Stereotypical

Portrayal of Women
in Hindi Cinema

SHALINI SHARMA
26040
Introduction
Cinema is not just an art but also a medium for humans to express their feelings
and their contemporary society. Movies reflects the values and culture of the
society. It is not only a visual treat to audience but also an account of societal,
economic, political set up in which a person is living. According to the
anthropologist and film scholar Tejaswini Ganti, Hindi films circulate nationally
and internationally. Hindi film represents Indian cinema internationally and
regarded as the standard archetype to follow or oppose. This is because the official
language of India is Hindi. Therefore, Hindi feature films becomes the ambassador
of Indian cinema on the international platform. Hindi films are viewed across the
nation owing to the commonality of this language. Cinema is the one of the largest
mediums of mass communication. Figure 1 illustrates the vicious circle of Indian
cinema which starts with the socio cultural framework, how the human behaves
under a given socio cultural environment. This culture dictates their beliefs and
values. Movies should conforms to those beliefs and values to get popular, so it
becomes audience preference. What audience wants is what ultimately director
needs to consider. This gives birth to movies having typical roles for women.
Stereotypical portrayal of women in Hindi cinema.
Indian cinema has gone through many changes since the Independence and women
have played a significant role in the making of it. It changed from mythological
drama to Bollywood’s remakes of Hollywood blockbusters. Role of women has
changed from being of a supporting actor to the lead to the lead of a movie. This
paper will discuss the stereotypical roles of women in Indian cinema.

Indian cinema gave women roles, which shows no different shades other than
black or white. There is no grey area. In mythological films, women have been
shown to be the epitome of rightness, they could not do anything wrong. This
comes from the unrealistic expectation society has from women. Hindi cinema
reinforced patriarchal social system by continuously portraying women as to be
obedient to the husband. Women are shown as submissive wives, sacrificing
mothers and passive individual. Individuals with no identity of their own, no
ambitions or goals except to be the perfect role model to the family. Kajol in Kuch
Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Madhuri Dixit in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994) and Dil
To Pagal Hai (1997), Jaya Bachchan in Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham (2001). They act
as repositories, upholding traditional values of culture and traditions. Woman
characters are described with qualities such as attractive or beautiful whereas men
are represented as “strong” or “successful”. Verbs like ‘tough’ and ‘caretaker’
occur with males while verbs like ‘fragile’ and ‘sacrificing’ are associated with
females.

How real are the characters of women in Hindi cinema? While men are allowed to
make “mistakes”, have slip ups, commit sins only to ultimately turn their life
around, women’s roles have always been larger than life. For example -
Abhimaan(1973) begins with premise of the wife (Jaya Bachchan) being more
talented than the husband (Amitabh Bachchan). However, she turns down her
musical career only to satisfy her husband’s ego to satisfy the society’s norms of a
man being always more successful than a woman. Films of 90s and early 2000s
used to have a set role for women. They mostly used to be either a homemaker or a
misfit to the society.

The heroine is always secondary to the hero. Her role is designed in context of any
male character which is central to the script. Be it the hero, the villain, the brother,
the boss, an elderly male figure etc. She doesn’t have any independent existence
and her journey throughout the film is explored in relation to the male character.
For example, Priyanka Chopra’s character in Agneepath (2012) is not of any
significance to the story as such. Her role exists only to give audience a break from
all the actions and violence. She is there only as a romantic partner to Hrithik
Roshan who is busy in avenging his father’s brutal murder. It is unusual to witness
a strong female lead character in 90s movies. Movies made in late 2000s still tries
to change this stereotyping with movies such as Thappad (2020), Razi (2018),
Shabana (2017), Pink (2016) etc.

Changing face of Hindi cinema

However, recent cinema is trying very hard to break this chain of stereotypical
roles for women. Modern directors are now exploring new perspectives to tell the
story, more often from a women’s point of view. Films like No One Killed Jessica
(2011), where Rani Mukherjee plays a very significant role a journalist on her
quest to uncover the truth of the matter. Cheeni Kum (2007), Chameli (2003),
Ishqiya (2010), Piku (2015) and Thappad (2020) have pictured extraordinary
themes and portrayed women as central to the story line. These films have forced
audience as well to look at women in roles other than someone’s something. Of
course, modern day actresses should also be appreciated for taking up roles which
do not fit in the society’s norms. Women now are being presented in strong
individual roles, which shifts the attention of audience from her body, which did
not happen in a long history of Hindi cinema. Film scholar and author Shoma
Chatterji said “Women in Hindi cinema have been decorative objects with
rarely any sense of agency being imparted to them. Each phase of Hindi cinema
had its own representation of women, but they were confined largely to the
traditional, patriarchal frame-work of the Indian society. The ordinary woman
has hardly been visible in Hindi cinema.”
Conclusion
I cannot come to any definitive conclusion on this topic but to say the least, Indian
cinema has changed significantly since 1947. Films are now competing with
western films and ideology behind storyline is also changing. Considering the fact
that women in India are not a homogenous group, they belong to different groups,
castes, religion and values, thus they live different lives and have different values
system and to portray them as a single unit on Hindi cinema does grave injustice to
them. Films have to show women’s characters in a way that does justice to them as
well as to the society as whole. Women characters should have the power to re-
claim the power in existing patriarchal society. Women should no longer be
represented as an object to be exploit, as we see in most of the movies. Women’s
experiences and dilemmas should get the space on silver screen too. Cinema
should not just entertain but also should light the fire for social change through
entertainment.

Female component in the industry has made its presence known not just in the
films but also in the real world. The role played by women in Indian cinema is now
becoming role model for millennials. Originality of the story makes it easier for
women to relate to movies better now. It is thus possible to view the cinema as a
genuine symbol for society and this perception helps to understand the society in a
better way.

lm stars have moved

from their fantasyland into
politics to emerge as
powerful gures guiding
the destiny of millions. This
includes a number of
female actresses as well
who have served
themselves
as the caretaker of the
society. This development
indicates that the
female component in the
lm industry has made its
presence known not
just in the lms but also in
the real world. The role
played by women in
Indian cinema serves as a
as a role model for other
women with fewer
opportunities to follow. With
Bollywood being a big
successful industry,
the female characters
played in their movies allow
Indian women to relate
themselves easily with
these female characters. It
is thus possible to view
the cinema as a genuine
symbol for society and this
perception helps to
understand the society in a
better way.

References
https://www.scribd.com/document/237979535/int-1
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323786469_STEREOTYPING_WOM
EN_IN_INDI
https://medium.com/@Bollywoodirect/women-in-indian-cinema-9c0773beae98
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279017811_Changing_Roles_of_Wo
men_in_Indian_Cinema