Written By: Srijaa Chatterjee
Edited By: Aarushi Bansal
Designed By: Aarushi Mal
‘Men act, women appear. Men watch, women watch themselves being watched.’
- John Berger, English art critic, and novelist.
In an astonishingly long evolution period, Bollywood has progressed from sacrificial mothers to damsels-in-distress, to a woman commanding her fate. Over time, several contributing factors to this much-needed advancement become clear; majorly pertaining to religious, cultural, and socio-political changes occurring within the crux of society, and a slowly, but surely, developing mindset nationally.
Cinema is a lens that is essentially presented through the ‘male gaze’, as summed up by John Berger. Due to the severe discrimination faced by women on and offset, and the immense disparity in the manner men are portrayed on screen as compared to women, female characters in Bollywood have been presented through a male-oriented perspective with gender bias visible across the decades. Surviving as a woman in a patriarchal society is a constant struggle, and the Indian cinematic experience is the perfect example of the same. With every so-called ‘revolutionary’ or ‘feminist’ movie, another with women only existing to push the plot forward or provide pretty visual relief has constantly caused a setback in the industry. The change has been gradual, but with a greater number of female filmmakers taking charge each day, the portrayal of women on-screen has begun to transform from placing women as mere accessories to recognizing them as independent, powerful individuals.
Tracing back to the ‘Golden Era’ of Indian cinema, talking specifically in terms of female leads in the 1950s to 60s, unlike the decade succeeding this one, women had a more ‘substantial’ and ‘solid’ role in films, though the idea did stem from the whole exploratory mother idea. One such film which defined the era was Mother India - a movie essentially capturing the apparent essence of women - depicting the female lead as the nation’s pillar of strength. However, this idea got lost through the decades, and women started appearing in films solely as ‘item numbers’, though this could be seen in the ‘Golden Era’ as well - just not so blatantly. Unlike the successive cinematic eras, women in the 1950s were seen in movies purely for narrative purposes, possibly portraying a mindset more progressive than the 1970s.
The idealistic bubble of the 1950s burst with the commencement of the 1970s. In the ‘Golden Era,’ society was seen through a utopian lens, but the 1970s gave way to a more realistic depiction of how the audience viewed women. This is the period when women were degraded to merely dutiful wives and mothers. The mothers were often shown as oppressed and undergoing taunts in an ironically conscientious manner, finally gaining redemption via paranormal or masculine intervention. The ‘good’ female character was expected to be timid and subservient in the face of oppression - displayed through mental and physical torture - and this very silence was glorified as a virtue that all women ‘must have’ or else, fear failing their families.
The 1980s saw the rise of the action star: perhaps the most problematic thematic era of Bollywood. The utilization of rape as a plot device became an immediate audience favorite, with women being put in compromising positions and requiring a highly choreographed fight sequence with ‘macho’ dialogues, and finally, awaiting her hero. This led to the female lead becoming a one-dimensional character, whose sole purpose for existence was to be at the mercy of the bad guy, awaiting a valiant rescue by her brother, boyfriend, or husband. Of course, there were movies that defied these norms, like Chandni and Sadma, both starring Sridevi; likewise, with the onset of films starring Raveena Tandon, the second wave of feminism sweeping western countries began to make itself apparent in the Indian subcontinent, in which the liberation of women pertained to well-paying jobs, but still constricted to damsels-in-distress.
The early 2000s marked the outright transformation of Bollywood, conforming to more accepting ideologies, though at times the manner of presentation was highly controversial– a perfect example being Dostana. Regarded as a light comedy, the film strives to include gay rights, but utilizes the LGBTQIA+ factor as comic relief, ultimately nullifying any good intentions the director had with this particular inclusivity. Attributes that previously painted women- in a bad light-driven, career focussed, sexual liberation - fortunately, do not hold as much ground today, but those strictly adhering to conservative cultural and religious norms often take the growing freedom of women with a pinch of salt. This can majorly be credited to the lack of awareness on womens’ equality in the narratives of these movies, and with the growing number of women striving to become directors, producers, and screenwriters, the female perspective and opinion has finally begun to be explored and represented. All this does not signify that this is the ‘Golden Era’ for women, as this decade sees the propagation of unrealistic body standards, requiring a physique that should look good in a bikini.
The evolution of the portrayal of women in Indian cinema has been extremely rocky, but one can safely deduce that the progression has reached a turning point, with the audience being more receptive to female leads in an empowering position and women being able to see a freer version of themselves on screen. The exploration of female sexuality has been met with mixed reactions but has been a milestone for a country so previously constrained by societal norms. Specifically narrowing down upon the LGBTQIA+ community, gay representation is increasing, though the level of acceptance is lesser, whereas lesbianism is viewed as a tool solely meant for a man’s entertainment and pleasure. The willingness of Bollywood in recent times to be more open-minded inspires hope and hopefully, in a while, will lead to women receiving as much acceptance on and off-screen as the male gender does.
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