#InternationalWomensDay: 5 films where 'strong' women characters were poorly written
Bollywood, like most institutions in our society, exists in patriarchy. Thus, most movies center around men: male actors have longer shelf lives, top female actors get reduced to being the love interest, yada yada. Still, there's another trend that's harming dialog for women empowerment and feminism further—the faulty portrayal of "strong" women in Hindi mainstream movies. On the International Women's Day eve, we assess.
'Cocktail'
We start with "party girl" Veronica (Deepika Padukone) from 2012's Cocktail. Here, a carefree/independent Veronica was pitted against her polar opposite—shy and homely Meera (Diana Penty)—fighting for the affection of a playboy character, Gautam (Saif Ali Khan). If pitting women against each other wasn't unhealthy enough, Veronica's go-to task after Gautam picks Meera over her was to dress up and imbibe her ideologies!
'Veere di Wedding'
Another movie marketed as a modern women's empowering tale was Veere di Wedding. Although all leads—Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor Khan), Avni (Sonam Kapoor Ahuja), Sakshi (Swara Bhasker), Meera (Shikha Talsania)—were indeed modern, they were as regressive as characters go. They cracked elitist jokes and could only talk about boy problems. Female buddy films are always welcome but please get a real story to go with.
'Manmarziyaan'
Taapsee Pannu is one of the top Bollywood actors who speak against stereotypical female roles and misogyny in the film industry. However, in Anurag Kashyap's Manmarziyaan, Pannu breathes life into Rumi, a widely flawed missile of a character who is wrongfully hailed as the epitome of female agency. I'm sorry but shocking red hair doesn't make up for emotionally manipulating people.
'Haseen Dillruba'
In our review of Haseen Dillruba, we wrote its lead character Rani seemed to be a distant cousin of Rumi from Manmarziyaan, both played by Pannu. She didn't like her meek/homely husband but was attracted to the ripped brother-in-law. To impress him, she cooked for him, an activity which she refused earlier. This way, she also chose to be defined by her cooking skills.
'Tanu Weds Manu'
Last up, we have Tanuja Trivedi alias Tanu (Kangana Ranaut) from Tanu Weds Manu (2011). Tagged to be a "free-spirited" girl who refuses to marry the guy her father chooses, Tanu is crass, unreserved, and bold—all characteristics associated with Bollywood's brand of "empowered" woman. Once again, makers focus on her "courage" to defy societal norms rather than rounding her character as a person.
