Movies that call out hegemonic masculinity are not new. Movies bursting the big, ugly bubble of patriarchy are not new. There are a number of wonderful Indian feminist movies that have made a mark, like the Tamil movie Iraivi, Hindi — Parched, Chakde India, Queen, Pink, Lipstick under my Burkha, Malayalam’s The Great Indian Kitchen, and many many more. The reason for counting these movies is that men still define them as women-centric and refrain from watching them. Obviously, there are a lot of men who appreciate these movies, but a majority of them still do not accept that they are sharing the world equally with the other genders.
The concept of action movies being equivalent to men and drama to women is yet to be reversed. The change is reality-altering for society to accept. The recent movies Baipan Bhari Deva in Marathi and Barbie are opening quite a few eyes and minds. Men cringing over so-called “women’s movies” or “pink color in the movie” are quite regressive. Not surprisingly, some reviews of Barbie are negative just because it talks about patriarchy and feminism. For some men, feminism is a repetitive, woke theme that is rarely applied in real life. My colleague asked a guy “Did you watch the movie?”, he very dismissively said, “Hey, it is a woman’s movie, why should I watch it?” It was as if he were defending himself from an accusation that he watched a woman-led movie and that somehow diminished his masculinity.
While Baipan Bhari Deva was about women liberating themselves from their own selves and setting themselves free from societal shackles, understanding themselves, and putting light on sisterhood. Barbie is a satire that shines a light on the equal rights principle. In the real world, women still have to ask for things they deserve and come off as being difficult or asking for more. In Barbie’s world, it was the opposite, women were in charge.
The theatre was filled with women, in case of Baipan Bhari Deva, with a few men here and there. Another one of my colleagues pointed out that it became a reason for women to get out of their homes. Well, if women still need such a nudge to get out of their homes, that is part of the problem. We never asked many questions when men donned action and superhero movies, nor did we classify them as male-centric movies. Why not a little equality in the choice of Art or entertainment?
