Skip to main content

Bollywood's new age heroines

In the recent past, we have had some refreshing Hindi films centered around the spunky leading lady, instead of the hero, for a change. Tumhari Sulu, and Qarib Qarib Singlle were two such films, in which the heroine was not a glamorous doll or a weepy willow, but a personality of her own. Even her age group was 30+ rather than the usual 18-20. None of them were vociferous feminists, but quietly believed in themselves.

Sulu or Sulochana, played by the inimitable Vidya Balan, is a happy housewife seeking a job to boost her identity. She lands the job of a Radio Jockey for a night show, and despite having to make several adjustments in her routine, takes up the challenge with a smile and "can-do" attitude. 

Image result for tumhari suluBraving lewd callers, her husband's growing discontent, and the open disapproval of her relatives, she doesn't budge from her stand and continues with her job. She also seeks out an ingenuous solution for keeping the frustrated husband engaged and happy. In all this, she doesn't wallow in self-pity or blame others even once. She is the "now" woman, happy in her choices and ready to take responsibility for making them.



The other heroine, Jaya, of Qarib Qarib Singlle (played wonderfully by Parvathy), is a quiet, determined, composed lady, seeking out some genuine male companionship more out of choice, than of need. She finds her match in the rougish Yogi, played with devilish abandon by Irrfan Khan. However, throughout the film, she strongly holds her own, in the face of the overpowering charm of her suitor.  

Image result for qarib qarib singleHer sense of personality and identity is never threatened by the dominance of the other. She gives as good as she gets. As a widowed middle-aged lady, expected to be in the shadows rather than in the limelight, she doesn't bow to society's expectations and merrily reverses the roles thrust on her by her friends and associates. The film is as much about her evolution into a more open, frank and forthright person, as her journey to seek love. She finds love all right, but will not compromise on her identity or her choices for that.

Great to see such warm, down-to-earth, lively women, who look and behave like one of us ordinary people, rather than as tinsel town models. Even better to see them talk and react like us when faced with challenging situations. 

Keep it coming, Bollywood!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Does Mother Mary Really Come? You bet!

Prolific writer-activist-thinker Arundhati Roy's memoir, an ode to her mother's formidable personality, is cleverly titled, Mother Mary Comes to Me. Below the title is a picture of young Roy nonchalantly smoking a bidi. Irreverence, thy name is Arundhati Roy! At 372 pages, it is a tome, a sweeping saga that recollects both her mother's remarkable life, as well as her own. Is it a Memoir? Yes and no. Though the book title refers to their mother-daughter relationship, the book - at several junctures treats each one of them as independent and exclusive from one another. In fact, for a good part, her mother finds no mention at all, and the reader is engrossed reading about Roy's exploits and struggles through Architecture College, early attempts to find her vocation and calling, her dabbling with cinema, acting, scriptwriting; her romantic liaisons with the luscious JC, Sanjay, Pradeep et al. A life as extraordinary and unapologetic as Arundhati's mesmerizes in itself. ...
1 comment
Read more

No Hopes for a Happy New Year

It's that time of the year again. When yearly round-ups are done diligently. Lists made, everyone sits down and assesses hits and misses. You tick off the "achieved goals" from your list. Make resolutions to fulfil the ones not yet surmounted. But I am doing something different. I am taking stock of my setbacks, my disappointments, the let-downs this year. I have absolutely zero expectations from the next year. Why? Because its useless to expect anything that I can't control. And since any chance of better days seems very unlikely, I am collecting the bits of my sanity to somehow trudge along the rest of my time on this planet. Why am I being such a kill-joy, you may ask? Well, not out of choice, certainly. What the world and my country, the air I breathe, the people I mix with, have become, all contribute to my rock-bottom expectations.  1. I am terrified, scared of what my country and its people have become. This wasn't the country I grew up in. It seems as if l...
2 comments
Read more

The Sadness Within Us

A curious phenomenon has taken place over the years. Technology has advanced in leaps, modern medicine has become far more effective, we can control pain and disease far better, mental health is getting due attention, there are more avenues for creativity and entertainment.  Yet.... We are no longer able to be really happy. We are a chronically unhappy people. Forever dissatisfied, never content. Always thinking about the past or the future, never enjoying the moment. Think about it. When was the last time you were really, truly, wholly happy? Blissful, joyful? You slog hard at office, get that deserved raise/promotion, party hard to celebrate, and yet at the end of the day, a hollowness creeps in. An emptiness, a feeling of futility. You have a grand wedding - its the stuff Instagram dreams are made of. Your sweetheart looks like a million bucks with the latest designer lehenga, you yourself are spruced up, your family and friends are beaming, the event is going on swimmingly. Yet...
Post a Comment
Read more