Archive for the ‘Discriminatory’ Category
When do we say enough is enough! – Ye pyar na hoga kam
On February 04, 2010 in Channels, Character, Colors, Discriminatory, Drama, Family, Hindi Serial, Marriage, Society, TV, Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam
It is heartening to see that Hindi serials have taken it upon themselves to question the many old and often harmful notions that continue to plague modern India. Be it child marriage, the stigma attached to widow remarriages, female infanticide, the helpless conditions of poor farmer who are forced to sell their children, almost all the serious subjects are being covered. There are serials whose main pivots are these sensitive and topical issues. However there are other shows that are trying to do their bit by weaving in equally important issues as sub plots.
One such show is Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam (Colors) where the track is focusing on the unfair and unequal treatment that the bride’s family has to tolerate and endure. The structure of society is such around the world that women are pegged lower than men in terms of social status and hierarchy. In India there is a strong male child preference given culturally and ritually prescribed notions like the son’s right to light the funeral pyre, his sole authority to perform last rites and so on. Patriarchy, where property passes on from father to son, has helped to strengthen this system of unfair bias. Even during a marriage it is the bride’s side that has to bow down and give in to the demands of the groom’s side, no matter how unfair these are.
Rashmi and Madhav are in love and have decided to tie the knot. They belong to two different caste groups and also come from different linguistic background. Madhav’s parents unhappy with the match have been unkind and disrespecting to Rashmi’s parents from day one. Madahv’s mother especially has been cruelty personified. She has used every opportunity to belittle Rashmi’s parents, using barbed comments to hurt and wound. Madhav’s mother is so caught up with her power as the ‘groom’s mother’ that she has not stopped to consider how her behaviour affects her son’s happiness. The final straw in all her evil schemes was when she refused to let the bride’s family perform any ritual according to their own tradition.
The final obstacle will come in the way of the demand for dowry that she will put forward. Reshmi’s family has stood by mutely with folded hands accepting every taunt and insult with tears and pleas of understanding. This is drama, but there are thousand families across India who would have experienced a similar situation during the time of a daughter’s marriage. Women in their different forms-mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend- are one half of the population and the pivots of families. Isn’t it time we stop harassing them and their family members all in the name of tradition and custom? Isn’t it time to change for the better?
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal: Disappointing
On December 09, 2007 in Action, Bollywood, Culture, Discriminatory, Masala, Movie, Patriotic, Sports, Video, West
Quite a few of you would have seen ‘Chak De’ and been impressed with the overall tone of the movie, the way that a coach tries to overcome his history and blend a team together inspite of their individual differences, egos, and ambitions. And the result is gripping, with a good dose of patriotism possible. Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal seems to suffer on this count. The movie, even though set in the United Kingdom, tries the same logic with a disparate team of people, hard up, trying to make a last ditch attempt to pull themselves up and win a championship on which their team depends. However, even though I liked the thought of the movie itself, given that there did not seem to be much of a market for movies that explored the sports theme without much of a romance, villains, and other commercial aspects. After all, how often do you get to see a movie looking at South Asians based in London, and with no reference to going back to India, or with a romance, but purely based on the life of people in that location ?
Changing face of Indian women in ICICI ads
On July 27, 2007 in Ads, Business, Character, Discriminatory, Family, Society, TV, Values
Advertisements that we see around us are a good barometer of how society treats its members. The subject of fairness cream ads and their demeaning effect on women, especially ambitious ones who are dark skinned has been covered in numerous debates in the past. It is an accepted fact that those ads are meant to sell the concept of fairness being a desirable trait, and hence all ads will portray fairness in women in India as a desired goal, whether it be to get a better match in marriage, or to get a better job or a more glamorous job.
Something that is no so obvious is the portrayal of women in other ads such as the ads dealing with banking. One good example is the development of ads dealing with the selling of ICICI insurance products. The first set of ads portrayed women who were totally domesticated, without a voice, and who were shown as gaining assurance through the filling of their foreheads with sindoor. These first ads were criticized for a number of reasons such as the concept of showing a lady as totally dependent on the male for security, and who gets assurance only when her male is safe. The vermillion was extended to become the ICICI insurance mark, conveying the impression that ICICI was a way to make the status of women safer. Nowhere was it urged that even women could be insured, or that they were working in a job, or that their status in the family was such that it would be good that even they got insured. Mind you, ICICI has a number of senior executives who are female, and who doubtless are insured.
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Ghar ki Lakshmi Betiyaan
On June 23, 2007 in Discriminatory, Hindi Serial, Society
This is the popular 10 PM weekday serial on Zee. It also clashes with another programme on Star Plus, on the same theme (Betiyaan, Apni Ya Paraaya Dhan), namely that of a household having a strong patriarch (father) and of more daughters in the house than sons. And this in a household that values sons much more daughters. So, with 2 serials of the same nature, there was bound to be a clash, and it happened in the nature of a legal skirmish between Zee and Star before the serials started. Anyhow, there was an out-of-court settlement, and now both serials are ongoing.
Ghar ki Lakshmi Betiyaan is about the sexism that occurs in a number of families in India, and shows this in a form that is truly horrific. I don’t know whether the intention of the serial was to be so blatant about it, but the first few months of the serial were an absolute horror to watch, what with a father being so blatant about his preference for a son over the daughters that he has. He is shown favouring his son in everything and absolutely uncaring about the wishes of his daughters. Is this a realistic portrayal of things happening in India? In urban areas, among the families I have seen, I don’t remember any family having such a warped mindset, but with such prevalence of dowry and female infanticide, it is quite possible that such things happen a lot.
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