When I noticed Vikrant Massey separating himself within the lately launched Haseen Dilruba, the pragmatic patty inside me questioned what else he may have carried out to save lots of his beloved spouse. Meanwhile, the passionate husband and his estranged spouse are reunited, with two beating hearts and three palms between them. As I watched their Hindi pulp fiction-inspired romance with eternal pleasure, I started to expertise an immense sense of deja vu. Haven’t I seen it earlier than?
A passionate, bubbly, stunning and/or rebellious lady falls in love with a good-looking younger man. He is normally a customer, a neighbor, a visitor, or the proverbial handsome dangerous boy that turns his head. Unfortunately, she is both deserted, or forcibly separated from her by her dad and mom, whose determination is pushed fully by ‘what is going to individuals say’ or ‘the lady will not be getting married’ .
Enter future husband. This man is the antithesis of the lover. He normally does not look good historically or in some circumstances is made to look intentionally drab like Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. But beneath the person subsequent to him, outdoors beats the center of a person, which provides not a burning ardour, however an eternal love. Love that’s formalized with vermilion, tied with mangalsutra and legitimized by the society at massive.
In many Bollywood motion pictures over time, the lady falling in love is simply act 1 of the story. It is marriage that in the end forces him to develop into an grownup, and extra importantly, perceive what ‘real love’ is.
From Swami the place Shabana Azmi selected her husband performed by Girish Karnad, Woh Saat Din, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Tanu Weds Manu, Manmarziya and now Haseen Dilruba, we’ve seen many tales the place husband/ Virasat’s marriage quest helps his spouse perceive the which means of real love and turns her right into a mature and considerate individual.
Girish Karnad reverse Shabana Azmi within the movie Swami (1977), directed by Basu Chatterjee. (Express Archive)
It’s a intelligent story naming with a beneficiant dose of Stockholm syndrome, the place the girl decides she’s actually in love with the person she by no means wished to marry. Marriage is a serious milestone within the journey of a Hindi movie heroine, and feminine characters in mainstream Bollywood movies usually discover their journey outlined by their marital standing.
Isn’t it time to start out writing tales the place a lady achieves greater than her husband?
Think about it. Men in Bollywood motion pictures discover real love, discover a job, undergo an existential disaster or uncover a ardour as they develop up, or in Bollywood terminology, come of age. Ever since Ranbir made his debut, his age is rising. But he managed to ‘get up’ and be a ‘rockstar’ with out saying something I do to anybody. On the opposite hand, in Queen, Kangana’s character got here into its personal solely after she was dropped a day earlier than the marriage.
Kangana Ranaut in Queen. (Photo: Kangana Ranaut / Instagram)
Additionally, romanticizing post-marriage love, and glorifying the establishment and its exterior symbols equivalent to sindoor and mangalsutra, justifies the stress on girls to marry a sure sort of man. Showing girls falling in love with the boys their households pressured them to marry, sadly exhibiting that marriage is significant to a lady’s happiness, and extra disturbing, emotional and mental growth. Boyfriends are for foolish younger women; An older girl is mature, married and ‘properly settled’.
Aishwarya selected Ajay Devgn as a result of he clearly teaches her that real love is selfless. Therefore, she chooses to be with him and never with the person she loves. Anushka Sharma realizes in a single day that her husband is definitely a present from God. In Manmarziyaan, I anticipated Taapsee’s character to take a while to determine what she desires from life. But moments after signing the divorce papers, Rumi shares a second together with her ex-husband, revealing that the 2 are able to resume their relationship.
A poster of movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
The solely exceptions I can consider are most likely Chak De, the place girls are largely bored with marriage, Mary Kom the place her husband is supportive however not a catalyst for self-improvement, Tumhari Sulu the place she has been searching for years. After that comply with your goals. Passion, and non-mainstream motion pictures like Lipstick Under My Burkha or Margherita with a Straw the place girls are exploring romance and their sexuality with out the morality of the story’s subtext.
Vidya Balan in Tumhari Sulu.
Why is it so laborious to think about that Rumi, or some other girl for that matter, may very well be comfortable even when she was not married, or presently in a severe relationship? This forces you to query why is it so troublesome to inform a narrative of a lady in Bollywood motion pictures and even Hollywood motion pictures with out involving romance, marriage and marital points? While many males are envious and glorified for being bachelors who can date as many ladies as they need, an single girl inexplicably makes these round her uncomfortable.
Why did not she get married? Doesn’t he need children? Isn’t she alone? Doesn’t she wish to get married in order that she will lastly begin her life and be actually comfortable? The complete household will get concerned to make sure Ki Ladki Ki Shaadi Achhe Ghar Mein Ho, and sadly most of our cinema is fueling this ardour by maintaining the establishment on a pedestal by cinema being watched by mass audiences. .
Love is great, and marriage with the proper man or girl can actually change the course of an individual’s life. But neither marriage nor love is the important thing to a lady being comfortable, fulfilled or much less self-absorbed. Marriage doesn’t guarantee a contented perpetually, and single girls can stay very fortunately with no pinch of sindoor or seven rounds.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
