In love, it is better to know and be disappointed, than to not know and always wonder
Posts Tagged ‘indian movies’
Girls Grow Into Womanhood The Body
November 27th, 2013, posted in GiRLs, Ink On PAPER, Scarface'S DIARY
As girls grow into womanhood, the body becomes the central medium through which these unwritten codes of behavior are transmitted and memorized. The demure lowered gaze fixed at some point on the floor, the acquiescent nod of the head, the feminine swing of the hips, the closely held thighs and the modestly drawn-in shoulders are all written into our bodies by invisible hands and inaudible words so that we start believing that this is the way we are supposed to be.
The containment of a woman’s body is demonstrated by the very tightness with which she holds herself and moves The notion that such gendered body language is ‘natural’ is reinforced by observing other women we encounter. For example, observing men and women in public transportation and on the streets of Mumbai, one notices the tentative and watchful manner in which women occupy public space. In BEST buses, the average women will occupy the least possible space, rendering herself as inconspicuous as she can…on the other hand, the average man will spread his legs out, occupy more than half of a two-seater in a bus and appear to disregard the people around him.
—Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan, Shilpa Ranade,Why Loiter?: Women and Risk on Mumbai Streets
Observing the occupation of space(s) by women is critical praxis for me when I watch films, particularly because there’s always some surprise (and satisfaction) in catching glimpses of scenes where filmmakers break away from the traditionally gendered frame. The screencaps above illustrate that sentiment best. While Indian women at leisure in public spaces has never been a plausible reality for the filmmaker to pursue, this uninhibited, un-sexualized, un-victimized image of women in private, domestic spaces has usually been shied away from as well, because film has been expected to make its female protagonists hyper-aware of their bodies in the form of traditional gender roles for the benefit of a cis, heteronormative, North Indian Hindu male audience. Obviously the harrowing majority of filmmakers from parallel cinema to the so-called mainstream are male and their own sexist expectations of women have been translated into the narratives of their films along with the way they frame their female protagonists, never affording viewers with the realities (or criticisms) of women and their occupancy of private/domestic space.
The women in these films however, are able to lie faceless and thoughtless in crumpled sarees and nightgowns, no male gaze to bind their bodies to a decreed acceptable amount of space. They spill out from the frame, with hidden limbs, faces, thoughts—a luxury the traditionally gendered frame would not dream of providing.
Link : http://azaadi.tumblr.com/post/61204139780/dhrupad-as-girls-grow-into-womanhood-the-body
Dev D The Movie
August 1st, 2011, posted in MOViES, No Smoking
Release Date : 6 February 2009 (India)
Director      : Anurag Kashyap
Stars         : Abhay Deol, Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechlin
Writers       : Saratchandra Chatterjee (novel), Abhay Deol (concept)
Well, the results are out and as indicated in our box office columns, Anurag Kashyap’s DEV D, the modern version of DEVDAS has worked its magic amongst a section of the audience. And this selective appreciation is enough to guarantee the Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill, Kalki Koechlin starrer, a good initial, which given the cost to return should turn out to be the first reasonable success for the lead actor Abhay Deol and the director Anurag Kashyap.
Anurag Kashyap, who till now was associated with vague and bizarre films like, NO SMOKING, tastes his first success with DEV D. His BLACK FRIDAY was a well made and critically acclaimed venture, though commercial success eluded it due the delay in its release because of controversies.
Anurag Kashyap has definitely taken Devdas to the next level. The original story by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was a brilliant one, but it doesnt look acceptable to me at some points in today’s time. AK (Anurag Kashyap) has taken the flaws out of the story and what comes out is a refined product ,much more acceptable in the year 2009.
The key points to note here is that the story in Dev D is in a punjabi background unlike the Bengali background in the original Devdas. The lead character played by Abhay Deol is named Devraj Singh Dhillon, so its abbreviated at Dev D, son of the Sugar Baron in Punjab, Paro (Parminder) played by Mahie Gill, is the daughter of his father’s manager. I really loved the way Punjab was picturised in the movie. When Dev lands in Chandigarh the movie begins with an awesome song ” Dhol Yaara Dhol” showing Paro dancing, the event is Dev’s brother’s wedding. What follows after this cannot be exactly called love, its more of an infatuation which was triggered by Paro’s “photograph” which Dev saw in London. The couple is always finding places to make out :-). Paro on the other hand has been shown as a girl who is madly in love with Dev, the point to note here is that Paro is madly in love with Dev, but Dev doesn’t show any such signs.
AK has shown Dev’s ego very well here, he always had this massive sized ego, right from his childhood. But the better part in the movie is Paro also has an ego. The scene to watch out for is when Dev insults Paro, she cries, observes her hairs, wipes her tears and decides to move on. I think this scene speaks a thousand words. Another thing that I lied in the movie was the way the characyters are introduced, infact the entire first half is used for the character buildup of Paro, Chanda and Dev. Showing their backgrounds, specially Chanda’s character buildup. AK used one of the real life incident (The MMS Scandal) to build Chanda’s character.
As soon as the movie starts after the interval, we find Dev in Delhi, and on the path of self destruction. in these sequences AK has done brilliant work with the camera, the scenes where they show Dev high are remarkable, they look so realistic, and Abhay Deol has done a fantastic job in the entire movie, I guess he is the only Deol child who can act! The soundtrack just compliments the movie at all the points, the best part is that the songs are playing in the background and the movie is moving on… this way you don’t feel bored. I really loved the look and style of Dev D.
My favorite scenes:
Though there are many scenes which I like in this movie but the one which I think really gives energy to this movie are as follows :
- When Paro cries and decides to move on..
- When Dev returns after his dad’s death, he just stands infront of his mother and cries. This is probably the only incident when Dev cries in the entire movie. And believe me the scene is done brilliantly.
- The scene where Dev hugs Chanda and says “Beta its ok”
