LADIES FIRST?

“God, life is so predictable, yaar” drawled a diamond-dripping socialite at a hi-end book launch ‘do’ sometime last month. Obviously, a devoted B-town junkie, the desperately-seeking-18-till-I-die, 40-something botoxed babe (appropriately vacuous, to suit the largely pretentious mood, ambience and tone of these dramabaazi-filled events!) however unleashed a startlingly insightful comment about the latest flavour of the day, The Dirty Picture (TDP). I don’t know whether it was the fabulous range of liquid nourishment at hand or the desire to impress, but she let fly. “Ab dekhna, after TDP, everybody will not only expect Vidya Balan to play storm-centre in all her future starrers, but also count on a grand revival of heroine-centric movies!” While there was a definite titter and some small giggles (not the done thing to discuss crass, populist, non-cultural products like Bollywood movies in a literary and a culture-driven environment, remember), this remark struck me as a comment that was both, hugely valid and relevant, especially as Ms Balan’s latest film Kahaani released a day after Woman’s Day! How appropriate, for it served notice to all the world that woman power is alive and kicking not by bra-burning, screaming soap box oratory or sloganeering, but by unspooling a powerful visual narrative that attempts to (once again) re-affirm the innate strength of the weaker sex.

 

Ms. Botox wasn’t off-centre at all! Every time a ‘different’ kind of film hits target, captures both critical and public imagination and garners great box office returns, there is invariably a blitz of stories – along with attendant buzz – about how a new ‘trend/pattern/genre’ has arrived! Be it the early 70s (Ankur, Aakrosh, Nishant), the 2007 rush of films like A Wednesday, Sajjanpur, Aamir, Mumbai Meri Jaan or the present onslaught of guys like Dibakar Banerjee (Khosla ka Ghosla; Oye Lucky; LSD); Anurag Kashyap (Dev D, Gulaal, The Girl in Yellow Boots), Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan) and gang … hype is always at hand, wagging a threatening finger at B-town biggies and their trillion flunkies, about solid competition baying at their heels! So, the point the lady was attempting to make was indeed most provocative and significant. Do TDP and now Kahaani hope to inspire some kind of movement that will revive – at least in a small way – the moth-balled genre of heroine-centric movies in a blatantly male-centric industry?!

 

A quick flashback. Once upon a time – seems like another life, though – luminous, beautiful and gifted heroines like Nutan, Meena Kumari, Nargis and Madhubala frequently showcased movies, went eyeball-to-eyeball with their leading men and had their fans raving about them as consummate, top-draw attractions seducing them to get the BO rocking. Sujata, Bandini, Tere Ghar Ke Samne or Paying Guest; Parineeta, Kohinoor, Dil Apna aur Preet Parayee or Dil Ek Mandir; Awara, Barsaat, Shree 420 or Mother India, Mahal, Howrah Bridge, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi or Mughal-e-Azam – can you imagine anyone else but these heroines, illuminating those special roles in those memorable films? This tradition extended to some other heroines too – Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Sadhana, Rekha, Sridevi, Madhuri…. All of whom left their indelible mark in many of the glorious films they graced. These were powerful performers – not glam, sexy, toned, inter-changeable props, Barbie-dolls and Beauty Queens inducted to plug-in the glam quotient. They were selected because only they could do justice to the version of the director’s passionate vision. Director Milind Luthria seemed to have taken a leaf out of their book (while casting for TDP) when he displayed freaky guts and imagination to zero in on Parineeta as Silk Smitha inspiring Ms. Balan to publicly ask the director (while accepting a Best Actress award at a ceremony) “What on earth was going on in that mind of yours to cast ME of all people??” So, will this sensational Rs. 20 crore film that has crossed the Rs.100 crore mark, minus any A-lister hero or smart techno hi-jinks riding on an old-fashioned 80s storyline, inspire encores?

 

In the US, cartoonist Alison Bechdel is said to have devised a ‘test’ to checkout/assess how a film treats its female characters. It gets a thumbs-up only if a) there are at least 2 women in it. b) They talk to each other. c) They talk about something other than a man/men! In year 2011, Raina Lipsitz admits that only three films passed the test – Something Borrowed, Bridesmaid and The Help. Comparatively, one has to confess, B-town fared much better. From ZNMD (Zoya Akhtar’s smart, new-age spin on the importance of seizing the moment) to Saat Khoon Maaf (the Ruskin Bond adaptation with Piggy Chops playing 7 roles) to the political, newspaper-headline thriller, No One Killed Jessica [with Rani and Vidya in starring roles], Sahib, Biwi aur Gangster (an edgy, quirky take on the classic Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam) to the latest chart-busting The Dirty Picture and Kahaani… it’s been a great run, right? True. Hence, isn’t the scene ready-made – according to some – to go this route because almost all these women-centric movies have delivered on both critical and ROI parameters, big and solid?

 

Not really…. and here’s why!Movies in India are totally about entertainment.Entertainment is mostly about Bollywood.Bollywood is definitely about stars and stars are naturally about masala – get that straight!The choice of which movies to go and which movies to root for further is largely men-driven, which is exactly why all recent block-busters blasting the Box Office – Ready, Dabbang, Bodyguard, Singham, Don-2 and now Agneepath – follow a particular trajectory.Either these macho, bravado-filled vehicles or populist, toilet-humour numbers, neither of which are exactly designed to woo female audiences, right?But hey what about the ones we just discussed?They hit big with critics, jury members, audiences and BO, so isn’t there a case to be made for them?Apart from ZNMD (which had dreamboat Hrithik, the delectable Kat and cool lip-lock between them) – SKM bombed so it doesn’t count – if anyone thinks that either Sahib, Bibi … or Dirty Picture scored solely because of the hi-voltage histrionic fire-power unleashed by the heroines, then chill! Would they ever even begin to attract a fraction of this monster attention if the garma-garm masala, innuendo and titillation-dripping dialogues and brazen visuals were missing?It must be remembered that though The Dirty Picture is a near-impossible act to follow, the Balan babe’s euphoric statement (‘I am lucky that today, when we are feeling the change, it’s a coincidence that I have become the FACE of this change”) may just be a piece of enthusiastic rhetoric, though well-meant. But given the phenomenal reviews pouring in for Ms Balan and her Kahaani, the lady seems to have delivered yet another winner! Bravo!

 

So what’s the conclusion?Are our heroines – and the herd-mentality industry – really and truly getting ready for big, meaty, carry-the-movie roles?Does one or two karmic, payback (for all those silly, unflattering roles) actually represent a movement towards women-centric projects?Will this talented and gifted community who grace half the sky, forever be marginalized, patronized, commodified and offered sops/consolation prizes with exceptions brutally proving the rule?There are no easy answers but one thing is certain.Even if a few industry-wallahs prove that they are not tilting at windmills, by adding courage to their mandate of delighting their viewers by getting women into the frame with riveting audience-friendly narratives that entertain, enrich, enchant and empower in one magical swoop, then the world of movie goers, for certain, would be more fulfilled. We would know that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel, and the botoxed lady wasn’t just yoodling for effect after all!