Qissa Controversy Ka: Patriarchy in Cinema!

Recently, choreographer and director Ahmad Khan criticized the movie 'Thappad' saying that if he slaps his wife, his wife should slap him back and totally dissed the idea of the character Amrita leaving the house. He did go on to say that it is open to a person's interpretation but it cannot be ruled out that Bollywood for decades has been glorifying patriarchy. In Thappad, the protagonist realizes how her husband did not respect her and she gives it her all and loses her individuality in the process. The slap makes her realize what she has been missing and she seeks out to make her own identity. If we take Ahmad Khan's statement into consideration, a slap for a slap shall not change things and his act of hitting his wife shall be within the walls of the house. Little does he realize that 'keeping such an act within the walls' shall make the relationship worse, also make him realize that it such an act is not his 'right' and therefore reach no conclusion. Furthermore, the thought of being the 'man of the house' shall continue prevailing and after some time things might become toxic. But, from the director of outstandingly horrible and terrible movies like 'Baaghi 2', and 'Baaghi 3', we really can't expect more because females in these movies are nothing but dolls waiting to be rescued! His words and his movies reflect the impact of patriarchy from the cinema on an individual. Therefore, we review at instances which show how with subtlety Patriarchy in cinema has grown over the years with little to no change.

                                        

• Lipstick under my Burkha: Bollywood in 2017 went for a 'lady-oriented' movie 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' and like our patriarchal Bollywood has always been, it was impossible for the CBFC to allow it to release as it was too 'lady-oriented' (what does that even mean) and inappropriate (Really? Only men are allowed to have fantasies?). We never see it this way but maybe like the most of the audience today, it would have been difficult for the board to realize and accept that woman have their desires and are not only Goddesses but individuals fighting and struggling for their overdue respect and gratitude. 

                                                    

• Cinema of the 50s-80s: 'The angry young man' laid the foundation of how a man in Bollywood cinema is expected to be. It was this era that Amitabh Bachchan deemed this title after saving heroines and fighting villains which also created an everlasting impact on the minds of the people. Needless to say, being the man in cinema came with privileges which followed the suite. In the 1990s, movies like 'Biwi No.1' normalized extramarital romance by husband whereas stereotyped woman as a helpless woman and made them as individuals allowed to be mistreated. What was even more devastating was Karishma's character did a photoshoot and her husband went crazy over those photos and belittled her. Therefore, needless to say, that the movie became a massive hit and then on Patriarchy rose to the forefront in Bollywood.

                                                    

• Sharmila's statement: Furthermore, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore in an interview has stated that how a 'male gaze' has been playing a significant role in the development of female characters in cinema and how the 'sacrificing' female characters became popular whereas those who deemed were identified as 'selfish'. She also pointed out how the female characters today were liberal unlike back in her times which pretty much tells us that patriarchy in cinema lasts for decades. Furthermore, the veteran actress also mentioned how in movies during the 1960s-2000s, it was not deemed necessary to even mentioned the girl's profession in the movie as they were nothing but objects of desire!

                                                      

• Bollywood dialogues have a cult following: There are a lot of dialogues in Bollywood that smell of patriarchy if we interpret them in the truest sense. Dialogues like 'Tumhi Mere Mandir, Tumhi Meri Puja, Tumhi Devta Ho!' (Men = God. NO!), 'Akeli Ladki Khuli Hui Tijori ki Tarah hoti hai' (Same can be said for a guy), 'Agar Khoobsurat Ladki ko na chedo, toh who bhi uski bezzati hoti hai'(Trying to justify eve-teasing and shaming ugly girls), 'Itni moti hai yeh ki agar weighing scale pe khadi hui toh "To Be Continued" aaega' (Derogatory to both guys and girls), 'Tu Ladki Ke peeche bhaag, Ladki Paise Ke peeche bhaagegi. Tu paise ke peeche bhaag, ladki tere peeche bhaagegi' (Men also run after rich girls! Housefull 4 latest example).

                                                      

• CBFC Biased: The Central Board of Film Certification has been grossly manhandling female-oriented movies. The example of Lipstick Under My Burkha is still fresh. Furthermore, if the board objects scenes of women partially naked, the same should also apply to scenes of men showing off their body, after all, they are also partially naked! Furthermore, CBFC had stalled the release of Raveena Tandon's Maatr as it was 'derogatory' towards women. But how could a mother seeking revenge for her raped daughter be derogatory? This not only exposes the double standards of Bollywood but also show the gender-bias prevalent in the film society, which is a result of Patriarchy. The Gender Pay disparity in cinema is also attributed to the fact that cinema is patriarchal otherwise these situations would have not come to the forefront.

                                                   

Patriarchy goes back to deep roots in the Indian System. The Indian Film Industry is no exception! Patriarchy cannot be eradicated with one particular move, it needs to be done over time and is a relatively slow process. With movies like Piku, Thappad, English Vinglish Bollywood is trying to head in the right direction but the audience does not seem to lap such movies proving that even watching a movie for a middle-class family, Patriarchy decides what is to be watched and what is not supposed to! We can only expect things to better, when we lap such movies!