Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The Metamorphosis of the Indian Heroine

About the first thing that you probably think is going to be there in this piece is the enormous reduction in consumption of textiles on account of the Indian heroine. You are doomed to disappointment, however, though it is rather difficult to entirely avoid that issue while on the subject of the changing face of the Indian heroine. This piece, however, shall probably concentrate on how most things have come full circle when it comes to the Indian heroine.

There was a time when the heroine could be distinguished from her co-dancers – in one of the inevitable group dance sequences – by the color of her clothing. Everyone in the scene would be decorously clad in yards and yards of saris. Later, the other dancers in the scene used to be more (and more) scantily dressed while the heroine used to be covered by the most yardage (Believe me all those stupid allegations of pandering to the baser tastes were grossly untrue. This was done merely to distinguish them from the heroine!). In a further development, it was found better to distinguish the heroine from the others by having her be the least over-dressed of the lot. Now, however, things have come full circle and, with everyone equally scantily dressed, you again have to identify the heroine only by the color of her dress. In the more up-market versions, you can also identify her by the color of her skin since her co-dancers are normally whites.

In the early days, when the heroine has reason to grieve – either a lost parent or a lost love – all she had to do was weep. Things were not all that easy a shade later, when the heroine had adopted what was called ‘modern dress’. The moment a reason for grief presented itself she had to go out and shop first for the entire ensemble that is required to be worn with a sari – things that had never before had reason to be present in her wardrobe. After all, one has to be dressed appropriately for grieving and whoever had then heard of grieving in anything but a sari? Things have now come full circle again, since it is considered quite possible to be appropriately sorrowful even when dressed in a bikini and, thus, no change in wardrobe is considered essential. Of course the more up-market mode of grief is not to weep copiously but to bury your sorrows in a glass of vodka. That only entails wearing a lost look on your face – a feat that comes easy to the modern heroine, considering the sort of roles she is being offered, since she has that lost look perpetually on her face wondering what she is really doing in the movie anyway.

There are areas, however, where things have changed drastically. There was a time when the heroine was modeled more on the fertility goddess. One cannot go so far as to say that they were positively encouraged to put on poundage around the abdomen but an appearance of pregnancy did not necessarily spell curtains to a career as a heroine nor was it a curtain-raiser for a new career as mother. Now, apparently, the heroine is patterned on the ramp model – not least because scanty dress and excess poundage look really unsightly – and is more arm candy than one who ‘teaches a man what caring and sharing is all about’.

The biggest change, however, has come about in the touching part. The yester-year heroine coldly folded her hands in a Namaste and gave a ‘You Jerk’ look to the man who was rogue enough to put out his hand for a handshake. Later still, a hand-shake was sort of all right but everything else was ‘shaadi ke baad’. Then, she would decorously retire behind a couple of kissing flowers. Now, if the man does not embrace her and “Mwah Mwah” in the vicinity of her ear in the first meeting he gets that cold “You Jerk” look.

Alas! Keeping up with change is nerve-wracking. I have seen too much change within my lifetime and it is very wearing on my nerves. So, the metamorphoses of the comedian, the villain, the baby and the pet dog shall have to wait a long time before they get to be showcased here.

26 comments:

  1. For me the change has been seen in the dialogues like "Bhagwan ke liye mujhe chod do", "main ab kisi ko mun dikhane ke layak nahin rahi" "main tumaare bacche ki maa banne waali hun" or "mera sab kuch loot gaya" ....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And the instant sari-and-ceiling-fan act, huh, Farida :) Yeah - I know :)

      Delete
  2. witnesses of changing times would surely notice how acting jobs of Indian heroines has been restricted to skin show precisely in the name of acting! :)
    kissing flowers which were self explanatory few decades back about the intimacy levels of a couple are being replaced by intense bed-scenes just to justify the presence of the character called heroine!
    Suresh ji,you perfect dig highlighting the changing definition of Indian heroine kept my lips spread with a smile !
    Wonderful Take !! Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jack! That's why the heroine has that perpetual lost look on her face not knowing whether she is actually belongs in the movie or has wandered in by mistake :)

      Delete
  3. Haha..gud one...

    I'm now looking forward to the metamorphosis of the Indian Villain Suresh :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a major one :) The villains have turned co-heroes - witness Dhoom and Race series :)

      Delete
  4. Cry in a bikini? This I must see! Which movie?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Uh! Deleted the wrong comment as a repeat - missed out on the wipe her tears on the hero's torso or the robes business :)

      To answer that question, she normally cannot weep so she just hides her face in the hero's chest - much like Manoj Kumar did in his hands :)

      Delete
  5. Heroines embracing mommydom do have avenues now in TV shows et al! though heroes still do jhatak - matak with heroines almost of their daughter. Perhaps, bolluwood is little out of this now but this trend reigns supreme in the regionals down south especially!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mommy heroines are still heroines - it is heroines who look like mommies who have problems - and, yes, TV is a big boon for them. :)

      Delete
  6. But change is constant, Suresh and who knows how much you will have to witness and perhaps also write about again? :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah - and i hope it will come in handy the next time I run dry of ideas :)

      Delete
  7. As Farida says .. for me the biggest change has been the change in dialogues ! And the fact that Indian heroines are no longer the weepy self sacrificing kinds!The metamorphosis over the years has been interesting to watch !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought it was more in the lack of dialogues - Pelvic thrusts seem to form the bulk of the conversation in movies these days :)

      Delete
  8. Shaadi ke baad, retire behind flowers. LOL. Mwah Mwah :) I'm enjoying the sound effects! :) Background dancers - white. You nailed it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I picked that up by reading posts from women as well as their FB comments :)

      Delete
  9. For me, the biggest change in the Hindi film heroine hasbeen her accent. Once upon a time it used to be chaste Hindi straight from the heartland. Then came the lot who spoke Hindi with the pronounced lilt of a mouthful of idli dosa vadam. Today, of course, the Hindi film heroine speaks as if she went to the same tuition classes as Princess Kate Middleton.
    How times have changed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You mean they actually get to speak in movies? :) I must believe it, I suppose, considering the number of people who talk about dialogues and accents :)

      Delete
  10. that was some observation!! kept me smiling throughout! maybe in few years time the heroine will also begun getting replaced by another hero aka. dostana, etc...

    ReplyDelete
  11. For me a covered Madhubala was way more appealing than all the bare heroines today. And as you say, they are more of ramp models. When I see Deepika emoting I feel like laughing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You really saw Deepika emoting? :) I mean she had a role where she was expected to emote? This I got to see :)

      Delete
  12. It pains me to see good actresses try to keep up with times by portraying a perpetually bubbly teenager. And the emphasis on being a ramp model and plastic doll is so annoying. She might be grieving or get up from bed in full makeup? And so little for them to do. Then when one sees a Vidya Balan in Kahaani or Sridevi in English Vinglish, it is like a breath of fresh air. In their own way, they are fighting stereotypes of objectification. It makes me very sad. I wish we could see more real women as they live real lives and look normal instead of anorexic, dance machines with perfectly made hair and face. The other day, I saw a movie where the heroine had a perfect manicure and inch-long nails and was cooking. I howled so loudly. Whatever happened to being true to the role? A delightful post by you again, Suresh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is the saving grace - that there are a few movies still where a heroine actually has something to do.

      Delete
  13. Your sense of humour is wonderful! But yes there are exceptions to the rule like Shabana Azmi in Arth, Sridevi in EV, Vidya Balan in Kahaani(as Rachna mentioned) or even a Shobana in couple of malayalam movies are remarkable and these actresses have acted!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exceptions will always be there. I talk of the norm :)

      Delete