Arguments, exchange of opinion; is it worth fighting for?

The prime time shows in electronic media are full of debates, arguments in which the anchor and his guests squabble about a particular issue. While I completely subscribe to the view that there is a need to exchange ideas, opinions, thoughts etc but we should not eulogize our own view to great heights but instead should remain flexible. Also what purpose does it serve? It saps all your energy, gets you exhausted and still we have this fascination for stamping our views on anyone and everyone. I mean why waste time, breath and mental peace if the outcome is not really worth it.  

A few years ago I witnessed the modus operandi of thieves at a busy street. The people were pushing each other to move ahead from both the sides and as an elderly lady was looking at them with disgust written all over her face a person came up and escaped with the bag of that lady. The idea was to irritate and distract a person with a minor matter while the bigger theft took place rather easily. A lesson from that incident can be to train our self to ignore the minor irritants and stay on toes for the bigger problems.

It makes sense to save our efforts for the bigger efforts in life rather than to toil for the seemingly insignificant stuff. That prolonged bargaining with a vegetable vendor does not yield anything especially if you end up exhausted and that too with just a paltry saving. When an exchange of views, opinions get into the territory of ‘ego’ and becomes a war it’s best to walk away. Even in life it is better to bow rather than fight and risk a friendship or a bonding going sour. In the long run, who cares who won that argument or fight? There is a point at which you simply cannot convince the world and beyond that why waste time and energy?

There are people around us who are control freaks and try to or rather dictate terms to us. It does not matter if you just stop arguing against the controlling ploy and let those people believe that you are doing as they desire, while clearly following your own way. At some point or the other the message is bound to reach. But if you are clear about what you want and what you are fighting really for then that’s time to go all out for. The straight forward and into-your-face talks remain productive only if there is clarity of thoughts.

Delving deeper into this topic it is very interesting to note that we have (I mean a section of people), over the years have lost the art of listening and with that sort of a characteristic the sparks are sure to fly in a debate or in a public discourse. The nature and behavior of the public at large has become increasingly outspoken, assertive and many times aggressive as well especially in urban India. This would lead to varied and perhaps thoughtful views but will also reduce the impact of the camaraderie, respect and reverence which was prevalent in the pre internet age.    

Does cinema commodify women?

A song from a recent movie goes like this ‘Mere photo ko seene se yaar chipkale saiyan fevicol se.’ It further adds lines like ‘pata le saiyan miss call se’. The song has become a rage from nightclubs to marriages. The lyrics are creative you have to agree but it has portrayed women as objects. The item numbers still cater to the liking of males with a song-dance sequence showing a woman being stalked and wooed by a bunch of men in a playful manner. For long, women have been described as objects or equivalent to it in various films particularly those falling in the category of popular entertainment. It implies a very orthodox, rigid and traditional understanding of women as wild, devious as needing to be controlled. Men make voices for uplift of women but once in a movie theatre they start whistling at Kareena Kapoor dressed in skimpy clothes singing ‘Main to tanduri murgi hoon yaar gatkale saiyan alcohol se.’

There is very little doubt that Bollywood has shown women in poor light. Be it with raunchy item numbers or double meaning dialogues or semi nude posters outside theatres. There have been some women centric movies displaying the atrocities faced by women but that sort of movies have made rare appearances. Even during 70’s and 80’s bollywood was deeply infected with cultural stereotypes with men being prime producers and consumers, the objectification of women predominated the cinema. But the situation today is a labyrinth to me with the two recent popular item numbers, Munni Badnam Hui and Sheila Ki Jawani were both choreographed by a woman. Honey Singh has left no stone unturned to display women as objects of sexual desire. His songs are utterly noxious.

The films and media are a mirror of the society and if children grow up dancing to the songs like fevicol se then society is to be blamed for allowing such vulgarity to creep in. Films are a commercial activity and in a bid to generate more revenues the movies tend to be low on moral grounds. Young parents are taking their little girls to coach and learn item numbers from Bollywood films. They are then made to perform at family wedding ‘sangeet’ functions. Another reason for such commoditization of women is the deeply ingrained theory of a submissive female to a dominating male borrowed from ‘Ramayana’. Voyeuristic camera angles and extreme show of sensuality have not helped the matters either. Also, society as a whole has failed to distinguish between what is acceptable and what is not.

If the cinema portrays women as strong natured and fearless then this would gradually kick start the process of changing the image of the fairer sex in the society. The actresses, producers, choreographers, directors and everyone has a role to play.  

But it can also be argued that whatever is displayed on screen present only a partial picture and many times the movies have also been talking about peace and communal harmony but still the problem remains. Filmmaker, Sudhir Mishra is of the view that the nation does not follow whatever is preached by Bollywood. Some of the actions which are acceptable in movies are considered as obscene in real life so it could be like cinema is not taken that seriously. And for the people who are campaigning for a Bollywood without any misogyny then what about the violence and regressive remarks which make their way through newspapers and websites? 
In the end, it’s the mindset and the intent that matters in a country where truth is stranger than fiction.