune churning out such flicks where in the poor man is caught between his devotion to his wife and his lack of control due to the presence of a sexier women, who is by default clad in figure hugging short clothes. You see, the devoted wife can never dream of wearing the short dress until that final climatic moment when she walks into the party, where her straying husband is busy canoodling the mistress. She is now clad in a equally short dress and higher heels, and instantly the poor man has his ‘eye opening moment’, and he realises that his wife is as hot as Delhi during June. Thus he goes back home a tamed and changed man. All is well with the world now. 

But what about the woman? Nah you see she her a home breaker and needs to be reformed. So yes let’s enjoy some laughs while Bollywood keeps churning out sexist pieces of trash like upcoming #patipatniaurwoh

Comments