Bollywood films are now subverting the traditional stereotypes of a hero and heroine as they are now interlinking with one another, with particular reference to ‘Salaam Namaste’ (2005)
Bollywood has become increasingly popular with in the film industry. Vladimir Propp distinguished various character types that are included in films such as a hero and heroine. These character types allow the narrative to function systematically providing an equilibrium, dis-equilibrium and resolution.[1] With this in mind the hero and heroine are characters, who are equally important in creating meaning to the film.[2] However, Propp’s theory is based on folk tales, suggesting that his theory is fairly outdated. The characteristics of heroes and heroines are clichéd stereotypes which films are continually trying to avoid. This significant change can be applied to Bollywood films. Previously, heroes were presented as physically strong characters that played active roles, whereas heroines were merely there to fulfil the role of dutiful wives or daughters who were docile and passive. However, in contemporary society, through the rise in feminism, women are now pursuing roles where they are more active. From this, men have become a ‘sideline’ to women as their roles in films are becoming less active and more passive; which can be seen in ‘Salaam Namaste’ (2005).
In 1975, ‘Sholay’ directed by Ramesh Sippy[3] was released in India. The tale is based on two male protagonists Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai(Amitabh Bachchan), they are recruited by a former police chief to keep various criminals off the streets and put them in jail.[4] The job that has been asigned to them relates back to the characteristics of the hero. The police chief –who is male- is a character who has high status, suggesting that as a man he is automatically given authority to delegate the tasks. Veeru and Jai dominate the action scenes in the film and are shown to be adventurous, active and victorious.[5] Throughout the film, both characters are taking part in physical battles presenting them to be heroic characters in which the audience aspires to be. As Bollywood is famous for its song and dance, it is important to comment on the song ‘Yeh Dosti’ as it only includes the two male protagonists singing to each other. They see a female and compete with one another to gain her attention. She is merely there to attract the two males and does not have any vocal contribution to the song. The men toss a coin to decide who should approach the female, suggesting that she is a prize reflecting the objectification of women. The woman leaves whilst the men argue and they merely shrug their shoulder showing no particular loss and continue their journey. As the camera moves back to the heroes, the audience are also drawn towards them showing the focus is back on to the male characters.
Although, the heroes are evidently the main focus in ‘Sholay’ they each have a love interest in the film. In one scene Dharmendra is in a horse cart with Hema Malini- who plays his love interest- has offered to drive the two men to their desired destination. She rants on about the easiest route; Dharmendra is immediately drawn to her because of her continuous outburst of dialogue. Even though she has this lengthy dialogue she is there to provide transport for the men, showing that she is there as a pawn in the male protagonists’ plan to reach their destination. Although Veeru has fallen for this female, the brotherly relationship between heroes: Veeru and Jai are inevitably the main focus of the film.
Released in the 70’s ‘Sholay’ follows the conventions of Propp’s theory as the film includes a hero, heroine and villain. They characters follow the stereotypical roles of Propp’s theory. For example Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri follow the stereotypical roles of passive girlfriends. Amitabh Bhachan and Dharmendra are active characters who are presented to be physically capable of looking after themselves. The villain played by Amjad Khan[6] is first seen walking up and down a few stones. As the camera pans across, the audience are only able to see his legs and a belt which he is holding, suggesting that he has immense power and control throughout the film. The camera rapidly zooms in to the character showing his whole face which takes up the shot, whereas the female characters in the film do not have an entire shot dedicated to them.[7] Gabbar Singh’s (Amjad Khan) speech is constructed of short sentences in which he emphasises the power of by raising his voice. Previously, Bollywood films almost always had a male character playing the villain, showing that men were approached by film directors at the time because they were seen to suit the dominant roles of portraying the power and authority. Female characters were never approached to act out villainous roles because of the gender characteristics that were attached to them.
‘Sholay’ depicts the characteristics of a hero and significantly attaches these characteristics to the two protagonists. Throughout the film, there are various action sequences which both heroes are involved in showing that hero- the male character- plays an active role as he is physically involved in the film, and is also able to take part in a romance sequence. This shows that men clearly dominate the Bollywood film industry as they are allocated action scenes as well as romance scenes.
On the other hand, heroes are now increasingly becoming less active and more passive. In contemporary Bollywood films, heroes are not taking on roles of being involved in action sequences, but are now taking on female characteristics of being caring and considerate and are more focused on their love interests. This is shown in ‘Salaam Namaste’ (2005) directed by Siddharth Anand.[8] The film is about two young characters called Nick (Saif Ali Khan) and Amber (Preity Zinta) who meet unexpectedly on a radio show. Nick is introduced to the audience as chef who has left his home town trying to pursue his career of opening his own restaurant and becoming the head chef. This clearly shows that the roles of the male hero have changed considerably; he is now no longer presented to want to be apart of a physical and brutal fighting scene, but now as a young man wanting to be a chef; which was stereotypically a characteristic of women. Nick and Amber soon fall in love but do not get married and Amber soon finds out she is pregnant. Nick has difficulties with accepting this news but when he does finally come to terms with it, he is shown taking care of Amber. He is presented as a soft individual who is there by Amber’s side whilst she battles out her pregnancy.
As the couple are not married but are expecting a child, ‘Salaam Namaste’ challenges the narratives structures and genres in previous Bollywood films. This issue has stigma attached as the couple are not legally married. Bollywood is now able to create films that have these contemporary issues as it tries to subvert traditional values of Indian society and aims to reflect and attract Western society. This relates to Marshall McLuhan’s notion of the ‘global village’ as the film introduces concepts from different countries as well as India. ‘Salaam Namaste’ includes a song called ‘My Dil goes mmm.’ Firstly the title in itself is using Western language showing that the film is not fully following traditional Bollywood conventions. Secondly, the song begins with the couple in bed sharing a passionate kiss. Previously Bollywood films often disguised couples when they were about kiss, however in this film the kiss is made explicit to the audience. Nick (Saif Ali Khan) sings about his love for Amber throughout the song, showing that his main focus is his love interest, whereas, ‘Sholay’ includes the song ‘Yeh Dosti’ which focuses on the relationship between the two heroes, who sing to each other. Significantly, in ‘Salaam Namaste’ the female protagonist also has an equal vocal contribution as the male protagonist showing that their roles are presented to be equal as they are both central characters in the film.
Throughout the film, Nick’s roles are related to Sue Sharpe’s notion of the ‘new man’[9] this is an individual who takes on roles with in the household and is more kind and considerate. These qualities are shown through Nick’s character as in one scene the couple are shown shopping for groceries together. As Amber struggles to carry all the food, he offers to help her. Here the hero’s qualities are significant of a hero in the sense that he is helping the heroine as she is finding it difficult to carry all the food. However, the qualities are drastically different to the qualities of Veeru and Jai in ‘Sholay’ as they are more active and now Nick has become passive. Amber moves into Nick’s house and soon changes things around, Nick submits to her lengthy demands suggesting that his role has now become more passive as she is making the decisions.
Heroes are becoming more passive and this is evident in ‘Salaam Namaste’ when Nick cries during a film. This highlights the fact that the hero is now adapting to female qualities. This is evident later on in the film as he is seen chopping vegetables whilst Amber sits on the worktop watching him cook. In the scene she is slightly higher than him, showing the audience that she slightly has more power than the passive Nick, who burst out in tears immediately after as he cuts his finger; which is something a female would be distressful about not a male.
Heroines are significant in films as they are inevitably needed to allow the narrative to function.[10] In Bollywood heroines are strictly presented in two very distinct categories: they are both passive and docile or a negative impression of a whore. ‘Mother India’ (1957) directed by Mehboob Khan[11] evolves around a female protagonist ‘Radhaa’ (Nargis) who is married to ‘Shamoo’ (Raj Kumar) they both move to his village but soon find out that her mother in law has pawned the village to pay for the wedding. Soon after Radha’s husband leaves her alone and dies, her mother in law soon dies and her two sons are also killed due to a flood. Radha is left on her own with her other two children and has to provide for the family. This can be argued that Bollywood is subverting the stereotypes of a passive heroine; however Radha has to be separated from all her previous relationships in order to gain that independence.[12] As she breaks away from the dutiful wife and daughter in law arguably she can be presented to have a central role in the film. However, the activities she carries out are all stereotypically related to her character. In the song ‘Duniya main hum aaye’ she is seen struggling with the difficulties of being a mother and taking care of the village, suggesting that when women are giving this independence they are unable to cope with the pressures; evidently showing them as passive characters who can not cope after loosing their husbands.
The title in itself also reflects the clichéd roles in which women were stereotypically attached to. ‘Mother India’ connotes a nurturing figure who aims to look after her children and fulfil her husband’s desires. When a storm is about to hit the village Radha is seen holding on to her children, making sure that she is able to protect them from the disaster. Her main role in the film is to play a submissive woman, who has to look after not only her family, but the people in the village. Her central role is therefore not entirely active; as the audience are led to believe. Shortly, after Radha is seen standing outside a man’s house and is completely wet from the rain. Her clothing is very dirty and she is physically unable to hold herself up. By including this, directors are showing the audience that after losing her husband she is physically as well as mentally unable to cope with the struggles and needs her husband. She repeatedly pleas to the man to give her some food, because her children are hungry. This shows that as a mother she had failed, showing that she does not have an active role as she can not provide on her own; and seeks to a man for his help.
On the other hand, in contemporary Bollywood films heroines are less dependent on a male character. In ‘Salaam Namaste’ the female protagonist (Amber) is portrayed as an independent woman. As she introduced to the audience, using a close-up shot reflects the importance of her character. She is a part-time radio disc jockey and a doctor, showing that she has a high status occupation. This was highly uncommon in previous films as women stayed at home and took part in domestic chores, whilst the husband would go out to work. Therefore, ‘Salaam Namaste’ is subverting the clichéd stereotypes of heroines is previous Bollywood films.
Throughout the film Amber is constantly presented as an emotionally strong character that is able to make decisions on her own, without her family interfering with her personal life. During a wedding scene, the bride throws her bouquet and Amber avoids catching it, evidently showing that she does not want to get married. Nick and Amber are having a conversation about marriage just after the bouquet incident take place. Nick asks, ‘You have a problem with marriage?’[13] Amber replies, ‘Just a small one/ Husbands.’[14] This clearly shows that Amber’s aspirations are completely different- as she wants to pursue her career[15]- compared to women in previous Bollywood who just wanted to get married and fall in love. This shows that heroines are becoming more active as they are making their own decisions, rather than having interference from family members.
The male protagonist (Nick) is walking out of the sea with no clothes on. The camera pans across to the female protagonist (Amber) who is enticing Nick through the gesture of her finger and she is attracting him towards her. By doing this the female character now has sexual power over the male character, showing that she is in total control of the situation. As she is smiling this suggests that she is fully satisfied with having contact with the male character. As she has power of him sexually this suggests that throughout their relationship she has power to make decisions. In this scene it is the male character that is being sexually objectified rather than the female character; which was typical in previous Bollywood films.
As Nick wants to move in with Amber, he persuades her by suggesting that she will never have to cook. Shortly after, Amber thinks about Nick’s proposal and asks Nick, ‘I will never have to cook?’[16] This rhetorical question shows that Amber is demanding and only moving in with Nick under certain circumstances, again subverting the stereotypical role of heroines previously who had to cater for their husbands. As they move in together and Nick has to ask Amber for permission to put his posters up on the wall, as she refuses he makes no attempt to persuade her to change her mind, again showing that she has an active role in the relationship. This is creating a positive role model for female viewers as through the ‘uses and gratifications’ theory[17] they are able to aspire to this role rather than just merely being submissive to their husbands. The two protagonists are not in a formal relationship again showing that men and women are able to live together without being married. As Nick and Amber equally pay for household bills this shows that they are both in control, whereas previously the male character in Bollywood films were stereotypically labelled as breadwinners.
Whilst working Amber questions Nick on her radio show. She is sharp and straight to the point, suggesting the power she has over the male protagonist as she is in control of the conversation. In this sense ‘Salaam Namaste’ aims to subvert the traditional patriarchal ideology as a female character is dominant of the male character, whereas previously Bollywood films often evolved around male character such as ‘Sholay’. Although ‘Salaam Namaste’ consists of two main protagonists, Amber is a central character who is a vital character in the film in order for all the various events to occur.
As Amber falls pregnant, Nick finds it difficult to deal with the situation and insists for Amber to have an abortion. However, being an independent woman she disregards his opinion and chooses to keep the baby. Firstly, the idea of an abortion reflects contemporary society as abortion is now socially acceptable. Secondly, Amber chooses to go forth with her decision rather than being dependent on the male figure. Throughout the film, Amber attends child birth classes on her own showing that she is able to deal with her pregnancy and does not need a male figure in her life.
Overall, Bollywood films have made significant changes in the representation of heroes and heroines. ‘Salaam Namaste’ clearly shows that the hero has taken on female qualities, showing the change in representation of a hero in ‘Sholay’ to the hero in ‘Salaam Namaste.’ The characteristics of the hero are now being caring and considerate of the heroines’ feelings. The hero is now interested in a romantic relationship rather than being involved in physical and brutal fights.
The heroine in Bollywood films has started becoming more active as oppose to their roles in previous films which were passive. These heroines are subverting the clichéd stereotypical role of being a dutiful wife and nurturing mother as seen in ‘Mother India’, and have taken on roles which are more active shown in ‘Salaam Namaste.’ In ‘Salaam Namaste’ Preity Zinta who plays Amber is presented as an emotionally strong character that is able to have two occupations as well as having a baby on her own. ‘Salaam Namaste’ depicts the drastic changes between heroes and heroines compared to previous Bollywood films. Bollywood is now aiming to create equality between men and women as the roles of heroes and heroines are now interlinking, reflecting the aim to gain equality between men and women in society.
Word Count: 3,017
Bibliography
Books
-‘Bollywood- a guide to popular Hindi cinema’ Tejaswini Ganti-(2004)
-‘Bollywood Cinema Temples of desire’ Vijay Mishra (2002)
-‘Bollywood: An Insiders Guide’ Fuad Omar (2006)
- ‘An introduction to Sociology’ Ken Brown (1998)
-‘Notes on the gaze’ Daniel Chandler Laura Mulvey on film spectatorship
-‘Fathers and Daughter’ Sue Sharpe (1994)
-Kathi Maio (1990) Women and Men in Movies
- Representation of gender in the past: women and men in film- Gunter (1995)
- Halarambos and Holborn Sociology Themes and Perspectives: Martin Holborn and Peter Langley (2002)
Websites
- http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~bagchi/women.html Amitabha Bagchi ‘Women in Indian Cinema
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodha_Akbar
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umrao_Jaan_%282006_film%29
-http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050188/
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salaam_Namaste
[1] Todorov’s narrative theory
[2] Ayesha Jhulka: Women in the Bombay film industry 1996
[3] Bollywood: a guide to popular Hindi cinema pg 157
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholay
[5] Gunter (1995) see Bibliography
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholay
[7] Kathi Maio (1990) Women and Men in Movies
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salaam_Namaste
[9] ‘Fathers and Daughters’ By Sue Sharpe
[10] Ayesha Jhulka Women in the Bombay film industry
[11] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050188/
[12] Amitabha Bagchi- Women in Indian Cinema
[13] Quotation taken from film ‘Salaam Namaste’ (2005)
[14] Quotation taken from film ‘Salaam Namaste’ (2005)
[15] Sue Sharpe pg 187 ‘Sociology AS’
[16] Quotation take from film ‘Salaam Namaste’ (2005)
[17] ‘Uses and Gratification Theory’ by Dennis McQuail
