No this post is not about Sagarika Ghatge (aka Priti Sabharwal) nor is it about the wonders that the movie might do to Indian Women's Hockey. My views are about the movie per se and more importantly the reactions of the audience that I observed while watching the movie (three times for that matter). These moments which triggered some questions in my mind.
The instances that evoked strong reaction :
Instance one: Top of the moments is when India's flag is being unfurled and SRK says "Pehli baar kisi gore ko India ka jhanda fahraate huye dekh raha hoon". The theatre gets filled with claps and whistles. And it made me ask if the shadows of British Rule still lurk in our sub-consciousness. We still feel liberated by mere mentions of some such acts which may seem trivial to a logical mind but not to the millions of emotional Indian hearts. A cynical may ask if there is any significance in such a reaction while a nationalist may find more than just significance in it. I don't know if its counter mechanism or just a blip on the radar. It just rattles me in the sense that why is it that only when a light skinned man does things that we like, do we recognise our own sense of pride. Just a question ...
Instance two: Priti Sabharwal towards the end strikes that soft and yet emphatic note to Komal Chautala about proving to the proverbial "launda". Rooted by women and men alike, it put me starkly in front of a question that I personally feel strongly about. Why do women still have to "prove" it, that too to men. Though the movie does get the message through, I would be interested to see what would have been the reaction if she had dumped the guy before going into the world cup itself. I mean why do women have to prove it at all? Why can't they just believe in themselves? I know I may invite the ire of some people on this. But that's the view I hold. If at all they need to prove it, it has to be to themselves. I agree the environment we have around us, from the workplace to the sports field is no where conducive. But to give importance enough by allowing them to "give" you the credit, instead of appreciating it as given amounts to playing into their psyche itself. May sound convoluted but does hold some merit? Or doesn't it? Think.
Instance three: When the ladies walk into the dinner in Saris. Pan audience a whiff of wows. Well hats off to the director for having thought over it. Does score a point and how! But it reminded me of a note that Shashi Tharoor had written on the issue of Saris (I think it was in Times of India) and how the garment has slowly gradually been reduced/shrinked to a special occasion symbol. Working women may lynch me for the point and I do agree that perhaps it may not exactly be comfortable always, but I do feel that it has been neglected under the garb of such arguments a bit as well. I mean, how many work profiles do actually necessiate western formals esp western formals? Some may argue that salwar is also Indian garment, to them I'll just rest my case by the argument that nothing beats sari when it comes to bringing the truely feminine beauty of Indian women.
And the moments which just passed by without any reaction or an absurd one in my mind..
Vidya Sharma saying "Is paar ya us paar" in the initial moments of the movie... The players from North-East asking the pertinent question of being called guests in their own country. ..The laughter evoked by the players of Jharkhand.
All said and done its just a reminder to myself and an attempt to understand people around me. To give it the due credit, the movie helps me do that. Its a very well made movie with taut screenplay and some real good performances. One special scene that I would really commend SRK for is the last one where he shows a restrained response to the win. Against his natural demeanour its a brilliant display. And for all the stupid questions I may ask, if the movie does good to sports like Hockey, who gives a damn to these questions.
P.S: on second thoughts, any mention of the movie without Sagarika does sound incomplete, doesn't it? Well man, she IS awesome :)
4 comments:
Agree on instance one.
Disgaree on two. Sometimes it's not about "proving" but "disproving". Aren't men trying to "prove" their superiority and power by trying to put women down? No one's asking for credit but an invasion of space will be met by a strong reaction. Besides, no matter how much we believe in ourselves, we are all trying to prove a point to someone or the other. Think!
"nothing beats sari when it comes to bringing the truely feminine beauty of Indian women" - how chauvinistic is that!
Men are trying to prove it because they feel threatened? That threat itself should be a win for women if at all we wish to trap this into a gender war. I agree to what you say but is that the right approach to look at it? If women wish to do what everyone is doing what's the need to prove yourself different then? Its like a statistical statement. You can use and abuse the same thing :). Think.
Chauvenistic ! hello .. I would appreciate if you delineate the utilitarian value from the aesthetic perspective ! No where am I judging anything to be called by that stupid adjective. No where am I saying women don't look beautiful in other attire. But just like everyone can't be SRK, I reserve the right to have an opinion about a garment which makes Indian women look even more beautiful .. What a pseudo-feminist comment that was..
It's not about who is winning... women don't want to be a threat, just do what they feel like...and irrespective of approach and whether its different or not!
Its not pseudo-feminism...you know I have always refrained from any type of classification...so spare me that! And I understand what you mean...but not all "Indian" women look good in a sari and many "non-Indian" women do! And I am just wary of this whole women-are-beautiful line of thought...its too patronizing...
I am sorry guys, have been too long gone from the Blog Comment circuit. In the meanwhile Mr. Contrarian seems to have grown horns that match his **** !!! Well, the point of the matter is that as Akanksha says "its not about proving or disproving yr ability"...As far as I could understand she had already made the decision of dumping the guy and its human nature to rub it in when someone is down. So she wanted to dump him anyway, what better time to do it when you have just scored the maximum number of goals in the world cup!!!
I totally agree with you on the movie's tight screenplay and great performance. The director was smart enough to keep Shahrukh Khan on a leash and not let him run away with the script.
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