Much as we mark the end of a year and anticipate the arrival of the next, time remains in a continuum, without any clear divisions, defined by a cyclical loop rather than linearity. It stays in perpetual flow, even at the movies.
So, while 2023 may have marked a clear departure for Indian cinema in terms of breaking the box office jinx of the pandemic times and raking in a whopping Rs 11000 crore to emerge as the best-grossing year of all time (as per the last logged Ormax Media figures), the persistent, immutable male skew peaked to a practical elimination of women-led and women-centred stories (save the rare, but not necessarily good, ones like Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, Ghoomer, Dhak Dhak, Tejas etc) from the big screen and confining them to the streaming platforms.
In Bollywood the conspicuous trends were: 1) Thousand crore blockbusters 2) Return of the boomers and OGs (Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Deol, Vidhu Vinod Chopra) even when the audience is growing younger 3) Dominance of father-son stories (Jawan, Gadar 2, Animal) and popular dialogue like: “He (the son) is Simba, this (the father) is Mufasa” and “Bete ko haath lagaane se pehle baap se baat kar (Before you touch the son, deal with his father)”, both from Jawan 4) And, of course, not just a validation, but unabashed celebration of baleful machismo.
Some years back a Bollywood insider had warned me about “masculinity in crisis” and the “incel (involuntary celibate) backlash” against smart, strong, and hence threatening, real women finding “peak eloquence” on screen. “With time it’ll only get more sophisticated,” he had prophesied. It certainly reached a new, vicarious high in 2023.
“What’s toxic for some, is chicken soup for other souls,” he had said of the cathartic experience of the genre’s ardent fans and followers. On the flip side, one man’s exaltation of toxicity in the name of arts, aesthetics and entertainment might be many a woman’s trigger point; specially those who have endured misogyny and abuse for real, in not such a charismatic, attractive, seductive light.
Then how do you deal with a supposedly “well-made”, “pathological male” film? The kind that is bound to grow and flourish even more in the years to come. How do you even begin to describe the indignity and humiliation in having had to watch it in the name of keeping up with “good cinema”? Well, life is too short and the pool of fabulous films is bottomless to plunge deep into. Why imperil your own mind for the sake of one?
So, in a year that has been the most detrimental to women, I’d preserve my sanity and positivity by focusing on a few good ladies, gentlemen, and some gender-friendly characters, relationships, stories and moments instead. A couple of them I had the privilege to preview at film festivals, and they are yet to reach the theatres. But do keep your eyes peeled. They are every bit worth waiting for in 2024.
Spectacular Sisterhood
1) Smart, sharp, satirical but not sanctimonious. About two lost brides on a journey to finding themselves and their purpose in life, Kiran Rao's Laapata Ladies came like a breath of fresh air, dealing with significant feminist issues but with a deft, light touch. About women talking and women bonding, building sororities and friendships in the confines of a cloistered world, this was the film I enjoyed the most in 2023.
2) An entirely avoidable tragedy, criminal loss of lives and boundless grief driving a mother’s interminable fight for justice. The restrained recreation of Uphaar Fire tragedy and the aftermath by Prashant Nair, Randeep Jha and Avani Deshpande in their web series Trial By Fire is anchored in Rajshri Deshpande’s powerful performance as Neelam Krishnamoorthy, internalising her wrenching emotions, living the role from within and reflecting Krishnamoorthy’s strength on her face and entire being.
3) The Mirror (in Lust Stories 2) is all about relatable issues like urban loneliness, lack of privacy, repression of desire. I did find it a tad meandering but there couldn’t have been two better actors--Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash--and one of India’s most talented directors, Konkona Sen Sharma, to come together in conveying the subtlety and complexity of female solidarity—of a house help Seema (Subhash) and her employer Ishita (Shome)—that rises above class differences.
4) Vishal Bhardwaj’s espionage thriller, Khufiya, might have been comme ci comme ca for most people, but I was sold on the inventive idea of doing away with the usual, tired, stereotype of the femme fatale and instead turning it into a female-led story. One which has three mothers, Krishna (Tabu), Charu (Wamiqa Gabbi) and Lalita (Navnindra Behl), working undercover, each with a deep affection for her son and each hiding behind a web of secrets and lies. Tabu, struggling to come to terms with her repressed queer identity, hesitating to come out to her disgruntled son, aced it in her characteristic, effortless way.
5) Sushma Khadepaun’s deeply affecting short film, Places I've Called My Own, about a woman who has come far from her roots, family, friends, home, neighbourhood & love and is yet deeply connected with them, is marked by a wonderful give and take between three actresses—the sensational Aditi Vasudev in the lead role of Tara, Bhumika Dube as her lover Anya and Amardeep Jha as the mother Naina.
6) Another duo that caught the eye—Smita Tambe, as the hardened politician Phulo Karma, ruthless in her quest for revenge and Megha Mathur as her young, loyal ally Bidesi—both chasing an innocent man on the run in Devashish Makhija’s exploration of the plight of indigenous communities, Naxalism and political and corporate opportunism in Joram.
7) Kanu Behl’s Agra may have been all about dwelling on the psyche of a frustrated, toxic man, tracing it back to sexual repression and abuse, positing him as a victim of patriarchy but it was the women around him who came out with flying colours despite being objects of male persecution. Priyanka Bose as Priti brought immense nuance and dignity to a role which, in lesser hands, could have easily slipped into becoming a voyeur’s delight.
8) Karishma Tanna as a crime journalist Jagruti Pathak in Hansal Mehta’s Scoop, her commitment to work, professionalism, ambitions, and failings, flaws and compromises are all eminently relatable even as she goes about proving her innocence on the charge of being complicit in the murder of a fellow senior journalist. Mehta and Tanna are spot on in capturing the life of a middle-class, big city girl and the sexism that she must face and negotiate with daily in the line of duty.
Fellowship of Malayalam movies
When it comes to exploration of gender politics, beyond Bollywood, three Malayalam films—Family, Aattam and Daayam—and one actor—Vinay Forrt stood out.
1) Prasanth Vijay’s poignant and provocative Daayam is both a coming-of-age story and one about loss of innocence. While coping with the death of her mother, a young woman Kalyani (Aathira Rajeev) must also come to terms with the hypocrisy, power play and sexism entrenched in her family. Adulting is all about taking the side of right despite the huge personal price involved.
2) When the only woman Anjali (Zarin Shihab) in a theatre group of thirteen is groped, the male members decide to sit down in judgment. Anand Ekarshi’s chamber drama Aattam opens itself up to varied interpretations from viewers. A quest for truth for some, about human weaknesses and foibles and life’s many ambiguities for others. To me it is a riveting & relatable exploration of male entitlement that we women witness each day.
3) Nothing is what it seems in Don Palathara’s Family, a seemingly gentle and genteel but simmering portrayal of how a supposedly safe space like home can harbour dangerous predators with their crimes getting wilfully disregarded and often enabled through silence by the patriarchal values governing both the family and religion. A male-centred film that isn’t just wonderfully crafted but, for a change, probes the many-layered misogyny of its lead than glorifying it.
4) Vinay Forrt is terrific in both the films. The two-faced manipulator and abuser in Family and taking over the discourse about his girlfriend in Aattam, using it to power his own ambitions and materialistic pursuits and ready to give up when it turns inconvenient. Forrt’s nuanced performances don’t mythologise his characters into heroes, even when they are key to the two films.
A few real (than manly) men next door
1) Vijay Varma is near perfect as Anand, a purveyor of untold brutality on women while appearing to be a likeable common man, in Reema Kagti and Ruchika Oberoi’s web series Dahaad, about a bunch of cops chasing a serial killer in a caste-ridden, patriarchal and misogynistic Mandwa in Rajasthan.
2) Manoj Bajpayee in Apoorv Singh Karki’s Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai is unlike a filmi, larger-than-life hero as the lawyer Solanki who becomes unexpected ally in the fight for justice of a girl violated by an all-powerful baba. In fact, he is meek, vulnerable, scared of the powerful and a hardcore believer at that. But one who questions and fights the ills of his own religion from within.
3) Bodhisattva Sharma as Vivek, going through the rigours of coaching classes to score a seat in the much-coveted IIT and finding friendships, love and himself on the way, in Varun Grover’s crackling and nostalgic All India Rank, is as authentic a portrayal of the middle class 90s boy, as you can get. So too his parents (Shashi Bhushan, Geeta Agarwal) who’d put everything, even their addiction for cigarettes and laddoos, at stake for his future.
4) A chip of the similar block is Vikrant Massey as Manoj in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail, trying hard to clear the UPSC exam. The constancy of struggles and roadblocks and the imperative to restart after every failure strikes a chord. As does his determination to succeed and the dignity in rising above the circumstances.
5) Popular comic Kapil Sharma plays Manas Mahto in Nandita Das’s Zwigato who is forced to become a food delivery guy after losing his job. One of the daily wage earners of the new economy who are all around us, have kept our lives moving during the lockdown even while being at the receiving end of our class-based prejudices. His friendly, sweet relationship with his wife Pratima (Shahana Goswami), even amid stress, is affirming and heartwarming.
6) Abhinav Jha in Parth Saurabh’s Pokhar Ke Dunu Paar, plays the wastrel Sumit, who is trying to skirt responsibilities of marriage and his life with Priyanka (Priyanka Khan Jha) while being committed to his tribe of equally slacker friends. He is entirely believable as the harmless small-town guy unknowingly suffocating his ladylove as much as her orthodox family, perhaps even more.
7) Jackie Shroff "unbecomes" bhidu to live the role of Kamath, a retired, lonely Mumbai widower, to near perfection in Vijay Maurya’s Mast Mein Rehne Ka. The gait, posture, body language, look in the eye, anxieties, vulnerabilities and quirks are the kinds we see in senior citizens around us.
8) Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in Joram is all coiled, unexpressed rage as the cop Ratnakar, confined by social hierarchy, official pecking order, a nagging wife and the call of duty who finds a higher realisation on witnessing the plight of the disenfranchised in the boondocks of India.
9) Atul Kulkarni personifies gravitas, grace and empathy in the small role of Tabu’s ex-husband Shashank in Khufiya, the one who is still a friend, confidante and support that she can lean on.
10) Abhay Deol as Shekhar Krishnamoorthy is a similar perfect foil and pillar of strength for his wife Neelam in their fight for justice for their dead children in Trial By Fire.
The heart of patriarchal darkness
1) Internationally renowned filmmaker and director of commercials and music videos, Tarsem Singh Dhadwar’s Dear Jassi, is a harrowing account of star-crossed lovers, inspired by a real-life incident—the murder of Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu at the behest of her own family back in 2000 in Punjab. The most benumbing aspect of Singh's deep dive into toxic orthodoxy in the hyper masculine Punjab is the conditioning and internalisation of patriarchy in women themselves and how it turns them into cold-blooded murderers of even those who are closest to them.
2) Randeep Jha’s wonderfully atmospheric Kohrra also takes us to the heart of macho Punjab. It begins with a dead body in the village but the investigation into the murder throws many hidden skeletons—of dysfunctional families, childhood traumas, sexuality and repressions, toxic masculinity and patriarchy and scarred lives—out of the proverbial cupboard. Let alone the wounds inflicted on women and vulnerable men, even the aggressive, cocky, manly cops could be nursing damaged souls deep within their tough experiors.
Decisive moments
1) The sharp and scathingly funny opening sequence of Jayant Digambar Somalkar’s Marathi film Sthal (A Match) brilliantly subverts the “kanda poha” matchmaking ritual prevalent in Maharashtra. It turns the tables, and, instead of the usual humiliating inquisition of the girls of marriageable age by men of the grooms’ families, makes a group of women question, select/reject a prospective groom. It does hurt men when they themselves are put at the receiving end of feudal practices formulated, propagated and upheld by them.
2) The boorishly macho Rocky Randhawa (Ranveer Singh) in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani dancing elegantly along with Chandon, his Kathak dancer father-in-law to be (Tota Roy Chowdhury), to ‘Dola re dola’ from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas isn’t just a moment that played to the gallery and brought the house down but helped break down the rigid walls of gender identity and role-playing in Bollywood. What is masculine and how to define feminine? Another moment that cocked a snook at orthodoxy was when the boy’s family humbly requested the girl’s parents to accept their son as damaad (son-in-law) instead of asking for their daughter to be their bahu (daughter in law). Small battles won in a larger ongoing war. That too with Bollywood at its most joyous, delirious, rambunctious, silly, sentimental, wholesome, hopeful and healing.
Lastly, the quote of the year
“Misogyny, patriarchy, casteism are serial killers too”: Reema Kagti on her crime thriller, Dahaad.