INDIAN CINEMA:
A deterrent to
social
development?
The Indian film industry is vast and expansive in its reach. Its influence on the way we think is immense and it reflects the culture and tradition of the people of our country. For decades together, regressive ideals have been the foundation for entertainment, and movies held society back from fully developing and accepting people as they are. In this article, I’ll elaborate on the portrayal of men and women in two kinds of films — unfavourable, and progressive — and how they reflect the ideals of modern societies.
The first kind is centred around the blockbuster films that have remained popular years after their release. They boast a strong male protagonist with a knack for violence who never fails to charm his audience. He also happens to be an addict, a scopophillic (male-gazer), and emotionally unstable. The egoist who throws violent tantrums when things don’t go his way is whom these films have taught young viewers to idolize.
A perfect example of this is Pushpa: The Rise (2021) which displays brash, abhorrent, stalker-like conduct as a romance fantasy. The lecherous lead preys on women from the very beginning and the “love interest” is a “strong independent woman” who falls for her stalker the second he pays her to kiss him. The hilarity of the film apparently lies in this disturbing romance which has been passed off as humour and accepted by viewers everywhere.
Arjun Reddy (2017) is another classic example of how celebratory toxic masculinity can get. Vijay Devarakonda’s character harasses his “love interest” throughout the film and ends up winning her over anyway. This pattern of excessive misogyny is being supported and these films are being praised for their entertaining appeal.
Moreover, the women are portrayed as either timid and innocent or are largely objectified for the pleasure or the redemption of the heroes. They are given no real personality or any dialogue outside of the male character’s storyline. They exist only as an accessory to take centre stage during item numbers.
Let’s talk about action films. These movies focus on a hero and a heroine who fight the bad guys side by side. Trying their best to avoid the “damsel in distress” angle which had been the common practice in the industry for decades, filmmakers instead sexualize women and draw their characters as people who essentially use their attractiveness to manipulate men.
Meanwhile, the men are glorified for “accepting” the heroines even if they are strong characters. The “male saviour” complex is still a constant in Indian cinema, where the heroes are praised and appreciated for loving women regardless of their strength and beauty. This trend is prevalent in films like Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Pathaan (2023), which glorify the strong, badass heroes for protecting the heroines, who feel like their lives are owed to them for the rest of the films.
The aforementioned examples have set a precedent for the film industry after following a pattern of excessive chauvinism in the illustration of their characters which has resulted in the unidealistic idolism of the male leads as well as the degrading depiction of the female leads.
I’d now like to direct your attention towards the second, more progressive group of films in the industry. Films like English Vinglish (2012), Dangal (2016), and Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016) all fall under this category, for their empowering and realistic deliverance of both male and female characters.
In all these films, women are portrayed as human beings with thoughts, emotions, likes, and dislikes. They have personalities and opinions and tackle the problems in their lives differently. Unlike the movies mentioned previously, these films don’t feature item numbers and crude masculine behaviour. The male characters in these films are ordinary human beings, too, who express their emotions in their own unique ways.
While all these films aptly describe the reality of the situation in the lives of men and women, none of them undermine or demean any character based on their genders. In “English Vinglish,” Shashi is a housewife who, after being mocked by her family for not knowing English, secretly ventures out by herself to learn the language in a city she is unfamiliar with. She meets different people, explores the place, and figures out who she truly wants to be.
In “Dangal,” the sad reality of women in the country is explained through a series of events that show us the occurrences in the day-to-day lives of the characters. Mahavir Singh Poghat and his family are looked down upon for housing girls who practice wrestling, as sports were “only for boys”. Regardless of the town’s chatter, he goes on to train his children who later become international wrestling champions. “Lipstick Under My Burkha” takes us through the story of four normal women inflicted by societal norms who try to live the lives they deserve by lying, stealing, cheating, and hiding.
Action films like NH10 (2015), Raazi (2018), and Vikram (2022) all represent their leads with a fierce fighting spirit to seek justice against wrongdoings in their lives and societies. “NH10” follows Meera and Arjun as they run into a kidnapping on their vacation together and fight to seek justice for the victims in the film. “Raazi” is about Sehmat, an Indian spy hired by her dying father to obtain information from a Pakistani household she is married into. Her ventures, struggles, and daring efforts are admirable, and her mental and emotional state is realistically portrayed after she kills a man for the first time.
“Vikram,” although an exaggerated action flick, does its due diligence to the characters which have all been written in depth. Each of them has their own motives which drive them to make important decisions in the story, as well as stupid mistakes.
The Indian film industry is a part of our culture. Movies, reaching beyond the horizons of entertainment, play an imperative role in influencing societal values. Their impact on the thinking processes of the population is underestimated, and their flawed depictions of reality are rarely acknowledged. But as the industry grows, developments in the outlook of the lives of people in India are being made relatable and realistic. Their flaws are being minimised to scribing errors from unethical depictions of society. So, the conclusion would be that Indian cinema is doing its best, and the few apples that have fallen far behind their tree ought to keep up with this fast-moving world.
After all, movies are all about entertaining an audience; the fewer the people affronted in the process, the better the outcome of the production.
-Written By: Akshara Pradeep
