Finally a movie with spunky female characters with a never-say-die attitude and an abashed desire to follow their dreams without the usual cliches that accompany a Bollywood movie. All characters are very real and their problems, be it family pressure to stay back at home, to give up the game, racial and regional prejudices and most importantly gender prejudices, are so real that you can almost recall a close female family member going through them as you are watching the movie. These spirited girls not only defend, but take the fight back to the enemy camp with hockey sticks blazing. Something you don't get to see often.
I won't venture into writing a review of the movie which I don't think I can and instead bring to notice a stark contrast between the portrayal of the Bharatiya Naari in movies like Chak De and the other most popular mainstream entertainment medium, the TV
My parents are living with me since
the past one month and my mom can't survive without her daily dose of K-soap operas which start at 7:30 PM every weekday and extend upto 10:30 PM. So I end up watching a lot of these soaps with her. Two of her favorite soaps are Saat Phere, which follows the trials and tribulations of a dusky (surprise surprise) woman called Saloni and the other called Kasamh Se (take a guess who produces this one) which is the story of Vani, another 'steel' woman. So all my understanding of TV soaps come from these 2 popular shows and I should be notified if there are shows which showcase women in a different lightProduction houses claim that their soaps are 'women-centric' and they touch relevant social issues to which I say BALLS!! They do nothing other than re-inforce stereotypes which should have been left behind with the Y2K bug in the last century. What are they? let us find out
- Women have 3 exciting roles in life to choose from in such soaps. Either she is the eternal suffering wife/girlfriend, the helpless matriarch of the family or the evil scheming vamp
- Problems are always larger than life with which you can't associate with. Most of them would involve the woman of the house risking her life and limb to save the honor of the family
- Even if she manages to be successful in her above mentioned effort, it will be a return to her thankless job once that is done.
- No matter how many times she has been proven correct, she still has to give her agni-pariksha to her own family every time another crisis arises. This is the most worrisome of them all. But then again, if our own demi-gods weren't able to rise above such issues, what can you expect from petty mortals like us :-).
- She will submit to the wishes of the family patriarch no matter how silly, how whimsical or how outrageous that decision might be
- She takes a lot of shit from her partner
I am confused..
8 comments:
Hey Su, Very nicely written article. Haven't seen chak de as yet but do plan to see it soon. One thing i would like to add is that in portraying women as the ever sacrifycing and ready to do anything for their husbands, these TV serials make men expect the same from their wives/girlfriends which obviously rarely happens at least in the metros.
I think....a lil bit of everyone mentioned above will make the perfect bharatiya naari.....
I am not surprised...everytime you think about women, you get confused! I have been witness to this syndrome for a decade now:)And given this state of affairs, you are attempting to pin down the true identity of the bharatiya naari...ambitious you are :) :)
@ Anon..
Yea maybe you are correct
@ Priyam..
Totally..and the confusion part doesn't seem to be getting resolved and is getting worse :-(..
The definition of 'Bhartiya Naari' can vary from a man to man. A man might find a girl dressed in a salwar suit to be a perfect match, but there can be another man who finds a girl dressed in a mini skirt to be a perfect match for him.
For a woman it is important to maintain her dignity intact while playing varied roles at various times. She has to be mother to her husband when he (husband) needs his mother the most. She has to be a friend to him when he wants to share his likes and dislikes with her. She has to be a wife when she has to be one.
All in all, being a woman, I believe that it is completely in the hands of a woman to maintain her dignity. A woman can just be herself and still make a lot of difference by playing her dignified roles (be in office, at home, out for shopping, in a party, or wherever) to be a perfect ‘Bhartiya Naari’
For the women: A bit of adjustment and good management skills, I believe, are the ingredients to become a perfect ‘Bhartiya Naari’ :)
For the men: Start thinking…WHAT YOU WANT, instead of assessing on the basis of the serials and movies that you watch. Then you won’t get confused. :)
Well! I haven't watched 'Chak De' and therefore, no opinions on that one. However, based on the promos and the reviews, the movie does seem to be different from the league of other Bollywood products in their portrayal of women.
I agree, that the 'women-centric' soaps you mentioned and many others in the same genre, in a way, endorse the stereotypes of women they claim to oppose. These soaps exaggerate the 'three exciting' and 'essential' roles 'given' to women.I say 'given' because, these roles are a social construct. Being a woman, I know that women never try to define or categorize their roles.
However, the undenaible truth is that even today a woman is willing to take the mythical 'agni-pariksha'if it helps the people/person she loves. Perhaps, that is the way she has been created. And, I do not consider it a sign of weakness or submission. It comes from a deep strength and selfless love that transcends all that is human.
'Bhaartiya Naari' or, 'Naari' for that matter, is not a 'concept' that can be put to simplification or comprehension. It would be futile to engage in that exercise. She can be a Preeti, a Komal, a Bindiya, a Saloni, a Bani( that is how the name is pronounced in the soap)and, someone entirely different or, even an amalgamation of all the above. She can be Sita, Shakti and Sati, all moulded into one.
The crux of the matter is that, it is important to stop thinking of 'naari' as an enigma. That is when the confusion will vanish. She is as real as 'other' creations on earth are...prone to all the weaknesses, which 'other' creatures are 'entitled' to have.
Suffice it to say that you can love her, you can hate her but, you can not escape her:). But, the best thing would be to accept her as she is-a fellow human being...she would really appreciate that.
That makes it simple...isn't it??:)
Bharatiya Naari = I want to go through pain and misery.
Bharatiya Modern Naari = I don't want to go through pain and misery but I want to think I am going through pain and misery and when I watch soaps I want to choke and sob.
Bharatiya Modern Feminist Naari = Where's my hockey stick?
Bharatiya Modern Feminist Dyke = Can I uproot the stick between your pants, you won't need it around me.
Su, dont try to categorise and slot - you wont get confused.
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