BOLLYWOOD: BODY LANGUAGE

Women in Hindi cinema are usually mass-produced by the same cookie cutter that functions on one golden rule: women are not sexually beings. Whether as mother, sister or lover, they are the repositories of values and remain unfailingly chaste. Sexuality is sublimated to thrust-and grind songs. The heroine may do the shimmy in a bustier but will walk into the sunset a virgin.

Or at least this used to be the case. Increasing market segmentation and the evolution of an urbane, multiplex audience are allowing filmmakers to stretch the mainstream straitjacket. A plethora of performers is no longer squeamish about onscreen love. Sex is out of the Bollywood closet and even though the Hindi film heroine largely remains a stylish Sati Savitri, making love no longer means having to say sorry.

Of course, skin and sexuality are not the same thing. Film-makers aren't hesitant about exploiting the former. As producer Mukesh Bhatt says, "The bottom line is that whether in Hollywood or Bollywood, sex sells." But understanding and portraying female sexuality is tougher. In truth, Bollywood is yet to come to grips with the modern Indian woman. Filmmakers speak of creating confident women, but this is hardly the case. Heroines might be glam dolls but few female characters have the depth of Nutan in Bandini or Nargis in Mother India. Bollywood remains a male-centric industry. Though the number of women directors is increasing- recent converts to direction include Remma and Farah Khan--a sensitive Bollywood film about female sexuality seems a few years away.

Why? For one, there are hardly any strong roles being written for women, leave alone those that explore something as tricky as sexuality.Distributors, burned by incessant flops are finding safety in multi-starrers. As two or three male stars strut their stuff,heroines are consigned to being clothes-horses in the margins. And even if such a script were written, filming it would be a Herculean hurdle.Though the mindset of actors has undergone a sea change, most filmmakers haven't still figured out how to film sex aesthetically.

In an essentially conservative society, popular entertainment is something that can be consumed by the whole family. Moreover the censor situation is complicated. Today people see censorship as repression, not guidance, and there is no control at the theatre. You can't have steamy scenes until this is fixed.

However, films like Jism, Murder, Page Three and Corporate hint that Bollywood is taking baby steps. Infact, Hollywood too went through a period of noir films before emerging with more complex female characters. Certainly, the door isn't wedged shut as it was before.