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just a damsel in distress or a dumb bimbette?
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| By
our Special Correspondent, Priya Chandran |
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October 02, 2007 |
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The modern Indian woman is an achiever, a go getter,
scaling new heights every day and constantly re-inventing
herself. She has evolved into an independent, intelligent,
confident and resilient individual, intact with
all her charm and beauty. She is as always the eternal
embodiment of love, compassion and kindness, gracefully
balancing her home and career.
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Amidst all the path- breaking accomplishments and transformations
of women over the years both in India and the world over,
the representation of the contemporary Indian woman in Tamil
Cinema is extremely dismal and disheartening. With the exception
of a few directors and script writers who have churned out
some memorable, positive and strong roles for women, the
rest have fallen into the trap of typecasting female actors
into one broad category-“EYECANDY”. She is a
miniscule part of the film, a diversion of some kind, prancing
around in scanty costumes for a few songs and scenes and
then vanishes into obscurity. Under the garb of “comedy”,
she is referred to using the most derogatory, odious and
abusive language and depicted as a mindless creature with
no morals, values or scruples.
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Women actors in most films are invariably
slotted into one or more of the following categories:
a. A helpless damsel in distress
waiting for her hero to rescue and save her from the
clutches of the creepy villain. (who tortures, taunts
and insults her in the most innovative of ways)
b. A brazen vixen who lusts after
the male lead and humiliates herself to get the hero’s
attention by stooping down to any level to do the
most lewd, vulgar and most despicable of things.
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c.
None of the above, she is just a dumb bimbette (who of course
is in love with the hero, she has to be right??!!) appears
for a few songs and sequences in skimpy, tasteless clothes
for the front benchers and then mysteriously disappears
for the remainder of the film.
d. As a loathsome, villainous, vampish
character with a masculine voice (What’s with the
weird, husky voice?)
e. The omnipresent - loving mother, sister,
wife or daughter (again tormented, abused and killed by
the villain, so that the hero can avenge their deaths!!!-how
convenient!!!)
f. Last but not the least how can we forget
the “item girls” in “item numbers”
who give the audience cheap thrills?
Quite a variety-right!!
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And
for some unknown reason, they have an annoying, overtly
saccharine, child-like voice, except option d. of
course!!! We seriously need to have more dubbing artists!
There have been some good scripts for women in the
past like Sindu Bairavi, Keladi Kanmani, Pudhumai
Penn, Magalir Mattum, Roja, Kandukondein Kandukondein,
Autograph, and more recently Mozhi to name a few.
The women in these films had character, dignity, and
strength. The commercial success of all these above
mentioned projects is proof that the audience is appreciative
of a wholesome script, based on women, without skin
show, violence and vulgarity.
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The
need of the hour is script writers and directors who need
to come up with strong women- based subjects and male leads
with the chutzpah, confidence and spirit to star in such
films not caring about their so called “image “or
star status. The screenplay can and should incorporate glamour,
comedy, music and dance which complement women, not demean
them. Women actors should refuse to be part of projects
which showcase them in a bad light. It is a battle, which
has to be waged, fought and won, by WOMEN!
Cinema is a powerful medium and reaches out to millions
of impressionable minds the world over, and it is the duty
of everybody in this business to make use of their power
responsibly to create quality films, steering clear of age-old
stereotypes and outdated methodology. The time has arrived
to honor, celebrate and empower women-SO BRING IT ON!!!
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