Sukunya Gupta, from the English Department, in University of Southern Indiana, states that “In popular Bollywood films, female characters generally do not have much meaning without their male counterparts. Considering how long Indian cinema has been around, this reductive depiction of women is lamentable” (Gupta, 2015 p.107). The male and female depiction in Bollywood is heavily been imbalanced. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in the 1990s caused the impact of consumerism, urbanization and globalization to become much more traumatic. This sparked a trend in male antiheros who were seeing revenge. In the case of females, on the other hand, even though their characters have been significant in ways, their main reason is to support and be the driving force for the male lead, and they do not have much character development or depth to them. “Women in Bollywood have been uni-dimensional characters, who are good or bad, white or black. There are no shades of grey. This dichotomy was reinforced in popular films which distinguished between the heroine and the vamp, the wife and the other woman” (Shendurnikar Tere, June 2012 p.2). For example, in Yash Chopra’s Darr, Abbas-Mustan’s Baazigar, and Rahul Rawail’s Anjaam, the female leads are presented as the male protagonist’s love interest. Anjaam told the story of a male who became obsessed with a flight attendant after mistaking an attention for love. The film had an avenging woman who felt that the judicial system had let her down. In a dramatic move, the heroine nurses the paralysed hero to get better so that she can then avenge the wrongdoing.
This trope of vengefulness in female protagonists was influenced by the goddess Kali (goddess of destruction), giving legitimacy to their actions which can be understood by the viewer as a logical consequence of bad acts. “This ‘avenging heroine’ led to portrayal of female protagonists who were a combination of modernity and traditionalism: aggressive, demanding and sexually assertive. The role of women in mythology influences their role and existence in the society” (Bhugra, August 2005)
Vikas Bhal’s Queen shows an interesting contrast its portrayal of independent women in comparison to other Hindi films. It tells the story of Rani Mehra, a shy Punjabi girl who embarks on an adventure to Paris and Amsterdam that was supposed to be her honeymoon after her fiancé cancelled the wedding. During the adventure, she is exposed to different cultures and lifestyles which encourage her to open up, and become more independent.
Personally, I believe that each character or character groups she meets influences her development in different ways.
The role of Vijayalakshmi was to influence Rani’s development of independence. Some may argue that Rani was trying to become like Vijay, but this doesn’t fit well with the idea that Rani is trying to become her own person. Personally, I believe that Rani instead uses Vijay as a means of getting a better understanding of a free-spirited culture, and lets that influence her own personality in ways that she sees fit. This can be seen when Vijay tells Rani to lower her shirt, but Rani refuses because she personally doesn’t want to present herself like that.
The roles of Taka, Tim, and Oleksander were to help influence Rani’s understanding of gender equalities. Having grown up in a very old-school culture, she was originally under the idea that females living with males who weren’t spouses or partners was very taboo. Living with and befriending the three males helped her in understanding that the culture she was originally living in had some dated ideas and notions.
Marcello’s role was to influence her development of romantic freedom. Originally, she was under the notion that the no-strings-attached type of relationship is quite taboo, as clearly seen when she was with Vijayalakshmi. Even though she didn’t reach the level of constantly having casual sex with strangers, she decides that she wants to have that kind of freedom, and kisses Marcello without becoming emotionally attached to him.
One thing that popped up in my mind after the film was how Rani’s new mindset would influence her living in a very old-styled culture. Would Rani be able to return to her old lifestyle after her development over her trip? Would her new mindset fit in well with the people around her? Or would she have to eventually return to her other lifestyle?
REFERENCES:
Gupta, Sukanya. Kahaani, Gulaab Gang and Queen: Remaking the queens of Bollywood in South Asian Popular Culture. 2015, p.107
Bhugra, Dinesh. Mad Tales from Bollywood: The Impact of Social, Political, and Economic Climate on the Portrayal of Mental Illness in Hindi Films. 24 August 2005
Shendurnikar Tere, Nidhi. Gender Reflections in Mainstream Hindi Cinema in Global Media Journal – Indian Edition. June 2012, p.2
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