Parched and the path-breaking portrayal of ‘village women’

Years of hard work, toil and perseverance has succeeded in making Indian film industry (Often used synonymously with the Hindi film industry) one of the largest in the world with an average of 1000 movies per year, and 4 billion plus viewership all around the globe. With a sizeable number of international audiences, the representation of ‘India’ in the film industry and circulating it among the world mass becomes a matter of utmost care and responsibility. It is needless to say that cinema being the most easily accessible and affordable medium of communication plays a pivotal role in disseminating information among the masses in a country where the average literacy rates is about 77%, which is about 9% short of the world average of 86%.

Since a significant period of history, Indian cinema has attempted to create and nurture the stereotypical norms of the society without any scope of breaking out of the traditional bondages. In a country, where cinema exerts such a profound influence on the people, such representations took a toll on the youth of the society who normalized such unjust practices with pride. Portrayal of women in Indian cinema has always been an issue of much debate and discussion. They were portrayed as the “damsel in distress”, whose only objective was to glorify the toxic, patriarchal and misogynistic traits of the society.These representations did not help much in uplifting the position of women in the society and they continued to be illtreated. No film-makers were sensitive enough to narrate the stories of women’s oppression and the violence they face, through their works.

In recent times, however, with the beginning of an era of women-centric films, certain changes have been noticed and cinema has tried to sketch a more realistic picture of Indian women departing from the earlier representations of the ‘ideal daughter’ or ‘ideal wife’. Films like Parched (2015), Begum Jaan (2017),Raazi (2018)and Thappad (2020)has tried to initiate the process of dismantling the traditional image of women in cinema.

Representation of women in Indian cinema has always been a controversial element. The nuances of these representations proved useful to elaborate on the prevalent discourses concerning women in the society. The fact cannot be denied that many film makers tried to highlight the pertinent issues of women’s rights and gender equality to the forefront with the intention of providing a clearer picture of the women in question. The process of this path-breaking portrayal of women were taken up by few film makers in the initial era of Indian cinema and included films like Kunku (1937) andFire (1998) etc. Manthan (1976), for instance focussed on the zeal of women to form a milk cooperative that empowered them though economic independence. This tradition was kept alive in recent times with Gulaab Gang (2014),Kahaani (2012) and Pink (2016), taking up the duty of promoting a different shade of women empowerment. It is a well-established fact that gender, being a social construct, is more ‘performed’ than ‘embedded’. Thus, it has been observed that the traits of the ‘empowered’ woman required her to be masculine in some sense or the other.

Parched (2015), directed by Leena Yadav, has been the centre of discussion for its bold portrayal of women’s issues from a perspective that previously remained unexplored; the violence they face within the domestic periphery, marital rape, their zeal to outgrow the oppressive order, sheds light on to the nuances of their sexuality and makes a revolutionary departure from the traditional portrayal of the ‘ideal’ village woman. Set in the fictional town of Ujhaas in Gujarat, it narrates the story of four village women whose lives are intertwined, yet their daily challenges and stories are different from one another.The introductory scene captures the dusty, arid landscape of Gujarat with two women, covered from head-to-toe standing at the roadside shack, waiting for a bus. Their cheerful and delighted faces signify that they eagerly wait for such occasional ‘bus rides’ and rarely get the opportunity of leaving their households.Parched clearly captures the plight of the ‘village woman’ in India and highlights their tendency to seek freedom even among trivial affairs of everyday life such as a bus ride, which might appear quite mundane to others.

The film depicts the harsh realities of village life for a woman. While significant investigations have been made into the instances of domestic violence in urban centres, the rural areas surely lag behind. Statistics shows that nearly one-third of village women in India suffer from domestic violence and majority oof them go unreported and the perpetrators unpunished. the deep-rooted patriarchal mindset, lack of education and rigid pattern of societal subjugation compel women to endure such unjust practices for centuries.Even in contemporary times, when several High Courts of the country are being indifferent to the issue of marital rape and suggesting that criminalising it would eventually result in collapse of the ‘institution’ of marriage, the future appears quite bleak for women. This reinstates the fact that preservation of this institution of marriage would be ensured at the cost of violating thousands of women against their will.

Child marriages are a real menace in rural areas where girls as young as thirteen are married off to much older men against their will. Estimates suggest that every year nearly 1.5 million minor girls are married and this makes India, the home to the world’s largest number of child brides. They are illtreated in their in-laws’ house and tortured for dowry extraction. Thus, entering this vicious cycle of patriarchy, all their dreams of a better future remain shattered. Dowry still continues to be a cruel social evil that haunts married women. According to Indian National Crime Record Bureau, dowry issues cause innumerable deaths all around the year and every 90 minutes, a bride is immolated. The practice of dowry perpetuates the aspect of commodifying women and many young brides in India are tortured to no end and manycompelled to commit suicide unable to bear the humiliation.

As it is the country lacks mechanisms to eradicate these violence in rural areas where wife-battering, marital rape, eve-teasing, child marriages and dowry are much internalised practices and normalized to an unimaginable extent. Even if a village woman tries to stand up for her rights, the local governments or the Panchayats would never give a verdict in her favour.The cycle of oppression and indignity is so primitive that women find themselves entangled in this conflict with no scope of emancipation.

For a very long time, Indian film fraternity were reluctant to depict these issues on the silver screen. Even if some earlier attempts were made, the films did not gather viewers’ appreciation. It took decades for the Indian audienceto accept this alternative and realistic image of women. Over the years women in Indian cinema has evolved in their vitality and stature. With the audience being more accepting, the film-makers are free to narrate the real stories of women through their creations. However, a majority of mainstream films still continues to underscore the stereotypical conventions and objectifying women to no end. Although the new age filmsdo show a ray a hope as far as portrayal of women are concerned, Indian cinema still has a long way to traverse before it can free itself from all kinds of prejudices.

Britee Adhikary

Intern, Asia in Global Affairs.

The opinions expressed within the content are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of Asia in Global Affairs.

References:

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Sarkar, S. (2012). An analysis of Hindi women-centric films in India. University of Louisville .An analysis of Hindi women-centric films in India. (louisville.edu)

Shekhawat, S., & Vyas, N. (2019). Contemporary Hindi films: A tool for women empowerment. European Journal of Social Sciences (EJSS). https://doi.org/10.29198/ejss1904

Hannah, A. (2019, July 14). The Portrayal of Women in Bollywood: A Tale of Misogyny (youthkiawaaz.com). Youth Ki Awaaz. The Portrayal of Women In Bollywood: A Tale of Misogyny (youthkiawaaz.com)

Wilkinson, A. (2016, June 17). Reviews: Parched. Reviews | Roger Ebert. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviewsParched movie review & film summary (2016) | Roger Ebert