Friday, February 22, 2008

The Good Indian Girl

(Wow..today is some day for my blog..the third post of the day!)

Funny thing, have you ever noticed that in the first half of a Hindi movie, where the girl is rebellious/evil/stupid/not-in-love-with-the-hero/not-generally-depressed-in-life, she dresses fine- in a t-shirt and jeans, skirts etc.

Come second half- post-interval, her wardrobe undergoes an absolute shift. The poor depressed girl has been spurned in love and trying to get her lover back, or has turned over a new leaf and is no longer plotting to bump off the next member of the family, or has generally sobered down in life, and she starts wearing salwar-kameez. No, seriously, pay attention. The corrected woman, the sensible woman, the repentant woman, the victorious woman- always in an Indian outfit. Some examples I can think of off-hand are Kareena Kapoor in Jab We Met (after she gets dumped by the chap she wanted to marry in Manali, she's dressed in sober, pastel-shaded salwar-kameezes); Urmila Matondkar in Om Jai Jagdish (after she learns her lesson and becomes a good bahu); Preity Zinta in Kya Kehna (after the interval, when she is rejected by Saif and is fighting for her kid- and no, I don't think it has anything to with her being pregnant- hardly even shows in the first 3 months). These are a few I can think of right now. But believe me, it's the case in every single Hindi movie which has this kind of a story. Each and every one, without exception.

Talk about mind-set! It is sad to see that the sushil Indian woman is still defined in such rigid parameters, and a good Indian girl can only be really seen as one if she dresses right.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

And to become the modern woman, Karishma Kapoor gets a makeover in Biwi No. 1:)

Divya said...

you forget Kajol (Anjali) in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. they also only wear saris after they get married.

Bhavya said...

And she grows her hair. But I thought that had more to do with becoming too fat to carry anything else off by the time they shot the second part :)

Aah..Amisha Patel in Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, post Hrithik 1's death.

Anonymous said...

People should read this.

Bhavya said...

You bet!