I was a part of the movie world for 5 years (1995-2000) and I can tell you with utmost conviction that a majority of men in Bollywood used to treat the women in their industry as objects of lust and desire. Women, on the other hand, routinely took advantage of such desperate men to further their careers to make money and become famous.
These "creative" men were so obsessed with objectifying women that they ended up creating superficial women characters that did everything that these men wanted their women to do in real world, but could not. These directors, scriptwriters, choreographers, songwriters, music directors, action directors, costume designers, etc. conspired together to create their woman characters as the ultimate object of submissiveness, lust and desire. I would call them the Gangs of Bollywood. They hunted in groups and the women in Bollywood had to give in to their demands.
Look at the imagery created by the members of these gang for characters like wives, mothers, sisters, girlfriends, and even side characters like sister in laws, mother-in-laws friends, vamps, maids, etc. The wives, sisters and mothers were always docile, obedient, accommodating. They would hold their husband's feet if they were being driven out of the house. The mothers would only be shown supporting their sons in all their misdemeanors or making "gajar ka halwa". The sister characters were either beaten up by her in-laws/husband or raped by the villain. Guys like Ranjeet and Shakti Kapoor spend their entire career in Bollywood molesting and raping women characters. I remember a particular scene from a movie where Anita Raaj is being raped by Shakti Kapoor. She cries, "Bhagwan ke liye mujhe choad do." Shakti Kapoor replies, "Bhagwan ke liye tumhe choad doon aur main kya khau? Prashad?" The entire cinema hall clapped and whistled at this scene. Mother-in-laws were scheming and cunning. Vamps were willing to do whatever their men wanted of them. No questions asked. I have never seen a fully clothed Padma Khanna. For us, in those days, Padma Khanna = Big Cleavage. Sad to see that while these Gangs of Bollywood men conspired, the women in Bollywood silently participated in this nonsense for years.
This was in the movies. Outside it, women in Bollywood were regularly exploited, especially the lower rung women like extras, dancers, etc. I have seen a well known action director sexually molesting an "extra" on a set while make her practice an action sequence. The entire set, including the film's leading lady was watching this, but never said a word. I have known male choreographers seeking sexual favors from female background dancers to make them stand alongside the lead actor in the dance sequence. Once a colleague of mine had been to a meeting with a leading film director, who happened to be drunk and tapped his leading lady on her backside. When he looked at him with a shock, the director remarked, "You want to try it?"
Some years back in a daring sting operation a reputed news channel had provided the proof of this appalling techniques of sexual favors and molestation undertaken in Bollywood. Actors like Shakti Kapoor and Aman Verma were caught on camera brazenly molesting new starlets. But all this was so routine in Bollywood that not one woman in Bollywood raised her voice against this molestation. They practiced the conspiracy of silence. Even when Shiney Ahuja was caught for raping a maid, some of these actresses agreed to work with him saying that he cannot be pronounced guilty since the matter is in courts. The guy is still dreaming of making a comeback in Bollywood.
So whether it is inside movies or outside is, Bollywood exploited its women. Maybe things might have changed now. Maybe women in Bollywood are now being treated with more respect outside movies. I do not know. I am no more a part of this business. But as far as movies are concerned, little has changed. Even today, our 47 year old superstars of Bollywood romance 22 year olds. A Vidya Balan has to combine a Kahaani with a Dirty Picture, or a Katrina Kaif has to do a ZNMD along with a Chikni Chameli, to stay in the race. Even a nobody like Poonam Pandey can aspire to be famous by announcing to drop her clothes for something as irrelevant as India winning World Cup. So if you bare, you are in the race. Tabu, who resisted such nonsense, has no work in Bollywood. Super actresses like Seema Biswas are given inconsequential roles in Bollywood. It is sad to see when our actresses shamelessly say - "Filmein sirf teen cheezon ki wajah se chalti hain... entertainment, entertainment aur entertainment."
The reason why women in Bollywood continue to bear this shit year after year is because of the powerful lobbies operated by these Gangs of Bollywood. They can make or mar their career. And women, who seek fame and success at any cost, are willing to compromise their ethics.
Bollywood was never like this until the 1960s. Women characters were strong and were never trivialized - if there were aberrations it was because of the innocence of that era. Cinema needs to evolve with time, but a majority of Bollywood refuses to do so under the excuse of audience preferences and demand. A hit is what they want, come what may. But hits existed even before the 60s, so what is Bollywood talking about? Audience tastes have not changed, it is Bollywood that does not want to get out of their habit of making carefree, careless and sub-standard cinema. That is the problem.
Therefore I was surprised to see people like Mahesh Bhatt and Anupam Kher protesting against the recent Delhi gang rape. Mahesh Bhatt represents a production house that creates some of the most sickening and vulgar women characters in Bollywood. In 2012, his production house produced Jism 2 with a pornographic star - Sunny Leone. When asked, he conveniently justifies his actions by saying - “films are a mere reflection of what is happening in the society.” How lame can that be? On the other hand, Anupam Kher, who has been actively speaking against rape, should not forget the rape scenes he enacted in several movies as a villain. Here's one of his filmi rape you can watch in a movie called Bhrastachar. This is supposedly toned down version which was censored by the authorities. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlxlTMRuLHo). What shocked me about Bollywood's hypocrisy is the presence of singer Mika, a man who had publicly molested Rakhi Sawant on TV. He was busy giving his opinions about gender violence to media!
So before Bollywood protests against sexual molestation or violence against women, they need to first put their own house in order. A Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini or a Shabana Azmi is powerful enough to do so, rather than publicly sobbing or participating in morchas and holding placards. They need to make women in Bollywood take a pledge against participation in roles and characters that objectify them. They need to protest against these invisible yet organized Gangs of Bollywood. These efforts should also be extended to TV, where women are equally regressively projected.
Women in Bollywood know the power of their medium. Movies and Media impact the way we think about the world around us. So women in Bollywood need to re-think about their portrayals and stop justifying them as harmless “entertainment”. They know it is not, and they need to show it through their actions and deeds in the future.
Here are some of my own suggestions, whatever they are worth:
1. Form a Committee of Ethics representing women in Bollywood.
2. Decide on criteria on which films should be accepted by leading women in Bollywood.
3. Ban directors/Cameramen/Choreographers, etc. who ill-treat or molest women in their professional and personal life.
4. Put a blanket ban on “Item Numbers”
5. Refuse to dance on lyrics that objectify women
6. Refuse to wear revealing outfits that are intended to unnecessarily sex up the character.
7. Promote more women directors
8. Train newcomers to adequately protect themselves from being taken advantage of in Bollywood.
Bollywood has tackled the problem piracy admirably. They have used the power of the medium as well as their contacts at the highest levels in the country to cut it down to size. I know, if they decide, they can do the same for the women in their industry. Until then, they have no moral right to protest against gender violence or rape. This is what I believe.
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