“‘Page 3' should be seen by all because of the important issues it raises and its ruthless insights into the world of socialites" [1] Is Bollywood developing from Escapism to Realism?
In the 1970’s there was an influx of Asians migrating to the UK ‘Asians now make up just over 3.5% of the total population’[2] bringing along with them their culture, tradition and religion. All of which, are presented through Bollywood films, that have managed to cross over and now its not just Indian families watching them they are being shown in big cinemas across the UK. A problem is that younger generations sometimes find the stories a bit predictable and are getting bored of the similar tales as a result Bollywood conventions are now changing. However, a large Indian diaspora in English speaking countries, and increased western influence at home, have nudged Bollywood films closer to Hollywood models.
Filmmakers like Madhur Bhandarkar who directed ‘Page 3’, are trying to tackle this by changing storylines to reflect real life issues. The title refers to the page three in tabloids where society news,pictures of parties and socialites are printed. ‘Page 3’ is ‘honest and deals with real issues"[3] therefore showing Bollywood developing. ‘Page 3’ takes a candid look into the everyday lives of shallow two-faced celebrities and those who adorn the third page of newspaper also known as the ‘Page 3 culture’. The film enters through the facade of their ‘hunky-dory’ lives and explores the hypocrisy, superficiality and shallowness that lie underneath showing the gritty side of the celebrity culture. The repetitive iconographic image is the camera, which not only emphasise the ‘page 3 culture’ but also the idea of capturing real life events. The director Madhur Bhandarkar therefore shows the world of showbiz whilst capturing many aspects of human life. It is evident that Bollywood conventions are now changing; a realistic interpretation is becoming more common and inspirational amongst other films such as 'Black' (2005), 'Rang de Basanti’ (2006) and ‘Fanaa’ (2006).
Maltby argues that genres “are subject to the constant process of change adaptation”[4] and Bollywood’s primary objective was to provide four hours of escapism. It can be argued that cultural imperialism contributed to Bollywood’s newly formed genre, this idea that western ideologies are now being transmitted and presented in the form of Bollywood films. Indian audiences expect full value for their money, with a good entertainment generally referred to as ‘paisa vasool’, ("money's worth"). Songs and dances, love triangles, comedy and dare-devil thrills - all that are mixed up in a three-hour-long extravaganza. “Westerners would tend to classify Bollywood as a musical”[5] Such movies are called masala movies, which are named after the Hindi word for a spice mixture, masala. However these conventions are not common in recent films such as ‘Page 3’ together with ‘Black’ (Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2005) both ignore this Bollywood convention. Effectively, this allows its audience to realise that life is not as straightforward as Bollywood films originally suggested. Therefore providing the western audience, with a Bollywood film that does not evolve around the typical theme of love.
‘Page 3, along with other films such as ‘Black,’ explores sensitive issues such as those with illnesses, diseases or disabilities. ‘Black’ follows the life of a blind girl initially, this issue would have been ignored and she would have been labelled as ‘evil’[6] or ‘possessed by the devil’ by the majority in India. By addressing these issues ‘Page 3’ attempts to make these concerns common knowledge whilst educating its audience “People love to love it or love to hate it, but cannot ignore it”[7]‘Page 3’ was described as a ‘phenomenon’ by the ‘Times of India therefore expressing the positive response to the ‘cinema vertite’.
According to Marxist, who take a structuralist approach, disputes the audience are made to believe in capitalist propaganda and ideologies. Therefore his solution was to “shun narrative structure by eliminating the individual protagonist”[8] and tell stories which are focused and moved by a group. Traditionally, Bollywood film narratives where directed through one main protagonist, which forced its audience to identify with one character which is shown through a Bollywood classic ‘Mother India’. However, ‘Page 3’ shows the perspective of eight different characters through the technique of cuts and point of view shots. Page 3 is told through a montage and parallel action, on the world of showbiz and it captures many aspects of human life. “‘Page 3' has no main plot but looks through many stories of many characters"[9] allowing the audience to relate to different characters illustrates the progression of a more realistic element. Blulmer and Katz invented the ‘uses and gratification’ theory which suggests that the audiences are made up of individuals who actively chose what to consume. By doing this it allows the audience to be more ‘active’ as they are given a number of characters to identify with.
Propp argues, “narrative roles are essentials to every story”[10] in ‘Page 3’ Madhivi, being a naïve character can be considered as ‘good’ whilst the media and celebrities are ‘bad’ and corrupted. However once Madhivi realises this she tries to beat the unjust system, failing to do so in the end she is back to where she started, conforming to the culture. The director successfully presents this, by the long shot, which show this atmosphere of celebration that appeared in the opening and ending of the film. Here Bollywood presents characters that undergo a transition between Propps narrative roles consequently turning from innocent and good to bad and potential conformist to the system. Perhaps Bollywood is trying to promote a new message to its audience in India that the media is manipulating the truth. Typically in Bollywood films the ‘goody’ always wins however in ‘Page 3’ the one good person. Madhivi ends up conforming to their ideologies. This idea that those with money and status win, is ingrained into its Asian audience through primary socialisation.
The circular narrative allows the audience to be open to a more realistic suggestion that not all “Bollywood stories have a happy ending”[11]. The girls (Madhivi, Pearl and Gayatri) are also very different from each other bringing in a nice mixture of humour and emotional bonding. To explore these characters in greater depths, Bhandarkar was not afraid of delving into the darker matters. One of many females in ‘Page 3’ is Madhivi, a naive journalist who we follow continuously; we are forced to see the 'Page 3 culture' through her perspective. This contradicts Laura Mulveys theory of 'male gaze' as the audience are positioned as a female as she does not fulfil the quality of ‘to be look at ness’. Points of view shots and the eye – level camera techniques allow women from all cultural backgrounds can somehow relate to her. Through this we as the audience learn about stresses women experience in a patriarchal and capitalist society. The social realism in 'Page 3' allows the audience to neglect dominant ideologies, discovering the corruption of the elite. Madhivi struggles to do her job, as a journalist, as she is prevented from printing a story on a man who performs Paedophilic acts and due to his power, authority and wealth she is unable to inform the public of the truth.
Mulveys theory of the “active male” and “passive female”[12] is commonly typical in Bollywood films and to some extent present in ‘Page 3’ often through social constructions. Due to the rise in feminism and women’s rights, a western influence, women have become more determined to rebel against stereotypical gender roles. A prime example of this social change in attitude is shown in ‘Page 3’ through the females who are working and receive pay, which is clearly shown through the character Pearl. The independence of these girls is shown through the setting, the fact that they live in an apartment extend their rights as women, regardless of culture and tradition. The airhostess Pearl fulfils all the characteristics of an independent woman; however in the end she marries a man simply for money and status. Therefore implying the traditional gender roles of men being breadwinners and women being passive and financially dependent on the males.
Unfortunately, sexism is still present and is clearly shown in ‘Page 3’ suggesting that “women are exploited, no doubt about it”[13], implying that women cannot beat the male dominated system. Unfortunately, ‘Page 3’ portrays the male characters to be powerful in contrast to women who are struggling to achieve similar status to the men. The main character Madhivi is not passive like other women in the film; in fact she questions authority although her questioning authority as a result made her jobless. This shows that society punishing those who attempt to challenge the elite and so “nothing is resolved until the preferred social order is in place”[14] in the film Madhivi is punished by losing her job, this is ironic as it is her job to gather gossip on these celebities. Therefore this suggests patriarchy is still current in society and reaffirms the concept of a glass ceiling whereby women cannot achieve higher than a certain extent.
Gayatri is another female character that aspires to become an actress in Bollywood. However her manager wants to know less about her name and achievements but questions irrelevantly “will she give?”[15] Therefore it is implied that women have to participate in sexual favours in return for a future regarding their career. Whilst she was being interviewed in the managers office we as the audience are made to, uncomfortably, watch him take advantage of his power, which was emphasised through the tense music and isolation. Consequently as the narrative progresses we find out that Gayatri had overcome this obstacle by sleeping with the director in exchange for a part in his movie. All the females in ‘Page 3’ have no option but to conform to these ideologies transmitted by the dominant males and accept the fact that society is still patriarchal.
Another female character in ‘Page 3’ who we engage with is the entertainer at one of the celebrity parties. She, on the other hand, reflects Mulveys theory, as she is the “object of the male gaze”[16]. As a performer, she dressed provocatively which encourages the attention therefore attracting the male audiences. Her red outfit deliberately fetishize her feminine figure, in benefit of the audience who, at this stage, are presumably males, watching her and fulfilling their voyeuristic pleasures. A repetitive iconographic that is constantly shown is the camera, encouraging the ‘Male gaze’, voyeurism and fetishism. The female audience also see this entertainer as a attractive young women who they apsire to. From this it is obvious that the director has not completely taken out the conventions of a successful Bollywood films. Therefore this suggests that even the western audience find the songs entertaining and appealing.
In the ‘Raj’ period, women were largely restricted to staying within family homes, and their lives were strictly followed by religion and by the patriarchal order in the family system, which is also shown in Page 3. She would be responsible for decency and health of all persons living n her service”[17]. Never exposed to the culture or values of the west, the women would be then seen as pure in terms of untainted traditional values and culture. It was both the duty of the woman herself, and of men, to protect this purity – the woman through the preservation of her chastity, and the Hindu man by continuing to keep the Hindu woman contained within the safety of the home and the patriarchal order. After watching ‘Page 3’ these traditional ideologies are no longer around films. Bollywood films would not explicitly show kissing however recent films like ‘Page 3’ along with ‘Black’ and ‘Bunty aur Bubli’ show scenes of affection. Film kisses are no longer banned. Plots now tend to feature westernized urbanites dating and dancing in discos rather than arranged marriages.
Mother India (1957, directed by Mehboob Khan) showed its main female protagonist to be powerful and independent which is uncommon for a film that was made in that period. Films were focussed on issues within family and society, and for many years it has been recognised as an important genre. Like ‘Page 3’ the genre has a twentieth century setting often concerned with issues that are contemporary such as society and media. Although there seems to be a connection women and nation, which, suggests that women were respected and viewed as being a powerful figure in India. However in ‘Page 3’ the mother figure seems to be lacking, as women are more concerned with money fame and beauty. The womens power is tested through her ability to stay pure, this would mean unaffected by the western culture. Women are not supposed to be sexually active and were encouraged to stay at home in a domesticated space where clear gender roles were forced upon them. “The woman’s holiest space lay within the family, in devoted service to the household and the family deity.”[18] It was assumed that all women would maintain her nature, which was to remain sexually pure although, society depended on women to fulfil their role as a mother, especially to her sons. This is shown in ‘Page 3’ through the wife who works in an orphanage with children; therefore she is still in control by the patriarchy as she is locked, even in the work place, into a domesticated sphere.
Representations of women in Indian films have been affected by modernisation and social changes. Many women actresses in Bollywood films have become modern, they are more outgoing and independent, flirtatious and ‘cheeky’ demanded to be treated as equals. Although there is still essentially ‘feminine’ ways of behaving in terms of fashion, their looks and appearences and a desire to be modern.
It has been argued that Bollywood has always been under the influence of Hollywood films, After World War One the expansion of Hollywood, “85% of films shown in India were American”[19]. But the introduction to sound made immediate differences, the Indian public quite naturally preferred to see films made in their own language. Therefore due to language restrictions in the past this prevented Indians to watch Hollywood films. Directors would “borrow” ideas from Hollywood films and produce it in Bollywood. Therefore as the majority in India are not fluent in English Bollywood effectively mirrors the movement of Hollywood.
The traditional view of males has been subverted, now being an object of the gaze. Therefore it is taken in consideration that audience are not all presumably males. This is shown through the long shot of a group of males advertising men’s underwear. It is widely noted that since the 1980s there has been an increasing display and “equalization of the male body in mainstream cinema”[20]. This is uncommon in the Indian culture as issues regarding male and female were often ones to sensitive to discuss. However the effects of western society have made these issues more aware and open in discussion.
There are three gay male characters and the fact that they are all totally different from each other shows the effort gone into staying away from “senseless stereotyping”[21] Page 3 shows the societies response towards homosexuality. When Madhivi and her best friend was waiting for the train a group of homophobic males reacted agressively towards him, which was shown through the close-up of his face bruised and beaten. As shown in Page 3 the Indian society has not yet accepted those who are homosexual. It has been only recently that western governement have made it legal for males to get married. Therefore if this is the case society will soon find this acceptable. The fact that the director explicitly presented three openly-gay characters forces the audience to feel sympathetic towards them and for them to realise that they are normal people.
Similarly, in another recent film ‘Fanaa’ (Kunal Kohli, 2006) constructs the contemporary conflict involving Kashmir, Pakistan and India. This film also lacks closure, which is emphasized by its circular narrative. The representation of supernatural is no longer a convention in Bollywood. These have been replaced by the rise in contemporary issues that films such as ‘Page 3’ and ‘Fanaa’ portray. Since the 9/11 the fear of terrorism has grown worldwide. Perhaps this is due to secularisation; it is argued that society now looks toward those idols presented by the media, as substitutive for traditional faith. Alternatively, by allowing the media to act as a replacement consequently means ‘dumbing down’[22] its audience and making them docile obedient and unquestioning authority just like the character Madhivi. Whilst assuming the audience will aspire to these celebrities as ‘idols’ and ‘role model’s’. The director of ‘Page 3’ Madhur “Bhandarkar does not trust the viewers to be intelligent enough”[23] so he explicitly shows the corruption and insensitive elite. This encourages the independency theory as it suggests that audiences are passive and become dependent on the media.
In ‘Page 3’ a social hierarchy is present as it represents not only the caste system but also the division between social classes. The separation between the media and public mirrors the rich and poor. These celebrities are shown to have a culture based around glamour and celebration, as the main iconographic is a camera. After the terrorist attack in ‘Page 3’ witnessed by Madhivi had shocked her as these celebrities, knowing innocent people had died carried on with the party. As Althusser disputes that institutions such as media is used as an ‘ideological state apparatus’ to funnel the beliefs of the ruling class. This applies to his theory as the audiences are made to except the relationship with other classes. According to Marxist theory, the proletariat will aspire to the ruling class and except their deprived position.
Hindi films are long complex and varied; they provide glamour, fantasy and opportunity for audiences. Although a more recent trend shows that films are now also educating the audiences. Instead of films catering for the needs of its audience Bollywood seems to be educating its audience. ’Page 3’ was shown to be a success in India as a majority felt that these were issues that needed to be raised.
In the 1970’s there was an influx of Asians migrating to the UK ‘Asians now make up just over 3.5% of the total population’[2] bringing along with them their culture, tradition and religion. All of which, are presented through Bollywood films, that have managed to cross over and now its not just Indian families watching them they are being shown in big cinemas across the UK. A problem is that younger generations sometimes find the stories a bit predictable and are getting bored of the similar tales as a result Bollywood conventions are now changing. However, a large Indian diaspora in English speaking countries, and increased western influence at home, have nudged Bollywood films closer to Hollywood models.
Filmmakers like Madhur Bhandarkar who directed ‘Page 3’, are trying to tackle this by changing storylines to reflect real life issues. The title refers to the page three in tabloids where society news,pictures of parties and socialites are printed. ‘Page 3’ is ‘honest and deals with real issues"[3] therefore showing Bollywood developing. ‘Page 3’ takes a candid look into the everyday lives of shallow two-faced celebrities and those who adorn the third page of newspaper also known as the ‘Page 3 culture’. The film enters through the facade of their ‘hunky-dory’ lives and explores the hypocrisy, superficiality and shallowness that lie underneath showing the gritty side of the celebrity culture. The repetitive iconographic image is the camera, which not only emphasise the ‘page 3 culture’ but also the idea of capturing real life events. The director Madhur Bhandarkar therefore shows the world of showbiz whilst capturing many aspects of human life. It is evident that Bollywood conventions are now changing; a realistic interpretation is becoming more common and inspirational amongst other films such as 'Black' (2005), 'Rang de Basanti’ (2006) and ‘Fanaa’ (2006).
Maltby argues that genres “are subject to the constant process of change adaptation”[4] and Bollywood’s primary objective was to provide four hours of escapism. It can be argued that cultural imperialism contributed to Bollywood’s newly formed genre, this idea that western ideologies are now being transmitted and presented in the form of Bollywood films. Indian audiences expect full value for their money, with a good entertainment generally referred to as ‘paisa vasool’, ("money's worth"). Songs and dances, love triangles, comedy and dare-devil thrills - all that are mixed up in a three-hour-long extravaganza. “Westerners would tend to classify Bollywood as a musical”[5] Such movies are called masala movies, which are named after the Hindi word for a spice mixture, masala. However these conventions are not common in recent films such as ‘Page 3’ together with ‘Black’ (Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2005) both ignore this Bollywood convention. Effectively, this allows its audience to realise that life is not as straightforward as Bollywood films originally suggested. Therefore providing the western audience, with a Bollywood film that does not evolve around the typical theme of love.
‘Page 3, along with other films such as ‘Black,’ explores sensitive issues such as those with illnesses, diseases or disabilities. ‘Black’ follows the life of a blind girl initially, this issue would have been ignored and she would have been labelled as ‘evil’[6] or ‘possessed by the devil’ by the majority in India. By addressing these issues ‘Page 3’ attempts to make these concerns common knowledge whilst educating its audience “People love to love it or love to hate it, but cannot ignore it”[7]‘Page 3’ was described as a ‘phenomenon’ by the ‘Times of India therefore expressing the positive response to the ‘cinema vertite’.
According to Marxist, who take a structuralist approach, disputes the audience are made to believe in capitalist propaganda and ideologies. Therefore his solution was to “shun narrative structure by eliminating the individual protagonist”[8] and tell stories which are focused and moved by a group. Traditionally, Bollywood film narratives where directed through one main protagonist, which forced its audience to identify with one character which is shown through a Bollywood classic ‘Mother India’. However, ‘Page 3’ shows the perspective of eight different characters through the technique of cuts and point of view shots. Page 3 is told through a montage and parallel action, on the world of showbiz and it captures many aspects of human life. “‘Page 3' has no main plot but looks through many stories of many characters"[9] allowing the audience to relate to different characters illustrates the progression of a more realistic element. Blulmer and Katz invented the ‘uses and gratification’ theory which suggests that the audiences are made up of individuals who actively chose what to consume. By doing this it allows the audience to be more ‘active’ as they are given a number of characters to identify with.
Propp argues, “narrative roles are essentials to every story”[10] in ‘Page 3’ Madhivi, being a naïve character can be considered as ‘good’ whilst the media and celebrities are ‘bad’ and corrupted. However once Madhivi realises this she tries to beat the unjust system, failing to do so in the end she is back to where she started, conforming to the culture. The director successfully presents this, by the long shot, which show this atmosphere of celebration that appeared in the opening and ending of the film. Here Bollywood presents characters that undergo a transition between Propps narrative roles consequently turning from innocent and good to bad and potential conformist to the system. Perhaps Bollywood is trying to promote a new message to its audience in India that the media is manipulating the truth. Typically in Bollywood films the ‘goody’ always wins however in ‘Page 3’ the one good person. Madhivi ends up conforming to their ideologies. This idea that those with money and status win, is ingrained into its Asian audience through primary socialisation.
The circular narrative allows the audience to be open to a more realistic suggestion that not all “Bollywood stories have a happy ending”[11]. The girls (Madhivi, Pearl and Gayatri) are also very different from each other bringing in a nice mixture of humour and emotional bonding. To explore these characters in greater depths, Bhandarkar was not afraid of delving into the darker matters. One of many females in ‘Page 3’ is Madhivi, a naive journalist who we follow continuously; we are forced to see the 'Page 3 culture' through her perspective. This contradicts Laura Mulveys theory of 'male gaze' as the audience are positioned as a female as she does not fulfil the quality of ‘to be look at ness’. Points of view shots and the eye – level camera techniques allow women from all cultural backgrounds can somehow relate to her. Through this we as the audience learn about stresses women experience in a patriarchal and capitalist society. The social realism in 'Page 3' allows the audience to neglect dominant ideologies, discovering the corruption of the elite. Madhivi struggles to do her job, as a journalist, as she is prevented from printing a story on a man who performs Paedophilic acts and due to his power, authority and wealth she is unable to inform the public of the truth.
Mulveys theory of the “active male” and “passive female”[12] is commonly typical in Bollywood films and to some extent present in ‘Page 3’ often through social constructions. Due to the rise in feminism and women’s rights, a western influence, women have become more determined to rebel against stereotypical gender roles. A prime example of this social change in attitude is shown in ‘Page 3’ through the females who are working and receive pay, which is clearly shown through the character Pearl. The independence of these girls is shown through the setting, the fact that they live in an apartment extend their rights as women, regardless of culture and tradition. The airhostess Pearl fulfils all the characteristics of an independent woman; however in the end she marries a man simply for money and status. Therefore implying the traditional gender roles of men being breadwinners and women being passive and financially dependent on the males.
Unfortunately, sexism is still present and is clearly shown in ‘Page 3’ suggesting that “women are exploited, no doubt about it”[13], implying that women cannot beat the male dominated system. Unfortunately, ‘Page 3’ portrays the male characters to be powerful in contrast to women who are struggling to achieve similar status to the men. The main character Madhivi is not passive like other women in the film; in fact she questions authority although her questioning authority as a result made her jobless. This shows that society punishing those who attempt to challenge the elite and so “nothing is resolved until the preferred social order is in place”[14] in the film Madhivi is punished by losing her job, this is ironic as it is her job to gather gossip on these celebities. Therefore this suggests patriarchy is still current in society and reaffirms the concept of a glass ceiling whereby women cannot achieve higher than a certain extent.
Gayatri is another female character that aspires to become an actress in Bollywood. However her manager wants to know less about her name and achievements but questions irrelevantly “will she give?”[15] Therefore it is implied that women have to participate in sexual favours in return for a future regarding their career. Whilst she was being interviewed in the managers office we as the audience are made to, uncomfortably, watch him take advantage of his power, which was emphasised through the tense music and isolation. Consequently as the narrative progresses we find out that Gayatri had overcome this obstacle by sleeping with the director in exchange for a part in his movie. All the females in ‘Page 3’ have no option but to conform to these ideologies transmitted by the dominant males and accept the fact that society is still patriarchal.
Another female character in ‘Page 3’ who we engage with is the entertainer at one of the celebrity parties. She, on the other hand, reflects Mulveys theory, as she is the “object of the male gaze”[16]. As a performer, she dressed provocatively which encourages the attention therefore attracting the male audiences. Her red outfit deliberately fetishize her feminine figure, in benefit of the audience who, at this stage, are presumably males, watching her and fulfilling their voyeuristic pleasures. A repetitive iconographic that is constantly shown is the camera, encouraging the ‘Male gaze’, voyeurism and fetishism. The female audience also see this entertainer as a attractive young women who they apsire to. From this it is obvious that the director has not completely taken out the conventions of a successful Bollywood films. Therefore this suggests that even the western audience find the songs entertaining and appealing.
In the ‘Raj’ period, women were largely restricted to staying within family homes, and their lives were strictly followed by religion and by the patriarchal order in the family system, which is also shown in Page 3. She would be responsible for decency and health of all persons living n her service”[17]. Never exposed to the culture or values of the west, the women would be then seen as pure in terms of untainted traditional values and culture. It was both the duty of the woman herself, and of men, to protect this purity – the woman through the preservation of her chastity, and the Hindu man by continuing to keep the Hindu woman contained within the safety of the home and the patriarchal order. After watching ‘Page 3’ these traditional ideologies are no longer around films. Bollywood films would not explicitly show kissing however recent films like ‘Page 3’ along with ‘Black’ and ‘Bunty aur Bubli’ show scenes of affection. Film kisses are no longer banned. Plots now tend to feature westernized urbanites dating and dancing in discos rather than arranged marriages.
Mother India (1957, directed by Mehboob Khan) showed its main female protagonist to be powerful and independent which is uncommon for a film that was made in that period. Films were focussed on issues within family and society, and for many years it has been recognised as an important genre. Like ‘Page 3’ the genre has a twentieth century setting often concerned with issues that are contemporary such as society and media. Although there seems to be a connection women and nation, which, suggests that women were respected and viewed as being a powerful figure in India. However in ‘Page 3’ the mother figure seems to be lacking, as women are more concerned with money fame and beauty. The womens power is tested through her ability to stay pure, this would mean unaffected by the western culture. Women are not supposed to be sexually active and were encouraged to stay at home in a domesticated space where clear gender roles were forced upon them. “The woman’s holiest space lay within the family, in devoted service to the household and the family deity.”[18] It was assumed that all women would maintain her nature, which was to remain sexually pure although, society depended on women to fulfil their role as a mother, especially to her sons. This is shown in ‘Page 3’ through the wife who works in an orphanage with children; therefore she is still in control by the patriarchy as she is locked, even in the work place, into a domesticated sphere.
Representations of women in Indian films have been affected by modernisation and social changes. Many women actresses in Bollywood films have become modern, they are more outgoing and independent, flirtatious and ‘cheeky’ demanded to be treated as equals. Although there is still essentially ‘feminine’ ways of behaving in terms of fashion, their looks and appearences and a desire to be modern.
It has been argued that Bollywood has always been under the influence of Hollywood films, After World War One the expansion of Hollywood, “85% of films shown in India were American”[19]. But the introduction to sound made immediate differences, the Indian public quite naturally preferred to see films made in their own language. Therefore due to language restrictions in the past this prevented Indians to watch Hollywood films. Directors would “borrow” ideas from Hollywood films and produce it in Bollywood. Therefore as the majority in India are not fluent in English Bollywood effectively mirrors the movement of Hollywood.
The traditional view of males has been subverted, now being an object of the gaze. Therefore it is taken in consideration that audience are not all presumably males. This is shown through the long shot of a group of males advertising men’s underwear. It is widely noted that since the 1980s there has been an increasing display and “equalization of the male body in mainstream cinema”[20]. This is uncommon in the Indian culture as issues regarding male and female were often ones to sensitive to discuss. However the effects of western society have made these issues more aware and open in discussion.
There are three gay male characters and the fact that they are all totally different from each other shows the effort gone into staying away from “senseless stereotyping”[21] Page 3 shows the societies response towards homosexuality. When Madhivi and her best friend was waiting for the train a group of homophobic males reacted agressively towards him, which was shown through the close-up of his face bruised and beaten. As shown in Page 3 the Indian society has not yet accepted those who are homosexual. It has been only recently that western governement have made it legal for males to get married. Therefore if this is the case society will soon find this acceptable. The fact that the director explicitly presented three openly-gay characters forces the audience to feel sympathetic towards them and for them to realise that they are normal people.
Similarly, in another recent film ‘Fanaa’ (Kunal Kohli, 2006) constructs the contemporary conflict involving Kashmir, Pakistan and India. This film also lacks closure, which is emphasized by its circular narrative. The representation of supernatural is no longer a convention in Bollywood. These have been replaced by the rise in contemporary issues that films such as ‘Page 3’ and ‘Fanaa’ portray. Since the 9/11 the fear of terrorism has grown worldwide. Perhaps this is due to secularisation; it is argued that society now looks toward those idols presented by the media, as substitutive for traditional faith. Alternatively, by allowing the media to act as a replacement consequently means ‘dumbing down’[22] its audience and making them docile obedient and unquestioning authority just like the character Madhivi. Whilst assuming the audience will aspire to these celebrities as ‘idols’ and ‘role model’s’. The director of ‘Page 3’ Madhur “Bhandarkar does not trust the viewers to be intelligent enough”[23] so he explicitly shows the corruption and insensitive elite. This encourages the independency theory as it suggests that audiences are passive and become dependent on the media.
In ‘Page 3’ a social hierarchy is present as it represents not only the caste system but also the division between social classes. The separation between the media and public mirrors the rich and poor. These celebrities are shown to have a culture based around glamour and celebration, as the main iconographic is a camera. After the terrorist attack in ‘Page 3’ witnessed by Madhivi had shocked her as these celebrities, knowing innocent people had died carried on with the party. As Althusser disputes that institutions such as media is used as an ‘ideological state apparatus’ to funnel the beliefs of the ruling class. This applies to his theory as the audiences are made to except the relationship with other classes. According to Marxist theory, the proletariat will aspire to the ruling class and except their deprived position.
Hindi films are long complex and varied; they provide glamour, fantasy and opportunity for audiences. Although a more recent trend shows that films are now also educating the audiences. Instead of films catering for the needs of its audience Bollywood seems to be educating its audience. ’Page 3’ was shown to be a success in India as a majority felt that these were issues that needed to be raised.
[1] Shahid Khan
[2] www.bl.uk/collections/business/asiandemographics.html
[3] Asiana Magazine - Autumn 2004/Page 32
[4] Maltby, R (1995) Hollywood cinema/Page24
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood
[6] Amir Khan, Lagaan (2001)
[7] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3929687.stm
[8]
[9] http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/Page3/
[10]Altman, Rick. Film/Genre/Page 217.
[11] ttp://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/bollywood/htm.
[12] Mulveys, Laura (1975) Visual pleasures and Narrative Cinema
[13] http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/13205.html)
[14]http://lass.calumet.purdue.du/cca/gmj/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/Fall2002/Ar
[15] Page 3 (2005) Madhur Bhandarkar,
[16] Smelik, Anneke (2001) ‘and the mirror cracked feminist cinema/ Page 7
[17] The British Empire From photographs of India/ Page 12
[18] Hindu Wife, Hindu Nation, Tanika Sarkar 2001
[19] Reginal Massey – All India
[20] Moore 1987, Evans & Gamman 1995, Mort 1996, Edwards 1997
[21] http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/Page3/
[22]
[23] http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/Page3/
Bibliography
Books:
· Alter, Stephen. Fantasies of a Bollywood Love-Thief: Inside the World of Indian Moviemaking.
· David Gauntlet ,2002, Media Gender Representation and Identity.
· Ganti, Tejaswini. Bollywood, Routledge, New York and London, 2004.
· Joshi, Lalit Mohan. Bollywood: Popular Indian Cinema. 3)
· Kabir, Nasreen Munni. Bollywood, Channel 4 Books, 2001.
· Madhava Prasad’s -: ideology of the Hindi film: a historical construction
· Mehta, Suketu. Maximum City, Knopf, 2004.
· Mishra, Vijay. Bollywood Cinema: Temples of Desire.
· Raheja, Dinesh and Kothari, Jitendra. Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga.
· Rajadhyaksha, Ashish and Willemen, Paul. Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema, Oxford University Press, revised and expanded, 1999.
Websites:
· http://www.webindia123.com/movie/national/rangde/index.htm
· http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/Page3/
· http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/13205.html)
· ttp://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/bollywood/htm.
· http://www.panix.com/~squigle/ves/mulvey-vpnc.html
· http://www.bollywoodworld.com/
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood
· http://www.b4utv.com/index.shtml
· http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articlelist/536583627.cms
· http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3929687.stm
· http://www.mtvindia.com/mtv/movies/reviews/05/page3/index.php
· http://www.bollywood.com/archives/2005/02/madhur_bhandark.html
· http://babasko.blogspot.com/2006/11/page-3-but-then-why-should-they-be-any.html
· http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20050201-1.html
· http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=725&page=3
Newspapers/Magazines Articles:
· Asiana- Autumn addition 2004
Filmography:
· Page 3 - Madhur Bhandarkar 2005
· Lagaan – Amir Khan 2001
· Black – Sanjay Leela Bhansali 2005
· Fanaa – Kunal Kohli 2006
· Devdas – Sanjay Leela Bhansali 2002
· Rang De Basanti - Rakyesh Mehra 2006
· Mohabbatein - Aditya Chopra 2000
Books:
· Alter, Stephen. Fantasies of a Bollywood Love-Thief: Inside the World of Indian Moviemaking.
· David Gauntlet ,2002, Media Gender Representation and Identity.
· Ganti, Tejaswini. Bollywood, Routledge, New York and London, 2004.
· Joshi, Lalit Mohan. Bollywood: Popular Indian Cinema. 3)
· Kabir, Nasreen Munni. Bollywood, Channel 4 Books, 2001.
· Madhava Prasad’s -: ideology of the Hindi film: a historical construction
· Mehta, Suketu. Maximum City, Knopf, 2004.
· Mishra, Vijay. Bollywood Cinema: Temples of Desire.
· Raheja, Dinesh and Kothari, Jitendra. Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga.
· Rajadhyaksha, Ashish and Willemen, Paul. Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema, Oxford University Press, revised and expanded, 1999.
Websites:
· http://www.webindia123.com/movie/national/rangde/index.htm
· http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/Page3/
· http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/13205.html)
· ttp://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/bollywood/htm.
· http://www.panix.com/~squigle/ves/mulvey-vpnc.html
· http://www.bollywoodworld.com/
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood
· http://www.b4utv.com/index.shtml
· http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articlelist/536583627.cms
· http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3929687.stm
· http://www.mtvindia.com/mtv/movies/reviews/05/page3/index.php
· http://www.bollywood.com/archives/2005/02/madhur_bhandark.html
· http://babasko.blogspot.com/2006/11/page-3-but-then-why-should-they-be-any.html
· http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20050201-1.html
· http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=725&page=3
Newspapers/Magazines Articles:
· Asiana- Autumn addition 2004
Filmography:
· Page 3 - Madhur Bhandarkar 2005
· Lagaan – Amir Khan 2001
· Black – Sanjay Leela Bhansali 2005
· Fanaa – Kunal Kohli 2006
· Devdas – Sanjay Leela Bhansali 2002
· Rang De Basanti - Rakyesh Mehra 2006
· Mohabbatein - Aditya Chopra 2000
posted by Puja at Monday, February 26, 2007
1 Comments:
Hey this is really a interesting post...thanks for sharing these with us...and well the festival of colors is also a few days away now...so enjoy some of the colors and fun this wonderful festival just drop by my blog on Holi Celebrations and enjoy all that it's filled up with!!!
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