Bollywood has mainstreamed misogynistic ideas and harassment of women through absurd comedy. Chahak Mittal looks at some damaging examples
Bollywood has a women problem. Dialogues that are “meant to be funny” but are clearly sexist have been prevalent since the 80s and the 90s. And filmmakers have normalised objectification of women as a commercial draw and popular humour. As if women viewers do not have feelings or do not contribute to ticket sales. They have bred a perverse demand for the female anatomy. Something that has simply whetted soft porn and even deviant fantasies.
The impact this has on mass social psyche, particularly among the lowest sections of society with access to cheap data on phones, can hardly be underlined. How often would you find truckers, constables, guards and menial service providers glued to salacious item numbers on their phones? One would shudder to think the effect of such crass bombardment of cheap desire.
There can be no greater tragedy than how Bollywood has normalised misogynistic ideas and harassment of women through comedy. The most recent incident that shed light on this issue again was actor Akshay Kumar’s comment on the growing rape culture in the country and how people “go mad” and talk about it “all the time” even if one incident takes place. The actor was slammed for the same and some of the dialogues from his film Housefull 3 were used to point out how violent language in the name of humour is being mainstreamed. Sample the following: “Uski ovaries nikaal do. Na mamma banegi, na mia milega. Mamma Mia!” and “Kya tum meri tawayaf, oh, wife banogi?”
There’s not just one example. It was Shah Rukh Khan, who had said that cinema in India does not lend itself to any idea that degrades women, calling the thought “myopic.” Does he remember his dialogue in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai where he said, “Squeeze me?” And not to forget, his “Tum ek patni ho, tumhara pati jaisa chahega, vaisa hi hoga kyunki yehi shaadi ka dastoor hai. Sirf bistar par sona hi biwi ka farz nahi” in Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam that stereotyped women, subjecting them to the so-called gender roles.
It was Salman Khan’s “Pyaar se de rahe hain rakh lo, varna thappad maar ke bhi de sakte hain” in Dabangg that certainly glorified domestic violence. Ranbir Kapoor’s fear of commitment, leading him to cheat on every woman, in Bachna Ae Haseeno made it cool for guys to make girlfriends just to have a “high score.” Akshay Kumar’s “Shaadi se pehle ladkiyan sex object hoti hain or uske baad, they object to sex!” in Kambakkht Ishqq is one of the most demeaning comments ever made about a woman’s sexuality. Arjun Kapoor’s marrying a girl of the rival family and then abandoning her to complete his revenge in Ishaqzaade glorified the idea of cheating, slapping, abusing and torturing a woman. Ali Zafar’s “When you can’t change the girl, CHANGE the girl” in Chashme Baddoor is again an offensive take. Vivek Oberoi’s “Balatkaar se yaad aaya, meri biwi kahan hai?” in Grand Masti blatantly justified marital rape. Also, not to forget, soaked in sexism, the two monologues by Kartik Aaryan in the Pyaar Ka Punchnama series. Akshay Kumar makes it to the list again with “Aurat ka khaas khayal do hi umar me rakhna padta hai. Ek jab uski umar hojaati hai satrah, tab badh jaata hai khatra. Aur jab aurat hojaati hai tees, toh ban jaati hai cheez” in Rowdy Rathore.
Such dialogues also indicate that focus shouldn’t be just on how women are depicted or being looked at in films but also on men. Actor Tillotama Shome of Hindi Medium-fame, had earlier said, “It’s usually the manly man, either aggressive or very conservative. The stereotypes are as damaging for the man as it is for the woman, and it does impact society in taking forward those stereotypes.”
So is Bollywood to blame for fomenting sexual violence against Indian women because of its imagery and narratives? Does Bollywood incite sex crimes? Well, if a man could slap his beloved woman for not obeying him and there could be an Arijit Singh love song playing in the background, to which people even hum along, what more could we say then? Kabir Singh hasn’t left any stone unturned in glorifying abuse and violence in the name of love. Also, let’s not even go to the numerous examples of stalking, which, as per Bollywood films, imply an act of wooing the girl. Josh, Main Tera Hero, Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya, Raanjhanaa are some examples.