‘She’ and the silver screen

As with real life, the projection of the 'Indian woman' in Indian cinema over the decades has been, at best, ambiguous. As in other parts of Southasia and the world, the women of India remain, by and large, second-class citizens groomed to be obedient wives rather than independent individuals. A good marriage, not a sound education, is supposed to be her ultimate goal. Even in cases where the wife is the major bread-winner, she is seldom the head of the family. Things may be changing in urban India, where women are increasingly conscious of their rights, but the winds of change do not blow strongly enough in the rural areas, nor among lower-income groups. The Indian woman must continue to practice that noble virtue to which she is traditionally so accustomed: patience, as she fulfils her secondary, subsidiary, supporting role.

Cinema necessarily reflects the social environment from which it springs and in which it flourishes. Even as the multimedia apparatus wields a tremendous influence on society, cinema's populist reach particularly shapes public opinion as does no other medium. Such power begets unique responsibility, requiring periodic reassessments with questions such as: How has Indian cinema treated the Indian woman? Has it been fair and realistic in portraying women? Has it been able to analyse her numerous problems? Has it championed her cause? Has it come up with solutions? On the whole, these answers are in the negative.