Arrival of the strong screen-woman

By Shahla Raza At last, there is something to cheer about at the end of the year.

While for the most part of 2003, Bollywood threw up films which were virtual skin shows -'Jism', 'Khwaish', 'Qayamat', 'Andaz' and 'Boom' - in the last quarter of the year, a few films with strong women characters and a relatively better understanding on female sexuality arrived.

It was a refreshing change to see strong and articulate women come alive on the screen in 'Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon', 'Samay', 'Pinjar' and 'Tehzeeb'.

Equally fetching have been the women-oriented themes of two regional films with Bollywood actors - 'Anahat' and 'Chokher Bali'.

Both Chandraprakash Dwivedi's 'Pinjar' and Khalid Mohammed's 'Tehzeeb' have won Urmila Matondkar rave reviews.

"Pooro is not the obvious heroine but an Indian woman who has risen from circumstances to become one," says Matondkar of her character in 'Pinjar', in a recent interview.

Pooro is a Hindu girl abducted by a Muslim man a few days before her wedding during the year of the Partition.

When she runs away from her abductor, her father refuses to take her in because of the shame it would bring to the family.

Left without much choice, Pooro returns to her abductor, converts to Islam and marries him.

While the pain of separation from her family lives within her, she meets other women suffering similarly.

She takes it upon herself to help reunite them with their families, especially the woman who would have been her sister-in-law, had Pooro not been abducted.

The film is based on Amrita Pritam's novel and deals with women whose lives were torn apart by the Partition.

"'Pinjar' is about anger, aggression and violence against women," said the director in an interview to The Week.

Mohammed's 'Tehzeeb' deals with the complex mother-daughter relationship.

Here Matondkar plays Tehzeeb, an angry young woman who resents her mother neglecting her family for her career.

Interestingly, this film portrays a young woman (Matondkar) who opts for domesticity as a form of rebellion against her career-oriented mother.

Equally strong in portrayal is Shabana Azmi as the mother-singer Rukhsana Jamal, who struggles hard to keep the finances going after her husband quits working.

Jamal immerses herself in her career, leaving her children (including a mentally challenged girl) to fend for themselves.

The film touches upon the problems of career-oriented women and the resentment they face.

The small-budget film of Chandan Arora, 'Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon' has also left its mark on the audience.

The film tells the story of a young girl Chutki, who is a Madhuri Dixit fan and dreams of making it as big as her idol.

The movie traces Chutki's journey from a small village to the big bad world of the Mumbai film industry.

What is unusual about the film is that it celebrates the aspirations of a young woman with remarkable frankness.

The small town Chutki (played by Antara Bali) is portrayed as a confident girl, having full faith in her abilities.

The film disregards normal patriarchal rules of mainstream cinema and has the male lead, Rajpal Yadav, in a supporting role.

He doesn't mind being the "man behind the successful woman".

After a long gap, viewers are feasting on films that have handled women characters sensitively and boldly.

In their regional productions, both Rituparno Ghosh and Amol Palekar have attempted to portray women as sexual beings.

Not as sex symbols (as several Bollywood filmmakers apparently think of them) but as women who articulate their sexual aspirations effectively.

Ghosh's Bengali film 'Chokher Bali'(Dust in the Eye), has Aishwariya Rai in a stunning portrayal of a young widow, Binodini, who is consumed with desire for a married man during the independence struggle.

Binodini is not shown as a na‹ve woman, but someone who is astute and cunning.

She alienates her friend Ashalata's husband (whom she is in love with) from her.

Yet, Binodini manages to evoke sympathy rather than hostility.

Ghosh said in a recent interview to the Indo-Asian News Service that the film is about the character's "intrinsic desire for personal liberty while the drone for national sovereignty grows around them".

Palekar's Marathi film with English sub-titles, 'Anahat', explores and projects the issue of women's sexuality.

'Anahat' is adapted from Surendra Verma's play 'Surya Ki Antim Kiran Se Surya Ki Pehli Kiran Tak' and stars Sonali Bendre in the central role.

Set in 10th century India, the film explores a woman's right to sexual fulfilment.

"I play a strong, powerful woman.

But I won't call her a feminist.

You don't have to be brash or loud to be heard or to make things clear," says Bendre about her role, in a newspaper interview.

In 'Anahat' she plays the queen, who in order to provide an heir to the kingdom, is forced to follow the ritual of niyog (by which the queen chooses a man with whom she would make love for one night, with the aim of being able to produce an heir).

In the film, the impotent king persuades the queen to agree to the ritual.

The queen is initially traumatised, but when she returns to the palace after her one night sexual experience, she feels sexually fulfilled.

"Although 'Anahat' is set in the 10th century, it deals with contemporary issues like gender equality and the right to choose," said Palekar in a recent interview.

Interestingly, not only have the recent films attempted to show strong heroines, they proactively break away from the stereotype of having a man as the central figure on whom the film rests.

Take Robby Grewal's 'Samay', which has Sushmita Sen play a tough crime-investigating cop who is also a single mom.

"It was originally written keeping a man in mind and that made it tough.

But I believe any job a man can do, a woman can do better!" said Sen recently.

While none of these women-centric films may turn out to be hits, they have been successful to a large extent in changing the inferior screen-image heroines had acquired - that of the ever-sacrificing, helpless female who has no aspirations, and who finds fulfilment only in serving her man and his children.

As Sen said during a recent interview for a website: "It used to be an industry where actresses were considered props - may be a vase on the sideboard.

Now at last, the vase has reached the centre table."[WFS]