Behind every significant woman is a man

Salaam Bollywood

The Bollywood heroine has forever been beautiful, sensible, kind and at times fun. But every iconic character had depth that was imbibed with the central theme of the film. Filmmakers explored every angle of women’s psyche to give us several memorable moments on the celluloid

Most men I know are averse to the idea of an International Women’s Day celebration. As Amitabh Bachchan would say ‘Why just one day… every day belongs to women’ or as Ashutosh Gowariker would argue, ‘The men behind the significant women are as important as the women behind the significant men.’

It is an interesting observation because while most female directors in Hindi cinema focus on female protagonists, there are innumerable examples of legendary filmmakers supporting women protagonists. From the black-and-white to present times, filmmakers have time and again attempted to explore the woman psyche on celluloid.

Poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar has a fascinating theory about directors who make women-oriented films. He says he could never pen heroine dominated scripts because his growing up years was bereft of women influences. Not necessarily correct because writer/director Gulzar who grew up without a mother or sisters even went on to write and direct some of the most sensitive films. This week’s column is dedicated to those filmmakers who gave us some unforgettable women icons on the big screen.

On top of the list is of course Bimal Roy. Whether it was the rickshaw puller’s wife in ‘Do Bigha Zameen’, the orphan girl in ‘Parineeta’ or the oppressed wife in ‘Biraj Bahu’ the director looked at all his characters with compassion. In Madhumati the heroine seeks her own revenge rather than be the hero’s appendage. But Roy’s most heroic portrayals came in ‘Sujata’, the touching story of a Harijan girl reared by an upper caste family and her quiet battle for acceptance and finally ‘Bandini’, based on a central jail superintendent’s experiences about convicts imprisoned for murder!

Melancholy was a recurring motif in all of Guru Dutt films and women the root cause of the hero’s despair! Often a spectator, his films were pathos-ridden and seldom had a happy ending. ‘Pyaasa’ told the story of a heart-broken poet loved by two women while ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ was about a married director in love with a young actress. They part ways. The actress becomes a major star while the director disappears into anonymity, eventually dying in a film studio.

And finally ‘Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam’ (produced by Dutt and directed by Abrar Alvi) about a village boy, Bhoothnath’s fascination for the feudal family’s young and beautiful daughter-in- law, ‘Chhoti Bahu’. In all these films, Guru Dutt is non-judgemental of his characters particularly ‘Sahib Biwi...’ that captured the decadence of a crumbling feudal family. It was a disturbing glimpse into the life of a bored housewife doomed to monotony, a subject later exploited by Satyajit Ray in ‘Charulata’. The lonely housewife obviously wanted more than just making and breaking ornaments. She wanted self-expression!

Self-denial and guilt were recurring emotions in all Hrishikesh Mukherjee films. In ‘Anuradha’, a renowned singer gives up her career to marry a doctor. After a few years she sinks into depression and begins to review her life. ‘Anupama’ focussed on a father who despises his daughter because his wife died in childbirth. He holds the daughter responsible for the tragedy and the only time he can express affection to her is when he is drunk. Mukherjee films were about participating in the dreams of his characters and so it was cinema for the star-struck teenager in ‘Guddi’, poetry for the conservative Rama in ‘Jurmana’ and abandonment for Rekha in ‘Khoobsurat’. The director disagrees that his women are oppressed.

It would be oppression if the doctor was neglecting Anuradha and enjoying her and having a good time himself, but the husband is neglecting himself too. Uma of ‘Abhimaan’ isn’t asked to leave home, she initiates the separation. She’s more talented than her husband; also more mature and therefore makes that extra effort for reconciliation later. He hurts her because he cannot help himself. In ‘Bemisaal’, Amitabh refused to address Rakhee, his adopted brother’s wife as bhabhi and settles for sakhi, establishing an independent equation with the heroine.

Gulzar describes his films more as a study of human relationships than a gender issue. His protagonists invariably proved the decision-makers. In ‘Parichay’ it’s the elder sister who initiates a truce with the grandfather. In ‘Khushboo’ though Hema is wedded to Jeetendra in childhood, she has to wait a lifetime for her husband to take her home because every time he arrives to fetch her, he unwittingly happens to hurt her pride. ‘Khushboo’ is a journey of heartbreaks. In ‘Mausam’ again it’s the daughter who confronts truth while the father is still waiting for the right moment to reveal his identity to his daughter.

‘Aandhi’, the story of a wife seeking her political ambitions, was actually about choices and negotiating space in a relationship. Twelve years later, ‘Ijaazat’ explored the anguish of both the wife and the other women haunted by the shadows of the past. Instead of taking sides with either of the women the director sympathised with the man. The hero, like most men in similar circumstances, does nothing, just watches on, until one woman destroys herself and the other escapes!

Shyam Benegal’s early protagonists, all rural women, battled society, system and the spouse. The director is non-judgemental of Lakshmi sleeping with the zamindar’s son in ‘Ankur’. He empathises with the school master’s wife Sushila in ‘Nishant’, motivates Bindu to oppose the system in ‘Manthan’, is indulgent of the insecure Urvashi in ‘Bhumika’ and full of admiration for the courageous Rukminibai in Mandi when the prostitutes manage to build a township in the outskirts of the city.

Over the years, many meaningful woman portrayals have been captured on the small and big screen. Govind Nihalani’s adaptation of Mahashweta Devi’s novel ‘Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa’ and earlier Rajkumar Santoshi’s quest for truth ‘Damini’ were tributes to women. I agree with my male friends that every time we celebrate women power we need to acknowledge the men who made this possible…

- Bhawana Somaaya / @bhawanasomaaya