HYPOCRISY OF BOLLYWOOD

Whenever there’s a abuzz in the country over any incident of rape or crime against women, our Bollywood celebs come out with their online tweets and posts showing sympathy and disappointment at the situation. But behind this façade, the movies they contribute not only clearly show their apathy towards such incidents but in a way is one of the contributor to the problem itself.

  The 70's and 80's were periods when rape scene was a norm in Hindi films. Indian movies have now stooped to redundant sex-scenes and inane Item songs which are often a misfit in the script .But they are intentionally filmed and used as a bait to attract audience because the common masses enjoy such scenes. Now we have a item number in almost any movie coming out : Any actress dancing seductively in skimpy clothes with a bunch of drunk and lewd men ogling and dancing behind her or an actor surrounded by girls getting wild. And now ladies have a new career option in the industry-'Item Girls'.Actresses seem to have no objection in being potrayed in demeaning ways. Stripping your clothes off is a 'bold' scene. Movie posters show actress posing seductively. Is this what you call sexual liberation? Is this how actresses celebrate their womanhood?

Whistling, hooting and leering at a girl has always been a common scene in Indian movies.What Indian movies teach us is that it's normal and funny to whistle and pass sleazy comments on girls.Vulgar lyrics and lewd lines are shown to be worth of entertaining. In a way they encourage the potential rapists. Be it '3 Idiots' making fun of the word 'balatkaar' or a line from a hit-‘Rowdy Rathore’

aurat jab hoti hai satra, to badh jaata hai khatra

aur jab wo hoti hai tees, tab wo hoti hai cheez,

the list is countless.

Raunchy lyrics and suggestive choreography has become a trend these days. Our hypocritical Censor Board has no issues with the lyrics and filming of songs like 'pritam pyare','sheila ki jawani','choli ke peeche' ,'Chikini Chameli','Laila Teri Le Legi' etc.Imagine the mindset of the future generation growing up watching and dancing to such songs.

See our hypocrisy. We are the ones who march and protest against sexual violence. But at the same time we don't forget to ogle any young girl on the street or any actress we see on the screen. We tend to whistle and clap on double entendre and saucy lines and tap our feet to the item numbers. No wonder why such mean movies are a big hit and honey singh is a big star in India. If you enjoy vulgar scenes and sleazy lyrics; sexual objectification is what entertains you, i am sure you would pretty much enjoy a girl being raped or just be a silent bystander.

Bollywood Movies also teach us that if you constantly stare and follow the girl you like, initially she will resist and get infuriated but eventually she would fall in love with you. The hero constantly pesters and follows the heroine even if she says no and this is shown as it’s just a normal and integral part of romance. What message are you sending out? Also see the way kissing scenes or sex scenes are scripted in movies: the actor makes a sexual advance and the actress initially resists, but then finally responds positively. Given the fact that movies have a large influence on social behaviour, just imagine the serious repercussions of such scripts on the society.

How many movies have we made which portrays a woman protagonist with intelligence, skill or leadership qualities? Women are shown just as eye candy without any significant role in the script.A woman is always somebody’s wife or girlfriend; somebody’s daughter; somebody’s mother; somebody’s sister;she is never that’somebody’. Movies rarely portray the actress as an independent individual with her own intellect or ideas. And even when such attempts are made,these rarely fetch money at the box-office perhaps because eye-balls freeze only on watching bare skin or it is still hard for the largely patriarchal and misogynist Indian society to digest a women getting intelligent or her character getting beyond decorative.

Sexual objectification might not be the direct cause of sexual violence but no doubt fuels it. Filmmakers should portray woman as a subject and not an object of male fantasy.