Indian women insulted on screen? | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Indian women insulted on screen?

PTI | ByHTTabloid.com, New Delhi
May 10, 2005 12:29 PM IST

On a day when its Female First, Bollywood explains why it likes women to bare all. GR8 women have a ball | Have Your Say

Women in India found their voice in real life, and maybe lost their dignity in reel life. On a day when its Female First the world over, Bollywood explains why it likes women to bare all.

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"I have never portrayed a woman with bad character in positive light. For example, Fun - It Can be Dangerous Sometimes did not say that swapping partners among married couples was good. Although the subject was bold, we dealt with it only because it happens in our society. It was not something that was pure fiction," insists Payal Rohatgi, the sizzling star of films like Tauba Tauba, Maaza Maaza and Laila-A Mystery.

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Having let the floodgates open with 17 kisses in Khwahish, director Govind Menon says what few people think can't be accepted as the larger moral code. According to him: "They are being stereotypical when they claim that an actress exposing on screen degrades all women. The Khajuraho sculptures, made hundreds of years ago, also show women with bare breasts. Tell me, isn't that degrading? Certainly we were conservative in the 60s and the 70s. But today we are much more open. As far I am concerned, there can be no bigger insult to women than say that 'exposing women diminishes their value in society'."

"There may be a school of thought that looks down upon exposure, but then that school of thought has no right to impose its views on others who see exposure as positive portrayal of women. We are living in a world where things have different meanings. We must learn to look at such issues globally, not locally," he adds.

Kaliyon Ka Chaman girl Meghna Naidu argues that bare-dare films reflect the spirit of the modern Indian woman. "It's the face of a new and bold person. She has been liberated from the confines of her home and is out to prove her place in the scheme of things. More importantly, this new woman is not afraid to talk about various issues and problems that she sees in society," she says.

TLV Prasad, the man who was accused of taking sex to the classrooms in Tauba Tauba, denies that his films are an affront to women. "If I am making a film on a woman with a bad character, I have to show her the way she is. You can't turn a blind eye to their presence in society and that is exactly what my films reflect. Maybe the present controversy arises from the fact that we have started dealing with topics no one talked about in the past. Homosexuality, wife swapping, pre-marital sex and extra-marital affairs have always been around; but it is only now that you see them on screen. It's virtually impossible to avoid bold scenes when you make a film on issues like these," he says.

 

 HTTABLOID WOMAN'S DAY SPECIAL
 GR8 women have a ball!


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