There is a huge trend set in many Indian movies, where women are portrayed as ‘assets’ to be conquered. In many romcoms, women are portrayed in a really stupid manner. There was a Tamil movie where the hero, a rowdy, tries to win the heroine’s love. In his rugged, unshaven look, wearing a blade in his chain and a knife stuck to his lungi,there is a right-in-your-face fact that he looks like a thug. But the heroine guesses that he looks like a software engineer and the hero’s friend mocks her ‘intelligence’. I wonder why most films don’t have confident, brilliant, responsible women in lead roles. Are movies and society so patriarchal?
The next bothersome aspect of cinema is the portrayal of women always being responsible for breaking a romantic relationship. Why, has the opposite never happened? This subject is not left there. After the breakup, there is a punchline that always conveys one message – trust men, never women. This part always garners applause in theatres!
The latest addition is the ‘soup song‘ where the hero feels cheated and advises men not to fall in love. Some songs even have lyrics like ‘Adida avala udhada avala (Beat her, kick her)’. I wish such films had more maturity in the content. There would be no harm, seriously, if leading women roles are given due respect and responsibility. Women can do more than dance around trees!