WOMEN PORTRAYED HELPLESS IN INDIAN CINEMA

After a long break I finally find the time to write down my thoughts. This is one topic that I've felt very offended by for a evry very long time. Being a feminit myself ;) [ I know that some men consider that a 'turn off', but hey this is me :) ] Anyway I've noticed and I'm sure alot of you have too, that women are portrayed as frail, dependant and helpless beings in indian cinema. The cause for having a female leading role in the movie in majority of the cases are just for glamour. As the male society in the public want such entities in a movie. Without it, the sucess formula is just not complete. Movie will not excel if there isn't a bell dance or women showing some skin.It is an obvious fact that Indian Cinema is hero dominant. The story mostly revolves around a male and the woman is just there to add colour to the whole show. She's either portrayed as the 'object' the villain flings over his shoulders and carries while she screams endlessly "oh save me, save me".Or there to dance in the duets with her designer clothes. Rarely you'll see a woman do something heroic. When questioned why, the claim it just isn't realistic. Now how is realistic does it look when there is an emaciated hero beating up around 20 monsters bare handed. Well !!! That's how it goes.
Such forsake characters in a movie: Trisha in Gillie[ tamil movie] movie revolves around a Velu played by Vijay, who saves Trisha from the grip of the villain who kills Trisha's brothers to forcefully marry her. The movie is packed with mind blowing adventure. But does the heroine contribute to it..Nope!!! not at all...All she does is scream, look perplexed, cry and run with him through and through. And not to forget, dance infront of the camera with impausible glamour.This is just one of the 1000 movies that gives women the backseat in the movie. But then take hollywood. Women are given almost equal importance as the men. The role Lara Croft played by Angelina Jolie in the movie Tomb raider. I am not denying the fact that it fullfiled the expectations of the men ;) but then she did play a strong vindictive woman. And that too with grace pertaining to a woman. And it was inspiring to see a woman portrayed as someone more admirable than a bag of tears.
In the indian society, cinema plays a major role. The hero worship is just too immense. Whatever Sharukh or Rajinikanth or Mahesh babu does is just the right thing to people. So when women are supressed in movies, the illiterate crowd looks at woman as just a glamour product. The world is advancing at unimaginable speed and pace. Job discrimination amongst the sex is changing. Men dominated jobs are now being taken up by women and done with inexplicable efficiency: pilots, chefs, soldiers. Name it and the strng hearted woman made her way through
Indian cinema should start giving more preferences to heroines and giving them quality roles and change the cliches in indian public. Why can't women be given roles with gravity more often???? Why is she majority of the times used as a symbol of glamour??? Women are much stronger than you think :) There's more to her than her stunning beauty

SHIVAJI- THRO VANA'S EYES :)

I know many have given their views on shivaji...just wanted to let all of you in on my oppinions :)

After the long wait, finally my friends and I went to watch Shivaji all the way to mangalore. And that of course is around 1hr and 45mins from manipal. All of us in the gang, had been going through mere mental torture when all our friends and family kept calling us an talking about Shivaji. May it be good or bad. All of us were ardent Rajini fans. So we were going bonchus. And we were practically pushing ourselves to finish exams off so we could go watch it. Imagine medical students studying with the motivation of finishing off the exams well so we could watch the movie in peace he he he :) just kidding...Anyway we took a taxi all the way in the crazy monsoon weather just to watch Rajini on screen :) and a friend of mine who is Punjabi by origin wanted to come as well...Because he was so curious as to what made us tamilians so crazy about Rajini. You'll see as what to he thought about the movie and the idea of Rajini being the Super Star :)

Ok coming to the movie..enough about my journey. Well the movie's cast consist of some of the pinnacles of south indian cinema: AVM, Shankar, Rajini and then of course the legend AR Rahman,So from the time the agreement was made, expectations of the public started multiplying like bunnny rabbits ;) Anyway so expectations was sky high..Rocketting all along.. Was the expectations met??? Well to be honest it quite wasn't.. Hey don't be mad at me... I'm a crazy rajini fan myself and couldn't really come to term that it wasn't as magnificent as it ought to be. But wait the review isn't over yet.
The story~ was a simple story with a mixture of gentleman, mudhalvan and anniyan. But you have to accept that it's easy for us to say but isn't that easy to come up with a theme of black money. Shankar was creative. But a very less complex story..It was basically a success formula as one of my celebrity friends would call it. Basically a modern Robin Hood story..Stealing from certain undeserving rich and giving it to the poor.. Not as thrilling as gentleman, mudhalvan but still was enjoyable...
Cinematography~now this is what you call breath taking material. Absolutely mind blowing sets and camera work...Just magnificent...Hats off to the art director the camera man...And of course the make up artist is to be given a pat on the back.. He made rajni look awesome...hairstyles changing with the situations...beautifully done and thought of.. Kannal kannan's stunt were very mind boggling..The stunt men risking their lives to make things look as a realistic as possible is definitely something to appreciate...
The songs were beautifully choreographed.. Ballelakka with gorgeous nayanthara and the meticulous work on the video...It was just unbelievable. Costumes were gorgeous. And I should say that the Shreya's costumes in the song exhibited alot of 'thamizh panpaadu' ( tamil culture) Rajini was talking about in the movie ;) Adhiradi song was also very creative..Songs were beautifully filmed with great precision. Looks like they spend unimaginable money on planning and shooting the whole movie...One of the most expensive movies made in the history of indian cinema. But used in a way that would be sickly too grand. Everything was doen in the right proportion.

Music-Music by AR ji. It was music that as usual made you go crazy but again he didnt meet the exhalted standards he had created from himself. But the AR Rahman touch was certainly there. But his music wasn't as magnificent as Roja, Alaipayuthay, Mudhalvan, Gentleman and the rest of the movies in the unending list of AR Rahman masterpieces. Songs which even if quite old, still never fails to throw you into a trance everytime you listen to it and each time you discover a minute detail you hadn't come across the last time you listened to it even when it's running on your ipod 24/7. :)And he makes you wonder how God could gift one man with so much of talent.

Cast~
Rajini- He was just awesome. As always :) His style, his talk no chance man!!!no one can be like him..His sense of comedy as usual was just great.His expressions. The dialolgue line delivery. You name it and rajini was out of the world. His humble line 'kamal haasan maadhri color aahiduvan' was just admirable. He was Rajini. The super star and always my favourite for all time. I know certain things are crazy but then it was Rajini and anything he did was acceptable to most of us. He was just incredible especially as the 'motta BOSS' ha ha ha...Style is not an enough of a word for him :) He defines style
Vivek-He was the second hero I would say. A huge role in this movie which I'm sure is one of the highlights in his cine career. He gave in a fresh performance. Focussing more on comedy through mannerisms. Great job done by him. Less of perverted jokes in here. So that was a relief
Suman-A very refined, subtle villain with immense class. He was so majestic..On the contrary to monstrous, boisterous villains these days, this was a very admirable performance..A villain who made u burn from inside. I think he was just great
Shreya- she looked amazing.Made all the men in theatre go ga ga and all the women green in jealousy with her looks ;). But her acting needs serious damage control ;) you know in forensic medicine we were taught that the leisure drug Heroine causes symptoms in which the patient claims they can see music and hear colours when he was high...well heroine is not needed... You could see music with shreya's graceful moves in the songs :)..She's an extraordinary dancer

Altogether it was great entertainment. Not as bad as many told me it was. But not upto the mark... You would tend to expect more with this once in a lifetime combination.

Coming to what my punjabi friend thought: He liked it and kept giving me thumbs up during the movie.He applauded alot during the movie even when we were silent and laughed at many of Vivek's comedy he was able to comprehend.He wanted subtitles though.So we had to translate alot for him.. But he enjoyed..According to him he.."The movie had it's moments" :) and he did accept that there was unexplicable karisma in Rajinikanth...

All together it was tremendous fun :) It was a 3hours of awesome,entertaining mind blowing fun.. Now waiting eagerly for SULTAN THE WARRIOR :)
Your's truly
Vana

Daddy's Hands
The song 'daddy's hands' by Holly Dun inspired me to write this post. I have included my favourite lyrics in bold in between my posts and my thoughts pertaining to those lines beneath it

Most of the time we're so obssessed with this inadequancies in life that we tend to neglect the blessings that were bestowed upon by the big boss above. one such HUGE blessing is Daddy.It doesn't have to be Father's day for u acknowledge your father.Like my father always says' father's day is just a commercial event created by business men to promote their sales' he he he..trust my dad to say such a thing being a man into marketting. In a way I guess it's true :) Just like most of you out there, my dad's my hero.My role model. And a role model to many others. He was admired by everyone. The man is par excellence in everything he did. He is outrageous at his work.Is a great colleague. A supportive boss. Excellent husband to my mother. Responsible son to his mother. And of course an amazing father. The 3 of us his children.,were completely different: be it looks, interests, career, proirities. But there was one thing we 3 had in common. All three of us were crazy about daddy and one day wanted to become atleast a fraction of who he is.....
Daddy's childhood was not as smooth as ours. He was born in a middle class family. Lost his father at a very young age. Came through alot of dificulties in life. But yet managed to work his way through. He was a brilliant knew the importance of education. On his own without anyone to support, my daddy finished college and worked his way into a job. And slowly climbed the rungs of the ladder of success.. Married the love of his life. And then of course came the 3 of us one by one into his life. I of course was the elder one. Their 1st child ever. So he poured out all his love and affection on me with no limits( the other 2 got tonnes and tonnes of love..but still I was a tiny bit more special to him ;) ). I was daddy's little girl. My mother would tell me that when I was just a little girl she would dress me up when it was time for daddy to come home from work and i would stand by the window waiting for his car to arrive. The sight of his car would make the 1 year old vana jump up and down in joy. I would wait for daddy to come home to feed me and tell me stories. That's how i grew up and I know that's how most of you grew up too..

"I remember Daddy´s hands, folded silently in prayer.And reaching out to hold me, when I had a nightmare.You could read quite a story, in the callouses and lines.Years of work and worry had left their mark behind"
Most of our daddy's are sedentary workers. But it none or less did not mean that they worked less just because it did not involve physical labour. Endless and hours of tirring mental strain is what our fathers undergo day to day. And we're partly the reason why they work so hard. My daddy earned every penny he possesses today.Nothing was inherited. It was all his own sweat and blood.But when asked what his weath was he would whole heartedly say that it was his gorgeous wife and his 3 children. He never considered the worldly things as wealth. I always dreamt of being a doctor. My daddy knew that it was going to be expensive. But that was immaterial to him. All he was bothered about was making his children's dreams come true. He would tell us that what we wanted to do with our life was our wish and he would never implement what he thought we should do on us ever. He would guide us but he let us make the final decision with no pressure at all from his side. I being a girl and from a tamil society, heard so many people tell my daddy to save up that money he was intending to spend on med school as dowry and get me married off in some good family. But no.. daddy was not bothered about what the world had to say. I wanted to be a doctor and he was going to do all he could to get me there. Where in the world will you see such selfless love. All they want in return is to see you happy..

"Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin"
There were times when I would go through a rough phase. And my daddy would be there beside me before I even asked for his support. He would make me realise that these were all part of life. He would always say " past is past. You can't do anything about it. see what you can gather from the experience and use it in future" It's quite incredibe that daddy knew exactly what to say when and make me feel better about any short coming. Him being there beside me would make me feel so much better.. Have you ever thanked your father for being there with you through a difficult time. You tend to take him granted at times don't you.

"Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong"
My father was a a very calm person... he would hardly loose his temper. But the crazy 3 of us, would sometimes push him over the edge and force him to raise his voice at us. And those were the times when my world would crumble around me. He would not say anything to hurt us but the fact that he raised his voice at us was enough to put us in tears. We realise then that we've hurt him.Daddy was very understanding. Yes we did get pulled up when did wrong. Dad would be firm but would explain to us why we were not supposed to be doing the mistake we had done. But these hands that pulled us up, is what made us what we are today. How many of you at a point hated your dad for confronting you. But did you realise what you would have become if he never had. Think about it

"Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle But I´ve come to understand.There was always love in Daddy´s hands."
There are times when each of us have had rough times with our fathers. But then we have to realise that it was nothing but unconditonal love that filled their hearts. If only we took one moment to understand and look at situations from their point of view, would we realise that it was not as easy as it looks to support a family. They made it look easy. One day you too will become a parent and realise the hardship they went through to provide you with the best

"I remember Daddy´s hands, working 'til they bled.Sacrificed unselfishly, just to keep us all fed.If I could do things over, I´d live my life again.And never take for granted the love in Daddy´s hands."
I really could not undserstand how when children get their own families they could just strand their parents and treat them like 3rd persons. Where did all the gratitude for what they did for you go??? At one point they were the people you turned to for anything and everything. And now that they helped you stand on your own feet, they're immaterial. That's what many children do these days. Neglect parents. And what exuse do they have- I have my own family to support. Pretty lame. If they thought selfishly just like the children these days do, could you imagine our situation in life....
Girls out there. It is pretty common for girls to b daddy's little girl.. I remember reading an article about a father who wrote a little story by the title 'my little girl's yellow umbrella' In that article he writes about how his little girl grew up infront of his eyes..Every little detail about her growing up was embeded in his mind.How he was the most important man in his daughters life. And that she grew up into a beautiful young woman. She fell in love and suddenly he wasn't his little girls hero anymore. He was shattered. It took him time to digest the facts of life and how he had to let her move into the next phase in the circle of life. However understanding fathers maybe. And however practical they maybe...It is their worst fear. They shield their little girl under there wings to keep them warm from the cold world.And a day comes when they become secondary. The son-in-law becomes his mortal enemy he he ;) not exactly but kind of...
Now I'm almost done with my UG... And being intensely prepared to be sent into the world as a healer. Lives will depend on me.. One small mistake or incompetence on my part can cost me a life.. So many responsiblities falling onto me as I grow up... But whatever it maybe...at heart I'm always my daddy's little girl being thankful for the warmth of his hands :)

Well my sister once painted me a picture of an angel hugging her knees and seated on a cloud. What was ironic about the painting was that the angel didnt have a face. No features: no eyes, lips nose...nothing...just a blotch of cream paint for a face
What does that mean??? Well!!! the angel has no specific identity. Many people walk in and out of our lives day in and day out. Some make a difference. Others immaterial. Thats what life's all about.there are a few who make a big difference in our life adding value, meaning and colour to life. That's what this faceless angel is all about. You never know who is an angel in your life. A Blessing in disguise. Some of course you are able identify instantaneously but others its quite difficult to pick out.There are some poeple in our lives who we consider as menaces.... but hey they've played a big role in making our life worth living. yea yea you wouldnt consider them angels but then without your realisation they have helped you out. Like it or not they have been angels...think about it
There are some angels who stay with you till the end of time and some who leave sooner than you would want them to but they touch your lives forever. I had a few angels like that touched my soul and left. But the point being they did make a difference and no matter what the distance between us maybe, they still remain so important to me. The faceless angels are God's way of reminding us that He loves us unconditionally... And at times the human mind lacks so much in analytic skills that we tend to not perceive these angels..Life has a lot of meaning and so many hidden joys but it's all in our hands of what we make out of it... The more you praise and celebrate in life, the more there is in life to celebrate.. Happiness is self defined..And these faceless angel walk into ur life to help you in your treasure hunt for contentment and happiness...
Not to forget that each of you reading this right now has been angel in soemone's life..Whoever you may be....wherever you maybe from...The truth is that you've touched soemone's life atleast once...So your an angel too :)
So think about it.. Look around you and you'll find so many faces to paint onto the faceless angel :)
God bless
Vana

Hey everyone!!!
This is a blog where i'll be putting down issues that I find interesting..
Well I am open to points of information so be free to let me know what crossed your mind when you read my post
Thanks a tonne
Vana