The
past week saw a heated debate among the public about
the introduction of a uniform dress code for girl students
of the world-famous Anna University in Chennai. All
the colleges affiliated to the University have to comply
with the rule. While we wish to keep the discussion
on the rule for another day, we would like to project
the impact of the rule on the most popular mass medium
– our films. What would be the implication if
if there were a dress code for our heroes and and
heroines? Has there been one so far?
In
the early days, most of our films had heroine clad
head to toe in regal finery. Stories revolved around
kings and queens and the popular perception of affluence
was confirmed through fine clothes. In the case of
social themes, clothes were mostly simple and everyday
wear. Even the item girls wore only tight-fitting
but not revealing clothes. Films of the era did not
create a fashion trend except for the isolated MKT
hairstyle or Gemini pants. With the onset of colour,
clothes and hairstyle became more prominent. Heroines
often wore clothes which did not suit their body structure.
From saris, they moved to salwars and the occasional
skirt. Not much changed for the men, however.
With
the introduction of village themes, the traditional
attire of women came to the fore. The dawn of modern
era was announced with the arrival of jeans and unisex
clothing for women. We have come so far that these days
there is not much difference in the clothes of the heroines
and the item girls. The plethora of professional models
entering movies has dictated ramp trends to be translated
on to the screen.
Is
this a healthy trend? While we firmly believe that the
choice of clothes is a very personal matter, we must
acknowledge the impact of a powerful medium like cinema
on our collective culture. Cinema does not corrupt us
directly yet it does influence us. Shocking clothes
on screen lead to the same being replicated in real
life. We do not want Talibanisation of cinema, yet we
would like to see our heroines in wearable clothes.
