Films and feminism
Kanchan Mehta

Gender Relations and Cultural Ideology in Indian Cinema
by Indubala Singh. Deep and Deep Publications.
Page 236. Rs 880.

Indubala, a college lecturer, introduces the reader to the complex subject of her informative and entertaining book on Indian cinema: "The manner in which the culture ethos of Indian society with its myriad manifestations influence the making and presentation of Indian cinema and the extent to which Indian film makers have been able to evoke man-woman relationship based on fiction by Indian writers is the subject of my book."

The book, or rather a well-researched dissertation, split into five chapters, including a useful introduction and a detailed conclusion, is striking for its eclecticism, scope and brilliance. Amalgamating an anatomy of Indian cinema with feminism, gender relations, literature and culture ideology/history, the writer has carried out an interdisciplinary research, which illuminates the Indian cinema paraphernalia.

Gender relations signifies human relations, particularly the power clashes between man and woman. "Gender relations", the writer says, "are identified as terms of dominance, difference, antagonism and solidarity". Justifying the marginalised/subject status of woman the patriarchal cultural ideology privileges man over woman. Hence, the representation of woman in Indian cinema is at the core of the book: "Whether woman are seen as protagonist only in women-oriented movies or simply marginalised in formula-ridden masala movies."

Indian cinema is rooted in the context of culture. The cultural context refers to values, traditions, mythology/archetypes and history of India. There is a high correlation between Indian cinema and Indian mythology; but rather Indian cinema is an outgrowth of Indian mythology. The maiden Hindi film Raja Harishchandra was on a mythological subject.

The book reconstructs socio-cultural environment of India from a feminist perspective. It pinpoints how the ideology of patriarchy gets reinforced in art and literature.

The book splits Indian cinema broadly into two categories—popular/mainstream cinema and new/artistic cinema. The popular cinema draws heavily upon Indian mythology for popular appeal. It mainly shares the interests and values of male chauvinism, dramatising male fantasies of female. Hence a woman is shown either as an angel or as a monster. The new cinema speaks of the marginalised, in particular. It deals with the issue of class, race, culture, religion, gender and national integrity.

In The Beleaguered Survivors, the writer discusses in detail three women-oriented films, Tesari Kasam, Umrao Jaan and Rudaali, adapted from literary texts of Panishwar Nath ‘Renu’, Mirja Ruswa and Mahashweta Devi, respectively. The woman dancers/singers occupy the stage and emerge stronger to male figures. The subversive films celebrate strength and stamina of "the beleaguered survivors", who brave "the odds of life with tenacity and resilience." The self-empowered woman protagonists live for themselves.

The fourth chapter, The Conflict Within and Without, analyses the other set of three films, Ghare Baire, Gaban and Train to Pakistan, based on the literary texts of Rabindra Nath Tagore, Munshi Prem Chand and Khushwant Singh, respectively. The status of woman is gauged against the backdrop of pre-independence period, freedom struggle and holocaust of the Partition after Independence. What is at issue is the "tenuous conflict between tradition and modernity, between decorum and freedom and between constriction and emancipation that marks the woman’s transition from the realm of private space to that of public domain."

The book is worthy of the attention of the literati. It conducts a detailed study of six iconoclastic texts, which interrogate the patriarchal cultural ideology for the imbalance in gender relations. The book also includes short biographies of six noted authors who have championed the cause of oppressed.

The writer captures wonderfully the nuances of adaptation of a literary text on celluloid. She highlights the key role played by a director in the literary text’s transformation from a "work of art", to "higher level aesthetically". Hence cinematic effects/technique render a literary text aesthetically pleasing to the readers/spectators.

The main arguments of the book are compressed in Conclusion. The illustrated interviews with the eminent figures from the world of cinema and literature, given at the end of the book, are enlightening. Glossary of cinematic terms, incorporated in the book, makes the book readily comprehensible to the readers. For those interested in the story of Indian cinema or the assimilation of feminism/literature into films, the book is a faithful companion.

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