Stereotypes in Bollywood
Bollywood has been a very strong influence on the mainstream public for a long span of time. There were times when a particular dress worn by the lead actress was out in the market the next day. Trivial personality traits like hairstyles, dance moves, eye color, dialogues, luxury items etc were copied and part of the day to day regime. Bollywood was treated like a class that the common public wanted to achieve. Bollywood is a trend setter and has the power to influence people over good, changing thoughts like women education, sometimes bad, and morally incorrect things or behaviours as well.
Well, not everything about bollywood was positive. Bollywood has not always given patriotic, revolutionary or powerful films.
It seems over the years that bollywood had enough potential to teach a generation. But instead of driving people out of the misogynist, patriarchal and stereotypical nation, Bollywood flooded it with other unreasonable stereotypes. Here we are looking at the stereotype that all it takes is a woman.
All it takes is a woman.
A woman is the cause of everything that happens to a man. You might have seen mothers being blamed if their kids acted up. Wife called bad names if the husband is unable to produce babies.
And the funniest is a mother in law claiming that the daughter in law changed her son. These were the instances from the past. This isn't a habit that we develop just now, but prevalent since the time of Adam and Eve. Even the Mahabharata is said to have been caused because of Draupadi.
I have seen this at my home, for the losses of my father, my mother is blamed. For his successes he takes the credits himself. Now here are some onscreen examples of 'all it takes, is a woman.'
Benaam Badshah
Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla movie where apparently Anil Kapoor is a goon. He was ordered to ruin the reputation of the bride (Juhi Chawla). No one married the bride.
She later finds out about the goon and marries her. She changes the life of that man. Drives him out of crime and makes him do honest work to earn a living. He was according to the film a pitiable person who grew up without parents and was taken to crime.
How I see it is, that the man ruins the life of the lady and because of society's pressure she has no one to marry. But her perpetrator, that was the norm of the sexual criminals. They weren't taken to the law. Rather the female (victim) was treated so vulnerably that only the perpetrator could save her reputation and then only could she gain the status of society's 'good' woman.
Beta
Again Anil Kapoor movie where he is a man child, mental retarded. Everyone in the family wants him dead. Then his wife comes in the picture who made him so strong and mahaan to be able to fight all, see through his deceiving mother and overcome his illness.
How I see this is neither a mother if she is not from Bollywood can be that cruel to poison their own son. Nor can the wife be that mahaan to take the place of doctors only through psychological therapy.
There have been a lot of movies throughout the cinema where an entire film is based on the actions of one female.
Conclusion: Over the years bollywood has painted women as docile, dependent, and pitiable with lots of emotions that make her weak. Here is a short summary of what I get from Bollywood:
I am a Bollywood kid
I am a Bollywood kid
Grown up seeing definitions of beauty
Insecure about my dark complexion
Hating myself and
calling me Ugly!
I am a Bollywood kid
Who has seen the ultimate goal of women
The dazzling glimmer, and loud music
And to make sure I cry,
when I get married off
I am a Bollywood kid
Who believes its okay for a Women
To be the men's punching bag
And to protect a relationship,
the slaps and beatings I have to forget
I am a Bollywood kid
Convinced enough, that a woman who
doesn't have men to be dependent on,
is an undesirable candidate for marriage
That I shouldn't grow up to be one
I am a Bollywood kid
Unable to comprehend
The modern definitions of feminism
As they have coaxed patriarchy
To build an Indian women
I am a Bollywood kid
Not at fault
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