History of Indian

Cinema


Portrayal of Women in Indian Cinema


Rishil Shah
Sybba-3
319




In the journey of 100 years, Indian cinema has come a long way and so has the
woman character. Showing many shades, the portrayal of women not only touched
the lives of the audiences but also showcased the strength, beauty and complexity
that define a woman but the portrayal of women in cinema has gradually evolved
with the evolving society.

Cinema has always been a reflection of the ethos and ideology of any society at a
given point of time. Or at least thats what majority of people in India consciously
or unconsciously tend to believe. The mediums to accentuate this reflection vary
from costumes to music to items of luxury; but the most crucial medium became
the characters and the roles played by them individually. From Mother India in
which a strong woman character was portrayed by Nargis Dutt to fight the feuds in
the society, to the bloody thirsty Priyanka Chopra in 7 Khoon Maaf, to the bold
performance of Vidya Balan in Kahaani the sea-change has been seen in the
portrayal of women in the Indian cinema since its inception 100 years ago. From
the black and white films to colour movies, Indian cinema has evolved in a big
way and so the woman character. Indian cinema caters to masses and the way
society has seen change in the woman character, cinema has also moved along.
Gone are the days when stories were written about the shy village girls or the
ethical beauty, these are the times for rebellious lovers and sexy and confident
business women who rule the roost. The stereotypical portrayal of women, which
ruled Indian films till a very recent time, has been witnessing a remarkable change.

For so long, Indian cinema was undoubtedly male dominated. Themes were used
to be explored from the male point of view and actress was considered secondary
to the actor. The importance in roles was also given to males and the industry was
totally male dominated. Her role was used to chart out in the context of any male
character that was central to the story line be it hero, villain, father, boss or an
elderly male figure. She was devoid of any independent existence. This kind of
straight jacketing limits the womens role to provide glamour, relief, respite
and entertainment.
And these patriarchal values were institutionalized in films like Dahej (1950),
Gauri (1968), Devi (1970), Biwi ho to Aisi (1988), Pati Parmeshwar (1988) which
depicted women as passive, submissive wives as perfect figures and martyrs for
their own families. The very first film giving importance to women in cinema
is Mother India which was released in 1957. This movie is considered as one of the
finest classics of Indian cinema, the movie looks at the struggle of a rural woman
in India, who fights all odds to raise her two sons.

In the 80s, women started to be taken a little more seriously which was reflected
in a few women-centric movies like Umrao Jaan and Paakizah. Since the 90s their
roles were beginning to change drastically as they became more substantial. Being
an actress became much more than just playing eye candy and dancing around
trees.. All this was happening simultaneously with the changing roles of women in
the Indian society. Women were getting empowered and independent. They were
better educated and had innumerable opportunities and this was reflected in Indian
cinema also. The portrayal of women in cinema slowly started to become real, no
longer a figment of imagination. The characters became close to reality, if not the
reality itself. We no longer go to the cinemas to find an alternate reality, we no
more witness the village girl who is afraid to speak her mind rather a women who
can win her way through the crowd, most often we identify ourselves with the
characters onscreen and the reflection of reality is nonetheless a perk in
transformed filmmaking. There has been a change in the trend for roles in movies
based on genders. These days roles which involve women and are actually
empowering women have been coming up as compared to the male centric movies
that were made earlier. So is the case in Indian movies. Taking examples from
movies in the past where the male protagonist was of so much significance that the
female protagonist was only for a little extra support and in the backdrop. There
was no importance in the roles women were given besides the stereotype
housewife and homemaker in most films. With an increase in gender equality
awareness, movies with a leading female protagonist have been coming up where
instead of the female being in the shadow of the male has been portrayed with a
much powerful role that sometimes also overpowers the male roles. Examples of
such women centric blockbusters are queen, English vinglish, mother India,
kahaani in bollywood.
As now we have been seeing increasing numbers of movies creating bold and
beautiful of Bollywood, in the past also, weve had actresses portraying
strong characters who fight the shackles of their social milieu and the very first
film is Mother India released in 1957. Considered as one of the finest classics of
Indian cinema, the movie looks at the struggle of a rural woman in India, who
fights all odds to raise her two sons. The portrayal of the late actress Nargis Dutt is
of a loving and brave mother, who struggles to raise her family alone and in the
end, saying true to her cause, she kills her evil son to save a womans honour.

Actresses like Vidya Balan (Paa, Dirty Picture, Kahani, Ishqiya) and Konkona Sen
Sharma (Page 3, Wake Up Sid, Life in a Metro, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer) have led this
change of direction, who have appeared in strong and independent roles which for
the time being shifted the cameras focus from the womens body to her identity
as an individual.

Taking a very recent example of the movie Queen by Vikas Bahl, Kangana's acting
is beyond words. This movie is totally women centric giving importance to
Kanganas character. With her adorable countenance of the million feelings that
she is going through, she makes the audience silently vow for her speedy recovery
from the heart-break and manages to stay in their hearts by the end of the movie.
She makes you grin like an idiot, throughout the movie and that is exactly when
you know and realize: she has just redefined the quintessential Bollywood heroine,
as one who can charm the audience regardless of how dolled up she is. The movie
leaves you with a sense of utter complacency and is a true portrayal of the strength
of a woman against all odds. She has been shown stronger than the male
protagonist which is paradoxical to the situations and roles which were done before
by women.

So there has been a gradual evolution in the portrayal of women in cinema with a
change in the societal norms and systems. There has been an immense
empowerment which has taken place to not only focus on appearances of actresses
and the clothes they wear but also on their character played. They have been
judged over and above these criteria and majorly for their acting skills. They have
been given more status in cinema and also much more acknowledgement since
earlier times. The main reason for this is the change in the social structure. Their
roles are not just of the subordinate fillers but are also major lead roles in action
films. Its about the creative portrayal of gender equality which can bring about a
revolution in the movie business. But with the progression of the 21
st
century, light
has been shed in these areas and ideas have been wisely developed.