“Men act, women appear. Men look at women; women watch themselves being looked at”.

This quote suggests very succinctly the position of women in the realm of the „look‟, including within the mainstream Indian cinema. Women have been relegated to a passive position in a film, not as a maker of meaning but merely an appendage to man who is the holder of substantial roles and undisputed power and authority.

The gender bias in terms of roles parity has been prevalent for long.

If we observe films from the earlier times till now, we will see that the male figure is the one with power, authority and someone who has command over others in the film. The women are given submissive roles of doing household chores or adding glamour to the film.

What counts is what the heroine provokes, rather than what she represents.

She is love or fear she inspires in the hero or he provokes him to act in a certain way, or else an epitome of concern and care. The woman in her does not have the slightest of importance in the roles offered. We rarely see women act independently, with authority, making their own decisions and having a say in what they want.

It is more like they being worshipped for their youth and beauty in Indian films. Traditionally, women have been reduced to just a spectacle in movies, commoditized for their beauty; there is hardly any difference in beauty contests and acting in films (For example Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen who have won the top beauty pageants).

Over the years, in Bollywood films, one of the noticeable and debatable observations has been the representation of women‟s identity in the films.

In the 90‟s several films were made in the genre called family drama, popular among audiences, especially the women audiences. It was infiltrated with Hindu rights belief in their family structure and the characters. Within this, the roles of the women have been “the ideal wife or mother”, or a victim which has been bought down my male gaze.

In modern times, women have been objectified to “a material that can be owned‟ through movies and item numbers that see women as a sex object. The films in Bollywood today feeds rape culture by portraying behaviours of men that are inappropriate, and glorifying or normalising them.

Women have been given comparatively less important roles than men in the film. She always acts as a support system through her characters.

The characters or role played by women over the evolution of Indian cinema can be broken down into certain standard roles such as – “The ideal mother‟, “the ideal wife/love interest/‟, “the Vamp/ damsel in distress‟ and “The Courtesan‟.

The Ideal Mother – “Mother Goddess” can be interpreted as someone who has power, authority, generally compared to “Durga Ma‟ as someone powerful who can conquer the evil by herself. However if we observe Hindi films she is represented as a tyrant figure or a sacrificing mother. The strong role of a mother is trivialized in films as someone who goes through silent suffering. The importance or impact of the character slips in and what remains behind is a pathetic caricature.

The Ideal Wife/love interest – The caricature of the depiction of an ideal woman is portrayed by filling it with stereotypes. The suppressions inhibit the autonomy of the woman, dictated by the dictatorial authority of the man. The feeling of helplessness and then finally succumbing to the societal pressures have been depicted in Hindi cinema. The women end up playing the love interest of male characters in films, to add glamour and quotient to the film, sometimes even when the strength of the character played is overshadowed.

The Vamp – The evil character played by women in Indian films show western traits. Their behaviour includes smoking, drinking, dancing and someone who has lack of emotions. She depicts the “unacceptable behaviour‟ in the society, while in the end for most of the part she is punished for her behaviour.

The Courtesan – She plays the love interest of a man in the film just to satisfy the emotional and physical needs of the man. She is shown as a characterless woman or a prostitute that plays with the feelings of the man for money and power. By showing this, films have shown the notion that woman achieve success by immoral means of seduction, because they lack the ability or talent to become successful or independent themselves.

The women’s characters are trapped in secondary roles and the vitalizing power of women is primarily ignored. The present portrayal of women on screen also sends out a message which says “I am a girl, therefore bad and therefore destined to suffer”. The misogynist ad patriarchal attitude is prevalent through such depictions.

The global or westernized beauty standards comply most of the actresses to be fair skinned. The body shape of the actresses in Bollywood earlier were more on the healthier side compared to today where there is a pressure for a perfectly toned and a slim body.

The camera angle is also focused on parts of women’s body that are considered sexual such the navel, the lips, the breasts, with glossy costumes and glossy lips. Item play a major role in objectifying a woman with their lyrics and unnecessary inclusion of the songs in the film even when it does not add to the storyline of the film.

Item songs are included in films to please the eyes of the audiences and there are times when the film becomes a hit just because of the item number included in the film. The lyrics bring down the identity of a woman to merely a sexual object that can be harassed and followed till she agrees to be your love interest. The gaze of the male character is more predominant and importantly placed.

The globalisation of Bollywood and the media has made the faces of women highly sexualised, radicalised and gendered. Due to westernization the women in Bollywood films are shown as someone who speaks fluent English, is fair skinned, from the upper echelon of the society. This face is definitely not the face of the millions of Indian women and depict s them inaccurately.

Traditional Indian women are considered as “backward‟ and “middle class‟ in Bollywood films. This dichotomy of representation is disturbing still prevalent in todays times. The women are more often than not represented as a damsel in distress who needs a prince charming to rescue her from all the troubles. The essence of an independent woman is trivialised in Indian Bollywood films.

The infiltration of western ideals since the inception of the newly independent India along with rising of the Indian cinema plays an integral role in naturalizing images of Bollywood women for our consumption.

As a matter of fact from the early days of Bollywood to the current films released the portrayal of women has depicted stereotypes that depicted inequality between the sexes. The dilemma still persists in modern culture even though the Indian cinema continues to change and evolve, reflecting new trends in gender relations and the roles as well as the construction of women.

If certain thoughts are conveyed at a length through cinema, they will eventually never contribute in changing or affecting the thoughts or behaviours of the society. However, films with stereotypes do appeal to the masses and make money, since they have been accepted for long. This motivates many filmmakers to continue making films with more importance to male characters and trivialising of female characters.

Currently due to boost in the media industry, globalisation and normalisation of western ideals, the reach to the masses has become simplified and rampant, making the society more vulnerable to thoughts and cultures. The increased marketization of films reinforces women‟s roles in a strictly heterosexual and rigid fashion. These images are hardly unique across all media channels.

The representation of women has been talked about for quite some time now and more so, in current times due to rise in social media and the society becoming more adapting and comfortable in talking about sensitive issues.

Actresses today are acting in as well as promoting women centric films to break the gender bias in the film industry. The characters offered to actresses from the past films to the present see a tinge of a common stereotype looming over the varied roles in Hindi films.

Bollywood women in the present day have the possibility of more power. Films like Rani Mukherjee’s “Mardaani” shows women as strong, independent and determined individuals. Films like “Lipstick under my Burkha” are trying to break the stereotypes women are subjected to.

When we talk of comedy, we have seen the sphere be dominated by men predominantly because of the notion that woman lack sense of humour. However, actresses such as Sridevi and Juhi Chawla broke that norm. Today we see more actresses venture into the comedy space also due to increase in woman stand up comedians even though it is still largely patriarchal.

The women in the film fraternity today are fighting for woman centric roles and meaningful characters and the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema is changing. Even though we have moved a few steps ahead in terms of offering more meaningful roles to woman, and women themselves becoming more aware of the kind of roles they take, largely, there still exists prejudice and objectification of women.

The point of analysis of the representation of women is not to argue about morality or immorality since these are the choices made by the actresses and the directors. However, this kind of exposure of sexuality and the identity given to women through their characters has an undercurrent reinforcing pre-existing stereotypes in society, adding strength to the vicious cycle.

Bollywood has a long way to go before women are freed from gender bias and stereotypes even though the need the film industry is evolving and growing to provide better opportunities to women.

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Priyanka Chopra Learning to Play the Piano

Actor Nick Jonas is using the lockdown period to teach wife Priyanka Chopra Jonas how to play piano.

“I’ve never played, but I’ve always wanted to learn an instrument, so I make him give me a half-hour or 45-minute lesson every day,” says Priyanka about her in-house piano teacher.

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Soha takes Piano Classes to Learn to Play Piano

Soha Ali Khan has started taking piano classes to learn to play piano. No wonder her mom is more than pleased.

As a child, Soha used to learn to play the instrument, but didn’t like it much. But she has resumed her piano classes and Sharmila is more than happy.

Actress Sharmila Tagore and daughter Soha Ali Khan share a strong bonding and these days the younger one is making her mommy happy by learning to play the Piano.

“Many, many years down the line, I remembered that my mom had this dream and this vision of her growing old and me playing the piano for her and the house being full of music. So, I thought it’s better late than never. I have started learning how to play the piano,” Soha, 33, told reporters.

Soha also revealed how she used to bunk her music classes when she was young.

“When I was very young, her (my mom’s) dream was that I should learn how to play the piano. I was very naughty. I did enroll at the Delhi School of Music where I went for some classes…I would bunk those classes and go and play tennis, which I enjoyed more,” said the 33-year-old.

“We had a piano that we had rented. It was in the corridor and at some point my mother must have returned it because I wasn’t practising. I don’t think I noticed for about three months that it had gone,” added the actress who is busy shooting for Deepa Mehta’s “Winds of Change”.

Sharmila was also present at the event and said that she was surprised when she found out that Soha is learning to play the instrument.

“I always wanted her to play the piano because I feel that it is such a lovely thing to know, music. The sound of piano always appealed to me, it is one of my favourite instruments. It was a kind of surprise (that Soha is learning the Piano again). She is very conscious and she is very hardworking. I don’t know whether she is a natural or not, I don’t want her to be a concert pianist really but would be happy if Soha learns to play the piano” said the 65-year-old veteran.

Music Teachers

Lot of Travel Time
If you are an adult living in Navi Mumbai, it could be difficult for you to travel to a piano teacher who’s located in Bandra/Santacruz. You can bet the good piano teachers are not going to travel to your place to give you private lessons. Those who travel to the students place will charge extra for the conveyance, and they do have their preference of locations. You can expect to pay around 2000 to 3000 rupees per month for the good teachers!

The classes are usually one-to-one, and each class is for about 45 minutes. The fees are usually payable at the start of the month.

There’s no fixed cancellation policy as such. A student can cancel a lesson, provided they tell at-least a day in advance. Some teachers compensate for the missed class by taking an extra class (not every teacher may do so).

Children Have More Options
For children, the situation is comparatively better, as most schools nowadays offer music classes and many more extra-curricular activities.

Most schools have a music room, few musical instruments, and also have music teachers on the payroll. You can expect your child to get an overview of music, as the school may not have sufficient instruments for every student.

During vacations, the schools may conduct workshops on keyboards and other musical instruments (usually there are charged extra).

Difficult to Find a Good Teacher
You may still be able to find a music teacher locally, but they may not be strong on the music theory aspect (especially harmonization & sight-reading).

Most piano teachers with diploma or certifications from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music or the Trinity College live in Town or around Juhu. If you are interested in learning music notations and want to appear for exams, they should be able to guide you well.

Harmonium Is Not a Bad Choice Either
At least to begin with, if you don’t want to spend a lot or don’t have a piano yet, you can always learn from music teachers trained in Hindustani/Carnatic music who teach harmonium, and you can easily find them in Mumbai.

You can learn the basics (basic notes, scales and how to play simple songs) for a few months or a year, and then try to find a piano teacher. Their fees are also much lower than those who teach western music.

Group Lessons Can Also Be Good
If you just want to learn to play the piano or the keyboards (and not just focus on western classical), then even group lessons would work fine for you. There are several teaching institutions who offer group lessons in music. Just make sure they have enough instruments and the class size is not huge. Hands-on learning and personal attention is also important, the music teacher should be able to attend to training needs of every student in the class.

Visit Furtados
Furtados is one of the oldest musical instrument shops in Mumbai, located in Fort, near Metro cinema (now Adlabs). If you’re looking for a good piano teacher (to help you with your grade exams) or if you want to get your keyboard instruments repaired, or even buy a new one, that is a good place to ask.

You can always search online to find the contact details of more teachers. Many online services, such as ‘justdial’, have the names and contact details of music teachers listed as per the locality.

Until few years back, most good piano teachers would reside in South Mumbai, Bandra & Santacruz, but now you do come across teachers in Andheri, Mulund, Thane and even in Navi Mumbai.

The post These Bollywood celebrities are learning to play the piano appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

Amruta Fadnavis, who used to work for Axis Bank in Nagpur, is making the most of her stay in Mumbai. And it seems she’s slowly getting enamored with Bollywood. After making her debut in Bollywood as a singer, she’s now seen in a music video.

The song shows Amruta Fadnavis seeking admission to an arts institute which is headed by Amitabh Bachchan. Amruta even gets to shake a leg with Amitabh Bachchan.

Debut as Bollywood Singer

Prakash Jha’s “Jai Gangaajal”, starring Priyanka Chopra, is being extensively promoted and we hope it turns out to be a crowd-puller at the box-office. The film has been making the right kind of noises and now we hear that a couple of songs in the movie has been sung by none other than Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife Amruta Fadnavis. With this, Amruta makes her debut as a singer in Bollywood.

Mrs Fadnavis was already recording a song for another movie when Prakash Jha heard her singing and felt that her voice suited the situation in his film (and its surely going to generate some buzz now). And that’s how Amruta Fadnavis for the opportunity to sing for the film.

The music for “Jai Gangaajal” has been composed by Salim and Sulaiman and the song that Mrs Fadnavis has sung is a devotional song.

Amruta Fadnavis says she has not accepted any payment for this song or any of her other singing assignments.

So what was Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Mr. Devendra Fadnavis’s reaction to this?

“He was happy and liked the song, more so because Jai Gangaajal is a woman-centric film. So, it’s a good start,” said Mrs. Fadnavis.

Amruta Fadnavis used to be a banker by profession. However, after Devendra Fadnavis was elected as Chief Minister of Maharashtra, she quite her job as she had to relocate to Mumbai. Since then, Amruta has been actively pursuing professional singing as she’s a trained singer.

So, is getting a break in Bollywood easier for some? Maybe! But for all those struggling singers trying to get a break in Bollywood, its important that you stay focused and ‘Lage Raho’.

Amruta courts trouble for accepting ‘miracle’ gold chain from godman

Some time back, Amruta Fadnavis was in the news for accepting a gold chain from Guruvanand Swami, who produced the ornament out of thin air.

“As the Swami was an elderly person, I bowed down to him as per Indian customs. I also accepted the chain given to me. It was in Swami’s hand and not produced miraculously,” said Amruta.

When Amruta Became a ‘Common Man’

Amruta Fadnavis also received lot of applause for standing in the queue (like others) to renew her driving license, despite being CM’s wife.

Amruta visited the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Nagpur, filled the application form, got herself a token number, and waited in the queue for her number, submitted all the documents, paid the requisite fees and got herself photographed by the web camera….all these without revealing her identity.

Amruta Fadnavis Bio

Maiden Name: Amruta Ranade
Birth Date: 12th April 1979

The post After playback singing, Chief Minister’s wife Amruta moves in front of camera appeared first on Bollywood Presents.

But this particular incident is definitely going to make them feel a bit demotivated.

The popular Hangover song from Salman Khan’s movie ‘Kick’ was originally sung by Sonu Nigam; the song was recorded almost a year back. But just before the movie was released, the song was re-recorded by Salman Khan and was used as part of the promotional strategy for the release of the movie.

The move worked well, even Salman’s singing abilities were appreciated, but the sad part is that sonu Nigam was not only kept in the dark about the development, he was not even paid for the song that he had recorded.

A source close to the production revealed, “Sajid Nadiadwala had approached Sonu to sing the number. They didn’t even discuss the remunerations as Sonu has sung several times in the past for Salman Khan’s films. After the recording, Sajid messaged him saying that the track has turned out well and that he couldn’t get the song out of his head. But, then, he was dropped and replaced by Salman.” Ouch, that must have hurt Sonu!

Sonu himself came to know about the development from the newspapers. “Yes, I had recorded this song last year. I wasn’t told that it has been dropped. I read it in the papers that Salman had sung it. I wasn’t even paid for it” the Kal Ho Na Ho singer said.

Well, with production costs going high, producers want to make sure they’re able to recover their investments, and are ready to try out various strategies. There’s no doubt that ‘Salman singing the Hangover song’ did help Kick, but it was definitely unprofessional to replace Sonu Nigam without informing him, and worse still, not pay him for his version of the song.

But the more important question is “Are the days of the Masters over in Bollywood?”. In the new scheme of things, is it better to be a ‘Jack of all Trades?’ Let us know your thoughts.

The post When Salman Khan Replaced Sonu Nigam as Singer appeared first on Bollywood Presents.