Lead actors and actresses of Hindi cinema play a perfect role which is easily loved by today’s youth. They create a great impact on one’s mind through the character they play. It all started after the release of a mythological movie named “Jai Santoshi Maa”, where people were suddenly devoted towards Santoshi Maa. After the release of the blockbuster movie “Sholay”, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra as Jai Veeru, the flipping of coin and scooter with a sidecar became very popular. And the scenario is still the same today. The dressing style and hairstyle are always imitated by the admirers. The character lives a strong impression on audiences mind.
If you look at the scripts of the films over the past few years you would find typically male-dominated films. The only purpose of making a movie was to show the male character more strong and powerful with all the action stunts he would perform while fighting to save the female character from the goons. That was the time when heroines in Bollywood movies were there to attract common people through sweet little dialogues, playing songs, and dancing around the trees. She was portrayed as a household girl who is ready to sacrifice all her wishes and desires for the reputation of her family. Usually, female characters in Bollywood movies are always shown as dumb. But among hundreds of films which were released, hardly few films like Mother India, Khoon Bhari Maang, Arth, Chaalbaaz had strong female characters.
During that time, it was really hard to find movies in which any woman could be seen as a leader, a mentor or a professional. The only thing that was portrayed through her character was her overall appearance and romance with the male lead. With these types of stories, our imaginations were compressed and we accepted the same kind of scripts again and again. Woman characters are always portrayed as helpless and weak. The damsel in distress kind of movies has been very much enjoyed by the public and had become a trend during that time. Movies like Prem Rog, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Ram Teri Ganga Maili under RK banner has shown women under great humiliation and burden from the family and society in the name of traditions, customs and culture.
Surprisingly, over the past few years, the change could be seen in the films and also in the society. Women’s position is changing in movies and they are treated equally to men in all terms. But in reality, there is still a long way to make people believe that men and women are same. Actresses now are demanding compatible and strong roles. Now, actress contribution in movies was not just showing there fashionable dresses love and romance, but showing the audience their expressions and emotions, comedy, fighting and acting skills through the character they played. There were even movies that showed both the main characters – male and female, as strong characters. Movies like Sadma, Abhimaan, Khuda Gawah, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, Dhoom 2, Dilwale, and Tiger Zinda Hai where both the actor and actress have got their powerful roles. Then there came movies with super strong female characters like Neerja, Mary Kom, Mardaani, Kahaani, English Vinglish, and Queen, that indeed proved that women are not weaker anymore and can make successful movies without any lead actor.
Now the film scripts are changing with time. The typical dramatic, suspense and love triangle stories are out of fashion. Women empowerment, historic, comedy and social issues stories are in trend. Stories which are based on the life and issues of a common man and women are in huge demand.
‘Piku’ is a comedy-drama, which portrays the relationship of a daughter and an aging father, whose health issues drive everyone crazy. Piku gets tangled between the responsibilities of home, work, and his father, that she doesn’t get a life of her own. The film has Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, and Irfan Khan in main roles.
Another movie that has highlighted the most common issues faced by women in rural areas and that is poor sanitation. Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar starrer ‘Toilet – Ek Prem Katha’, is a story where a woman leaves her husband on the first day of their marriage after finding that there is no toilet in the house. To win back her love and respect, the husband heads out on a journey to fight against the backward society.
One of the upcoming biographical comedy-drama film, written and directed by R. Balki is ‘Padman’. Akshay Kumar starring ‘Padman’, is based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, who creates cost-effective sanitary pads. Directors like Shoojit Sircar, Shree Narayan Singh, Suresh Triveni, R. Balki who have put all their efforts to solve the basic issues of the family through the medium of cinema which can be noticed in the movies like Piku, Toilet – Ek Prem Katha, Tumhari Sulu, and upcoming Padman. These movies with simple scripts are the new success formula of Bollywood movies. Movies of these kinds are made not just for entertainment purpose but also to spread the awareness amongst people. Film actors and actresses are role models for today’s youth. They help in bringing change in the society by making movies with such strong message. There are many problems that are faced by Indian women in rural areas, due to poor facilities or inadequate money, which needs to be addressed for the health and safety reasons. Hope we get to see more and more of such movies, for the betterment of the society.
