Role of Women in Indian Cinema

Women in Indian Cinema: Early days• Hangover of the prude mentality of the medieval and

colonial period continued.

• Women of good families were not supposed to venture out in public and be seen in the company of men.

• Therefore the actresses of the early Indian film industry were the entertainers.

• Some foreign artistes became heroines in Indian films as Indian women were ‘hesitant to expose themselves to the gaze of the film camera’.

• But by the thirties, women from educated background and good families started entering the film industry.

• Devika Rani – distant relative of Rabindranath Tagore who married the Russian painter Roerich, Sadhona Bose, grand-daughter of social reformer Keshub Chandra Sen, etc.

• In case women of good families took to public singing- dancing, they changed their names. (Example of Naina Devi).

Devika Rani• The icon of the 30's and 40's, Devika

Rani was the first Dream Girl and the first First Lady of the Indian Screen. She was the grand niece of Rabindranath Tagore and truly a great beauty.

• She began her career as Textile Designer with leading art studio in England.

• There she met Himansu Rai and agreed to design the sets of his first production Light of Asia (1925).

• After marriage they left for Germany where Rai made A Throw of Dice (1929) in collaboration with Germany's famous UFA Studio.

• Films like Achhut Kanya expressed her skills and set standards of performance and costume.

• Her attire as the village girl became the norm for all such roles!

• In India, Rai and Devika Rani established the famous Bombay Talkies Studio.

• In 1945, she quit films to marry the noted Russian painter, Dr. Svetoslav Roerich.

• She died in 1994.

Later half of twentieth century:

• Twentieth century saw educated women from elite families belonging to higher caste taking to dance, theatre, films as vocation.

• This changed the tenor,

hue and repertoire of the

art forms.

• Although Indian cinema continues to change and evolve, reflecting new trends in gender relations, at least in very traditional Indian cinema women who live by these traditional norms are portrayed as happy and ethical. 

• Women who go against these rules of narrative and culture in film are punished and seen as immoral.

Four Roles of Women

• These roles and constructions of women are reflected in a great deal of popular Indian Cinema. 

• Four important roles to consider include:– ideal wife,

– ideal mother,

– vamp, and

– courtesan

The Ideal Wife

 

• This character is represented by moral purity and fidelity. 

• She must be consistent with traditional Indian roles by honouring the family and depending on the husband. 

• She is closely connected to the domestic domain.

The Ideal Mother

• Indian reference to the mother involves religious suggestion. 

• The country is connected with the mother goddess, Shakti, who represents great strength. 

• The role of the mother in Indian film is often seen as a strong force, such as in Mother India (1957).

 

The Vamp • The vamp in Indian film is

modern and imitates western women. 

• Her behavior can include smoking, drinking, and dancing. 

• She can also be quick to fall in and out love.  • She is seen as a seductress.• She represents unacceptable

behavior and is seen as unwholesome. 

• She is almost always punished for her behavior.

The Courtesan • The courtesan is outside the

normal realm of Indian womanhood in that she is a type of prostitute or dancing girl. 

• She embodies sexuality.  • She is a character who helps

with the physical and emotional needs of men. • Often in Indian film, she

gives the man comfort and care, after which, he leaves her to desperately mourn the loss of him.

Position today

Today’s screen actors:• Comfortable with their roles.• Blurred boundary lines between

scenes considered taboos in yester years by leading actresses and acts in scenes with vamps.