“Sir, you’re a genius,” exclaims the mindless
secretary and the boss says, “shut up”. This is supposed to be funny! I tend to
agree with him though – she is stupid – working for a man who has such a poor
opinion of her capabilities! It’s a pity that women agree to do such roles and
even write them! Should a first class detective be saddled with a stupid
secretary at all, in the first place? Should his success be contrasted so
blatantly with the fluttering of eyelashes and a hero-worshipping look in her
eyes? Should comic relief be provided to a racy whodunit, by a vacuous girl?
These are some of the questions I’d like to ask those concerned with debasing
the female sex so shamelessly in TV shows
But
that’s the trend despite women’s organizations screaming hoarse. On the one
hand, you have films like ‘Umbartha’ which wake up women from their slumber of
subservience and on the other; you have hoardings showing a pretty actress
touching the feet of a male star who is supposed to be playing the role of a
husband!
Plague
has been eradicated and so has smallpox, but our producers haven’t done away
with the coy bride who waits like a sheep to be slaughtered on her wedding
night and dives to touch the feet of the groom when he comes in – sometimes
even drunk! How many women are there, who have the nerve to refuse to
marry a guy just to please their parents? In a scenario crowded with women
portrayed as puppets, one who does comes in as a pleasant surprise. I remember
how moved the audience were, when they saw the dark, dusky, untouchable Sujata
being accepted by a high-caste man! Has
there even been a movie showing the situation reversed – a low caste man being
accepted by a generous ‘upper-caste woman?
What’s
surprising is the willingness of women to do these roles without a whimper.
Surely they can refuse them. They should form an association and pass a
resolution to boycott roles that demean their status. If all of them
co-operate, then the producers have little choice but to think up sensible
roles. The female stars should demand the same price as the male star, read the
script to see how it places them in the larger context and only then, sign on
the dotted line. In the name of making a movie on a woman’s exploitation, a
producer weaves in rape scenes that stink and then shows the victim hanging
from the ceiling. This is supposed to show how helpless women are! On the other
hand, it gives bright ideas to prowling wolves because the rape scenes are
executed with such perverse pleasure.
It’s
high time the media – especially screen – depicts a woman in better light. One
of the most commendable efforts in this direction was the portrayal of a wife
in a Tamil film ‘Achamillai Achamillai’ (Shameless, Shameless) screened on TV
some years ago. She was disillusioned by the unscrupulous ways of her politician
– husband and refused to be his wife in the bedroom till he mends his ways. He
arrogantly brings in another woman to fulfill his needs and the wife gracefully
walks out – refusing any monetary help and determined to fend for herself and
her children. Her valiant efforts to survive show the tenacity of a woman with
self-respect. When she finds the activities of her estranged husband too
shocking, she kills him – when he expects her to surrender to him! There is a
smile of achievement as the police march her away. She does not mind for she
has sacrificed herself to rid the world of menace who had no respect for women.
We want more like her – not grinning, decorative dolls that lick their boss’s
shoes!
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