Traditional Femininity vs Modern Femininity in Indian Cinema - Research Paper Example

“Traditional Femininity versus Modern Femininity in Indian Cinema” Concept of femininity inevitably changes with time all over the world, and India is not an exception. Globalization, marketing industry development, popular cinema boost have resulted in appearance of anew image of a woman in Indian cinema. Moreover, world feminist traditions development could not pass by Asian countries as well. Thus, this image of a new woman has partially substituted old, traditional perception of obedient and powerless mother and wife. Indian woman managed to preserve her patriarchal orientation; however, she became empowered, influential, and even violent on the screen. The appearance of this concept is possible to connect with reinterpretation of an old Indian myth about Goddess Durga. Exploring Asian culture, traditions, customs, and moral values is a complicated and a demanding task. Art still remains one of the most reliable sources of such information throughout centuries. Indian culture seems exotic and inaccessible to the rest of the planet, and cinema is only capable to open slightly the curtain to the Indian world. Bollywood movies can also be considered a good source of images, moral values, and cultural perceptions of Indian nation. However, they are sometimes blamed for being too corrupt and public oriented (Dudrah 32). Vijai Mishra states that Indian movies produced in Mumbai can be used as retransformation of the most ancient Indian epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana (128). Both works have the issue of dharma revealing, the notion which embraces responsibilities, morality, universal harmony, justice. Dharma violation has direct influence on femininity construction, which has resulted in Indian movies of Bollywood. Corruption and violation of dharma necessarily results in adharma, which requires restoration as it bears disharmony. Following the changes of the woman image in Hindi movies it is possible reveal that perception of a woman has changed from a “new woman” to a “goddess”. Strange enough the heroines still support patriarchal values and stick to traditional views as traditions are essential for the Indian world perception (Stromquist 127). Until 1970s a woman was mostly pictured regarding her relation to a man in Indian cinema. Thus, a woman was primarily a wife, a mother, and a daughter. This woman had to accept traditional values, be submissive, obedient, and able to sacrifice herself for a man. The role of “mother” in Indian films was also one of the most prominent (Erndl 3). A mother is perceived as an endless source of love, patience, and protection. She is ultimate reflection of traditional and religious morality as well. As the cinema in India is based on sharp contrast between good and evil, traditional and modern, the image of an Indian mother was somehow opposed to a Western mother (Valsiner 20). A good Hindu wife is not just a woman who is ready to dedicate all her time and efforts to a husband and children but also ready to sacrifice physically for her family. Both sacred Indian works, Mahabharata and Ramayana portray a woman as a perfect and devoted creature, thus the concept of idealized female as loyal, domestic, and sacrificing has been implemented into social consciousness from early age. Following this tradition many Indian women keep the house, raise the children, and do not involve into decision making process (Brand 281). This understanding is based on the fact that Ramayana images were perceived as emblematic and guiding. One of the first Indian movies that became world known was “PatherPanchali” by Satyajit Ray. The film was not a typical mainstream Indian movie as it was meant for limited auditory and reflected deep director`s observation of eternal problems. Satyajit Ray was a complete debutant, and the budget for the film was very limited. Unlike most Bollywood films which adorn the reality and depict some kind of unrealistic and tragic events, “PatherPanchali” was marked by the critics as “realistic to such an extent that it made poverty look romantic”. Another difference of this alternative movie was the target auditory.Bollywood mainstream films serve as a means of entertainment to some extent, while alternative cinema struggles to reveal eternal puzzles of life and ask most important human questions. Catchy dramatically intense plots of Bollywood movies attract vast audience while “PatherPanchali” touched the topic of little wonders of simple life which could not appeal to the vast audience. The movie was first demonstrated in New Modern Art Museum and was visited by Indian governmental leaders (Ray 17). The film tells the story of a poor family struggling in life in one of the villages in India. They live in an old, dilapidated house unable to earn for a better one. The father of the family dreams about playwright`s career and fails to provide his family with decent living conditions. The film is built around the life of little Apu and his sister Druga who discover the world as usual children do regardless horrible social problems. The mother of the family, Sarbajaya, is one of the central images of the movie. She represents all the qualities traditional Indian wife should possess and strive to possess. However, the image of Sarabajaya may seem not positive enough, her devotion to the family and pride for it make her role significant. Sometimes the woman is too authoritative and demanding but it must be taken into account that she has to cope with two children alone. Early in the movie Sarbajaya is naïve and optimistic, she explains to Durga that the family will be provided with decent food and clothes. But constant poverty, uncertainty about the future wear the woman out. The woman is limited to the absence of education, and home and family constitute all her life, she barely leaves the house in the movie. Sarabajaya does everything possible to take care about her family instead of taking care about herself (Vineberg 34). Sarabajaya is an absolutely loyal and dedicated wife. Her husband seems to live in dreams imagining how he will earn money with the help of his plays. Harihar keeps telling his wife about future earnings; however, he never explains theplot of his plays or reveals his possible customers.Sarabajaya`s husband is a weak and dependent man, he is not able to demand his wages from his employers and he constantly escapes from real problems diving into fantasies. However, Sarabajaya never complains about the husband or questions him. In the beginning she suggests moving to a better place in order to find a decent job, and Harihar denies this proposition. Ironically, they eventually move out in the ending after a series of hardships and their daughter`s death. The woman is disappointed with her husband`s decision to stick to the ancestral home, however she does not interfere his decision. Sarabajaya is a loving and caring mother, despite the fact that sometimes she gets frustrated and angry.It is no wonder as human psyche is unable to bear constant pressure of hunger, fear for the children, and hardships. The episode when her daughter gets ill and the woman is forced to sit beside her bed during the night unable to help her anyhow is absolutely heart breaking. Here we see this eternal image of devoted, struggling, and self-sacrificing mother typical to Indian movies. Thus, the femininity image in the earliest Indian movies was built around the necessity to show the woman as the housewife belonging to the home. Family was the core in any woman`s life. In the relationship with the husband woman had to be obedient and leaded despite any possible difficulties. Children were the primary care of women, which demanded all mother`s care, efforts, and attention. It is not possible to say that these values have changed dramatically with time, however, recent cinema has introduced a new image of a woman to the viewers. The main difference of this woman is her way to cope with the difficulties. The approach with which women in Indian movies face injustice can become a clue to revealing the change of the concept of femininity (Erndl 5). Bollywood movies were predominantly male-centric, with women taking a second place on the screen and having less possibility to open up. Earlier movies were built on mythological adaptation with male characters having leading roles. The changes in society when women gained more social value and respect were reflected in cinema as well. Women are not perceived as shy, dependent creatures influenced by fathers, brothers, and husbands any more, but they gained some manly features in order to oppose to injustice in the world. It is prominent that according to the sacred text of Devi-Mahatmya in the times when harmonic order of dharma is violated the mighty Goddess Durga appears in order to restore the lost harmony and order and overcome evil. In the text the Goddess is describes as Ambika or Chandike, which means motherhood or fierce. One of the famous stories of this epos is when the Goddess kills the Buffalo Demon, Mahisa (Erndl 3). Since gods fail to win over Buffalo Demon themselves they create a perfect Goddess in the form of beautiful woman riding the lion. The combination of beauty and power is the most overwhelming in this context as women are seldom chosen to be the heroes of epos in any country. But Indian narration represents women, magnificent woman as a warrior. In the picture below it is possible to see how a woman can preserve her beauty, harmony, and remain a powerful and mighty warrior at the same time. One of the most powerful and significant Indian movies “Mother India” was the first step in depicting the woman who is powerful enough to survive through the hardships, loss, and poverty. Radha is the first woman portrayed as a fierce goddess, which is able to overcome male oppression and abandonment, dramas, and poverty. This woman is often described as the one symbolizing India (Virdi 65).Radha is introduced in the beginning of the movie as the woman of honor having enough respect to open the irrigation system. We observe her transformation throughout the film leading to her killing her own son in order to punish him for dishonest behavior This is the necessity of dharma requiring ultimate sacrifice from the women to keep the harmony of space. The concept of revenge and the ability to take revenge on the possible crimes and injustices is one of the dominant motives of the Indian films of new era. “Pratighaat” makes the theme of revenge the central motive of the movie, underlining the consequences of rape and forced marriage. The issue of numerous rapes and subsequent changes to the legal codex was brought to light by the movie. The main heroine, Lakshmi, opposes a criminal and a politician, who is guilty in numerous crimes. The film shows a woman as a violent and powerful figure capable of punishing even the mightiest men. What is noticeable is the fact that it is the first woman on the screen who kills the man severely without any fear or doubt, which unites her with the goddess.This shift from a submissive and suffering housewife to an avenging and dominant woman has marked a dramatic change in the Bollywood movies in general. The movie “Anjaam” by Rahul Rawail is one of the brightest examples of femininity reverse in Bollywood. It tells the story of incomprehensible obsession of the main character by female beauty which leads to destruction and deaths. However, when the main heroine of the film, Shivani, faces oppression and abuse she behaves not like a typical woman by submitting and suffering, but oppresses the violator and finds powers to revenge. Shivani is a perfect, beautiful, well-mannered, and educated woman who is going to working as an air hostess. She is happily engaged to a pilot and they are planning to get married soon. In one of her flights she meets Vijai, a rich and powerful businessman who falls in love with the woman at first sight. He begins stalking Shivani and even goes to her house to propose her, however finds her getting married to Ashok, her groom. Devastated by his failure, Vijai attempts to commit a suicide but then changes his mind. Four years later he meets his obsession again and watches her dancing in the party. Shivani sings a provoking song, dances, and seduces with her femininity and charm. In this episode it is also possible to notice the hint on sexuality of female, however, it is still moderate and relevant to the moment. She is portrayed as a beautiful, intelligent young woman who has found her happiness in marriage. The image of the dancing Shivani can be viewed as the image of the perfect Indian woman. Shivani quit her job and works in social sphere; she raises a little daughter and dedicates all her time to the husband. She is modest, sophisticated and beautiful. She knows that men like her but she is loyal to her husband only. Shivani in a typical Indian outfit-sari possess immense influence on the male auditory of the movie, as she applies to the inner perceptions and cultural traditions of the nation. Vijai, being overwhelmed with emotions intrudes Ashok`s and Shivani`s lives and tries to persuade the woman to marry him.To get rid of her competitorVijai kills Ashok and remains unpunished. Vijai bribes the inspector and all finishes with Shivani being imprisoned for three years. Her little daughter Pinky is forced to live with her relatives. In jail, Shivani befriends Nisha, accused of murder, and is bullied by a prison warden. The jail guard represents all the negative traits of the woman according to Indian perception, alcoholism, smoking, aggressiveness, and immorality. It is prominent that Shivani has to resist not only her enemy Vijai, but the whole juridical system and official government, which also demonstrateadharma. Later the woman finds out that her Pinky and her sister were killed and she has nothing left to do than to take revenge on Vijai. But before Vijai the woman has to face the prison ward and reestablish dharma in the institution. In this episode her friend Nisha prays to the Goddess Riding Lion, of whom it was mentioned in the beginning: Justice will prevail There will be no sin Sinners will not be spared This vow she will not break Law and Justice have done enough atrocity She’s no longer afraid of the outcome (anjaam), Now that she slays her foes, She vanquishes evil When a woman becomes Chandika In this scene Shivani chases and punishes the guard for her violence, negligence, and obsession with money. She also takes revenge for her unborn child. Here, her way of Chandikabegins; first she finds her brother-in-law and punishes him for her relatives`, deaths. She does it in cruel and extravagant way demonstrating her madness. Then she follows Vijai and discovers him to be in a wheelchair. She takes care of him until he recovers but her final goal is to kill him. She has no mercy or forgiveness for this man. In the final scene Vijai meets Shivani in Druga temple, where he sees her wearing a white gown. He asks to marry him once again, reaches to touch her but the woman stabs him with the knife at that moment. She says that she gave his life in order to take it back again, that “a woman can be a mother who gives life, and she can also be Chandi who takes it away.” Here Shivani shows her black gown symbolizing death. But eventually Shivani has to sacrifices her own life in order to take her enemy`s life. Nevertheless, her death according to Indian traditions can be perceived as heroic with the divine rebirth. Thus, in the movies under consideration it is possible to observe transformation of the femininity in Indian cinema. Women before the modern era of the Hindu cinema were typically submissive, obedient, and loyal housewives. They faced difficulties with patience, loyalty, and meekness. The women portrayed in two sacred Indian texts, Mahabharata and Ramayana, served as the image of idealized female characters to Indian women from ancient times. The life of the women was built around the men, and every woman had to be a wife, a daughter, a mother, first of all. Woman`s life was concentrated around the house as well. Despite that fact that women of new generation did not lose their patriarchal orientation, the concept of femininity has changed dramatically. Woman still possess their loving nature, loyalty, and care, however, they have gained certain stem. A new woman has achieved power and sexuality; she has become the embodiment of the goddess. When her life or the life of her family is violated or destroyed, a caring mother does not accept this fact but becomes a warrior. In the last two movies we see women who have gained masculine aggression and power in order to take revenge over their offenders. Thus, it is possible to conclude that modern femininity presupposes male qualities appearance in a woman. Bibliography Brand, P.G., Beauty Unlimited, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013. Print Dudrah, K., Bollywood: Sociology Goes to Movies, London: Sage Publications, 2006. Print Erndl, K., When a Woman Becomes a Goddess, Journal of Religion & Film, vol.17, 2013. Mishra, Vijay, Bollywood Cinema: Temples of Desire. London: Routledge, 2001.Print Ray, S. My Years With Apu,London: Penguin Books, 2000. Print Stromquist, Nelly, Women in the Third World: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print Valsiner, J., Cultural Dynamics of Women`s Lives. Carolina: Information Age Publishing, 2012. Print. Vineberg, Steve, Home and the World: Reflections on Satyajit Ray. The Threepenny Review 43 , 1990, 33-35.  Virdi, J., The Cinematic Imagination: Indian Popular Films as Social History, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. Read More