Blame it on Babli, Munni and Chameli?

Then Aurat ne janam diya mardo ko mardo ne use bazar diya Jab jee chaha masla kuchla jab jee chaha dutkar diya Jin hotho ne inko pyaar kiya unn hotho kaa vyopaar kiya Jis kokh me inaka jism dhala uss kokh kaa karobaar kiya Jis tan se ugey kapal bankar uss tan ko zalilokhaar kiya Aurat ne janam diya mardo ko hellip sang Lata Mangeshkar for B R Choprarsquos Sadhna 1958 Now Bichhu mere naina badi zehereeli aankh maare Kamsin kamariya saali ik thumke se lakh maare Note hazaaro39n ke khulla chhutta karaane aayi Husn ki teelli se beedichillam jalaane aayi Chikni chameli chupke akeli Pauva chadhake aayi re hellip sang Shreya Ghoshal for Agneepath 2012 There was a time when only the bad girl sang the bad song Padma Khanna in Johnny Mera Naam 1971 could go that extra mile with Husn ke laakhon rang kaun sa rang dekhoge Aag hai yeh badan kaun sa ang dekhoge It was the first acknowledged orgasmic number of Hindi cinema where postpubescent youngsters got a free hand at eroticism Katrina Kaif in and as Chikni Chameli in Agneepath The male gaze has been falling on women on the streets of Indian cities and villages ever since Adam spotted Eve in a crowded village mela as she cavorted sexily with her sahelis in a skimpy ghagracholi The objectification of the female form began with the vamprsquos voluptuous frame in the 1970s The story of the male gaze in Hindi cinema however has gone horribly wrong in recent times The gyrations of the average Hindi film heroine now threaten to shake up Parliament One hears that the Censor Board Of Film Certification CBFC plans radical changes in the way women are perceived especially in item songs Bipasha Basu in Beedi jalai le in Omkara Crass and debasing Shabana Azmi who has long since been vocal about the way in which women are portrayed in cinema feels radical changes are needed in the portrayal of the female form in item songs Says the activistactress ldquoTodayrsquos socalled lsquoitem numbersrsquo are downright crass I am not talking about moral policing here Cinema is about images Fragmented images of a womanrsquos heaving bosom swivelling navel and swinging hips rob her of all autonomy and make her an object of male lust Voyeuristic camera angles and vulgar lyrics do not celebrate a womanrsquos sensuality they demean her When women are commodified and objectified in films and advertisements they do not get empowered they debase themselves and counter the work that the womenrsquos movement has been doing over the decades in creating positive images of women Itrsquos time our heroines exercised some discretion in choices that they make in their desire for the hit itemnumberrdquou00a0However Shabana warns against tarnishing all specially constructed song39n39dance numbers with the same brush ldquoThere are item numbers and item numbers and we must learn to differentiate between them We canrsquot make sweeping generalisations that all item numbers are bad Celebrating a womanrsquos sexuality in a robust way such as Beedi jalaye le jigar se piya rooted in our folk tradition in the film Omkara is liberating and has the woman in controlrdquo Vidya Balan in Ooh la la in The Dirty Picture Objects of desire Actressfilmmaker Soni Razdan feels our films definitely play a part in the commodification of women in our society ldquoWomen as objects of desire have been around for decades from Marlene Dietrich to Marilyn Monroe to Meena Kumari to Rekha The celebration of sexuality is a natural impulse To ban or suppress it would have even more damaging consequences What is required is a more liberal attitude better sex education and less secrecy around the topic of sex Sex is an essential part of life The less hypocrisy surrounding this the more open and mature our society will eventually becomerdquo Ila Bedi granddaughter of the legendary litterateur Rajinder Singh Bedi and daughter of the prolific 1970srsquo director Narender Bedi of Rafoo Chakkar and Jawani Diwani fame feels item songs are a definite provocation ldquoChikni chameli Sheila ki jawani and Ooh la la are aimed at providing cheap thrills Gone are the days when heroines were described as chaudhvi ka chand and shabnam ka katra They call themselves tandoori chicken fish fry and other edibles so why should men respect them With their raunchy pelvic thrusts item songs definitely commodify womenrdquo Prasoon Joshi PicSantosh Nagwekar Lack of dignity Internationally renowned actress Tannishtha Chatterjee feels that the crisis of feminine commodification has gone from bad to worse in recent years ldquoBollywood doesnrsquot treat women with dignity Having said that I insist no moral policing should happen But we as artistes should not carry on with the heaving and thrusting as things that audiences wantrdquo Filmmaker Reema Kagti who lately portrayed Rani Mukherjee and Kareena Kapoor as strong assertive women in Talaash admits our films commodify women ldquoSongs definitely do their fair share of that but to me the overall misrepresentation of women in our films is a bigger problem Writers and directors need to get more sensitive They need to understand women better before portraying themrdquo Tanuja Chandra whose film Dushman starring Kajol deals with rape feels cinema must take the blame for the way the country looks at women ldquoArt cannot really change society but it plays a role in forming opinions attitudes and perceptions Even if films are just a reflection of society they must question the prevalent perceptions in society Entertainment canrsquot function in a vacuumrdquo Shabana Azmi PicSatyajit Desai Donrsquot blame us However lyricist Prasoon Joshi feels itrsquos simplistic to blame Hindi films and songs for women in society being treated as sex objects ldquoI wouldnrsquot blame film songs Yes there are some songs and scenes where restraint could have been exercised It all depends on the intention of the director and the choreographer If the intent of the filmmakerwriter isnrsquot titillation but a certain portrayal of the characterrsquos motivation then it cannot be considered wrongrdquo Added Divya Dutta ldquoI basically blame repressed societal mindsets for looking at women in a particular way The lyrics in popular item numbers are a big turnon Ideally they could be toned down to bring down the suggestive element But even if item songs are titillating we must not forget they are sheer entertainment and they should be treated as such I certainly donrsquot think our item songs provoke people to commit ghastly crimes against womenrdquo Naseeruddin Shah PicSantosh Nagwekar What about men However Kabir Bedi feels womenrsquos sex appeal has always been a staple diet for films fashion television and advertising ldquoWhy point fingers nowrdquo he asks adding that men too are commodified ldquoHandsome hunks are taking off their shirts all the time Bollywood has its own style of entertainment It needs to do some rethinking on the question of molestation or else in this climate of censure the CBFC may soon demand disclaimers saying lsquoEverything You See Is Entertainment Do Not Imitate In Real Lifersquordquo Kabirrsquos daughter Pooja Bedi agrees ldquoMen are commodified as much as women There is absolutely nothing wrong with either sex or being sexy and desirable When a woman is in charge of her sexuality it is a sign of a womanrsquos strength not her weakness However the message to all men is look but donrsquot touchrdquo She believes the commodification of women goes way beyond cinema ldquoIt starts with the education and upbringing of a male child in his home where hersquos taught how to treat women He watches how his mother and sister are treated Donrsquot blame films They are mere entertainment And the men are flaunting their bodies more than women do in our filmsrdquo Sixpacks era Filmmaker and industry spokesperson Ashok Pandit objects to the word commodification ldquoLetrsquos stop using that word If a heroine exposes her body so does the hero in this era of sixpacks Film stars are in the business of physical beauty and entertainment We showcase it We donrsquot sell it If a working woman wears makeup to office it doesnrsquot mean she is commodifying herself for the men at her workplace The same goes for actresses They have to look good Whether an actor or an actress it is the era of commodification if thatrsquos what you want to call itrdquo he says Tamil actress Khushboo who has been in the eye of moralistic storms several times says cinema shouldnrsquot be blamed for the objectification of women ldquoWe need some medium to pass on our failures and shortcomings Why blame cinema It is a medium of entertainment Even smoking causes cancer How many have stopped smoking because of the health hazardrdquo Yet it cannot be denied that some radical changes would have to be implemented in our cinemarsquos approach to and perception of woman As Naseeruddin Shah states bluntly ldquoIrsquom afraid our population has become desensitized to rape because of cinema In our movies it is an act that is either foiled or avenged by the hero So I donrsquot think people have a realistic view of this ghastly crime For the first time the gruesome details of what transpired during the actual act of rape came out in the public domain I think that caused the public outrage And thatrsquos good I just hope this outrage is sustained and doesnrsquot become one more token protestrdquou00a0