The portrayal of women in cinema is ever changing. The ideal heroine, in the Western eye, is expected to be unrealistically glamorous, have no personality flaws (a tragic back story usually helps) and wardrobe to match. However, it is as important to highlight that a heroine can be depicted as ordinary, flawed, and modestly dressed.
Scarlett Johansson is often cast as the ideal Western film heroine, Joss Whedon, ‘The Avengers’, 2012, Source: screenshot
The idea that the everyday woman can be a heroine, is evident in both Vikas Bahl’s comedic drama ‘Queen’ (2014) and Jafar Panahi’s sports drama ‘Offside’ (2006). Sukanya Gupta discusses how dated Bollywood’s portrayal of women has been, as they are “often simultaneously treated as objects” and “guardians of culture and tradition” (Gupta, 2015), rather than individuals with personality and agenda. The character of Rani was conceived by Bahl’s observations of the behaviour of rural women in Delhi, emphasising their lack of drive to engage in new experiences and cultures. The film opens with the helpless jilted bride Rani and progresses to her decision to continue on her European honeymoon on her own in itself, is a surprising move. Rani is the embodiment of a woman liberated from Bollywood’s submissive heroine trope. She journeys independently, without Vijay to assert his ‘ownership’ over her, she slowly embraces being able drink alcohol, go clubbing, dress differently and be herself without his approval. It is interesting to note how Bahl refrains from creating a new love interest for Rani, despite the presence of Oleksander and Marcello, who appear to be the men she meets whom have the most impact on her.
Vikas Bahl, ‘Queen’, 2014, Source: screenshot
Even though Panahi’s ‘Offside’ is not a heart warming, comedic journey of self discovery but more a social commentary on Iranian society, based on his own daughter’s illegal attendance at a soccer match. Like Bahl, he addresses the stagnating perception of women and the laws they follow but is able to depict it in a manner isn’t heavy. The anonymous girls in the film are “very aware of the social function of costume and modes of behaviour” (Danks, 2006), but display some spunk and craftiness with their male disguises. Like Rani, the girls seek to challenge the societal conventions of their respective cultures.
Jafar Panahi, ‘Offside’ (2006), Source: screenshot
Both Bahl and Panahi demonstrate that “female characters seem passive and helpless” (Gupta, 2015) in their respective films, yet they are able to prove their strengths and position in society through independent action and confidence, not under the watchful eye of a man.
REFERENCES
Danks, Andrian, ‘The Rules of The Game: Jafar Panahi’s Offside’, 2006, pg 5
Gupta, Sukanya, ‘Kahaani, Gulaab Gang and Queen: Remaking the Queens of Bollywood’, South Asian Popular Culture, 2015, Taylor and Francis Online pg 109, 120,
IMDB, IMDB, ‘Offside (2006) Trivia’, accessed 2nd September, 2016
COMMENTS ON OTHER BLOGS
Blog 1: https://joanchu.wordpress.com/
Blog 2: https://naomijixinzhang.wordpress.com/
Advertisements Share this:
