unfaithful
Watched a Bollywood movie on dvd last nite: Bewafaa. Basic storyline: girl meets boy in canada (montreal), girl's older married sister comes to visit with news that she is pregnant, girl's sister gives birth to twins and dies in process, girl makes decision to marry sister's brother and be the twins' mother, moves to india and gives up everything she knows to live with an unresponsive but super-rich husband, 3 years later girl's ex shows up in india and she is once again left to struggle with dilemma of responsibility/family honour versus self-satisfaction.
So problematic i don't even know where to begin. Canada was all beautiful and shit - full of scenic waterfalls, pretty mountains and lush green landscapes. And then when the twins were born, there was a white nanny - yeah right, as if that ever happens in Canada. And don't even get me started about the dilemma the woman was in. First of all, the whole pressure to marry your passed-away-sister's husband thing is totally fucked up - hello? how bout the husband learn to take some responsibility for doing the unpaid reproductive labour for a change. And then at the end, when all relationships are revealed and she has to make her 'final answer', she says "i may be unfaithful to my lover; i may be unfaithful to my husband; but a mother can never be unfaithful to her children." nuf said.
Most of the songs in this movie sucked too, except for one qawaali about memory which i kinda liked. I don't know what it is about Bollywood movies that keep drawing me back to them even if they're so sexist and classist and often caste-ist and communalist too. But then again, much of Hollywood is just as problematic. As a friend loves to put it, it's all just good brain candy at least.
So problematic i don't even know where to begin. Canada was all beautiful and shit - full of scenic waterfalls, pretty mountains and lush green landscapes. And then when the twins were born, there was a white nanny - yeah right, as if that ever happens in Canada. And don't even get me started about the dilemma the woman was in. First of all, the whole pressure to marry your passed-away-sister's husband thing is totally fucked up - hello? how bout the husband learn to take some responsibility for doing the unpaid reproductive labour for a change. And then at the end, when all relationships are revealed and she has to make her 'final answer', she says "i may be unfaithful to my lover; i may be unfaithful to my husband; but a mother can never be unfaithful to her children." nuf said.
Most of the songs in this movie sucked too, except for one qawaali about memory which i kinda liked. I don't know what it is about Bollywood movies that keep drawing me back to them even if they're so sexist and classist and often caste-ist and communalist too. But then again, much of Hollywood is just as problematic. As a friend loves to put it, it's all just good brain candy at least.
posted by burgers and durians at
1:51 PM
4 Comments:
Yeah! I am so glad you have a blog. Now we don't need to write letters - we'll just read each others blogs.
I like your review of the bollywood film. My mom made me watch a whole load when I was home. I wish Bollywood has some analysis about unpaid reproductive labour as well. ;)
Love ya, Sharmeen
Yeah, i'm having a hard time thinking of any bollywood film that is, or even tries to be, empowering to women. There was one a couple of years ago that was alright - Main Hoon Na. I think the film director was a woman too actually, and it was pretty liberal, but not bad.
Hey you, I am also so glad you have a blog so I can tune in anytime and find out how you are doing! But you will have to teach me the art ...:)
When I was in Islamabad, that's what I did too, watch all these silly bollywood films, some of which can be quite fun to sit through - like the James Bond movies. Speaking of films that empower women, have you seen Mrityudand, starring none other then Madhuri?
Anyway, take care
Shainul
there's this one film from the early 80s called nikaah (sp?) which is all right in terms of women's issues...the beginning lines are sth like "I am a woman...". the film critiques muslim divorce laws. i think that director did some other films with a social critique as well...
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