The New Wave Glamour Queens Revolt!

Sridevi and Jaya Prada have dragged the image of an Indian woman behind by twenty years so stated Smita Patil a few months back. And she couldnt have been more apt. All said and done, the three feminists of the industry Smita, Deepti Naval and Shabana Azmi, despite their internal rivalries have each in their own way strived to better the status of the Indian woman, through the characters they portrayed. And a different kind of cinema was emerging. Reflecting a stronger, thinking woman. Even commercial actresses like Rekha (Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye) and Hema Malini (Andha Kanoon) had begun to change tracks, when Sridevi and Jaya Prada invaded and took the industry by storm with their wriggling hips and crude oomph-appeal. Thus destroying what the other three actresses had struggled to create. Have Deepti, Shabana and Smita accepted defeat? Over to them

- Sharbani Mukherjee

SMITA PATIL’S HONEST APPRAISAL:

“Unfortunately I haven’t seen any of these South Indian films, but I know what stuff they are made of. These actresses may have their own reasons to do such roles, I don’t know. But aisi kitni films chalengi? It won’t last. Though, I understand they do the harm that is to be done. But can I tell these actresses, ‘Please forget your ten lakhs and work towards a better cinema.’ You can’t inject commitment. Unless the awareness comes from within. Women working in these kinds of films are living in a world of their own. They don’t think they are being used. They have a sense of superiority which is material. They feel great about being the sex-symbols of the industry. I pity them. I think they are in much worse condition than we are.

The three of us, Deepti, Shabana and myself have been fortunate. We have emancipated parents and come from an entirely different background. We don’t have our parents forcing us to take up films for money. We don’t have to look after our families. We are not compelled to compromise. Whereas may be these actresses have no choice or it is their ignorance. They are just not aware of what kind of a woman they portray on the screen. A person must also have the ability to see things in the right perspective. Films is a strong medium and you are responsible for so much because people start idolising you, identifying with you. Unless you have the sense to judge your own miserable plight, you can go on feeling great. It’s a naïve way of feeling ‘Ah! I am the sex symbol of the industry’s juvenile justification. A lot of people don’t think beyond their nose, and the run of it is for the audience.