The effervescence of feminine quotient in films was little too high in the 80’s and then by itself deteriorated and diminished. The wave of Indian cinema after that era had an entirely different plethora in which commercial elements and the grandeur related to it were positioned in an apogee status. But what exactly does a human psyche connect with? The dearth of empathy craves for a human touch even if it’s virtual.
And hence there is this visible escalation of Indian films that deal with the stories of women and that too especially about the domestic violence adhered to them have geared up in 2022. Where it stood night and day was when the victims hit back and did not succumb to silence. Yes, they had a voice to showcase resistance. What bloomed eventually is a newer perspective of real lives in the modern context. Complexities of man- woman relationships more often are delineated by infidelity and in this melee of stupor confusion evolves the dilemma and conflict.
“Darlings” is one of the much talked about film of this genre. Alia Bhatt after her much-applauded role in “Gangubai Kathiawadi” in which she had steered a much more poignant and unique characterization just excels in the innocent housewife role in Darlings. The film remain to be dealt with a comical gulp, the agony and plight of women who are inflicted with domestic violence. Even in this neo-modern age women undergo this violence either physically, sexually, or psychologically. Hence there is relatable connect to all women who view it. The comical seaming of the story telling in the second half doesn’t in any way minimize the impact of revenge taking in the end but gives just a breath of relief- so as to in the climax when the husband is being hit by a train- the surreal shock Alia Bhatt slips into, mantles the viewer as well.
Male ego is just hit under the belt in all the films I love to refer in this article. What is so impressive is the fact that women are portrayed as individuals having immense inner strength. “Gatta Kusthi“ is another example where the woman who façades herself to be pious and humble saves her husband . It’s the same husband who decides to part ways when he finds out that she has scaled herself as an innocent wife doing daily household chores but later being selflessly safeguarding him in a wrestling bout. What makes it more viable and connected is the way the plot has been treated . Not much mourning attached to the stigma of domestic violence, these films deal with it even hilariously at times. That but in no way hits badly on the depth of the offence . Based in a rural setting it also tells the audience, the follies of an arranged marriage although it has been socially acceptable.
Almost done to death all these themes of domestic violence and women enduring all of them just to be branded as good “wives” of Mr. So, & So have been resurrected and given another motif which has a common equivalent to every modern soul. The Great Indian Kitchen talks about how women’s dreams are chaotically damaged by the middle-class mundane values of arranged marriages. The clogged washbasin sinks shown in this film resonate with the suffocated female psyche.
Another film “Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey” although having the crux based on a French film ”Kung-Fu Zohra” deals with the revenge rife with a rich humor quotient. Arranged marriages are nothing more than a gamble and hence unpredictable. Also, the supremacy of the male counterpart is so determining that the female is tight cornered and has no option left but to retaliate. Retaliation not only caters to the insatiate urge of taking revenge on the offender but also entertains with nonstop laughter. The best part is the song that has been voice mixed with a WWF commentary and that’s according to me is the best scene of the film.
The transition of human mind after lockdown is to be studied because everyone was compelled to be under one roof but couldn’t stand by each other. This might have been the cause of such films pouring in the industry thereby creating a new wave of renaissance identifying individualities. “Ammu” is another Telugu film which has a similar story line but the one in which the victim uses the husband’s profession as a tool to hit him back . Not scaling up so high to the quality of the other films quoted above, this but excels in this unique aspect of retaliation – Hit the enemy in his own space.
Retrospecting these films that revolts against domestic violence, I also get across the exemplary vision that female protagonists have begun relishing the threshold of victory. Albeit this, these films have artistically shattered the walls of gender oppression. Leaving a single thought on the audience on their way back home- ruminating the cause of revolt may bring in a light in societal status of women in both familial and professional spaces.
Views expressed are personal.
