The evolution of female sexuality in Bollywood over the years Premium

From ‘Fire’ to ‘The Dirty Picture,’ the portrayal of female sexuality in Hindi films has witnessed constant evolution, but recent representation raises concerns about oversimplification and the potential for regression while using humour as a means of addressing taboo subjects

In the lead up to the release of Siddharth Anand’s Pathaan this year, there was a lot of talk, not of the film per se, but a small 20-second clip that seemed to have sparked anger among some of the political rank and file. It’s hard to believe that after years of a slow but steady accretion of progressive films and portrayals, of women helming films about their own lives and desires, we have moved backward to a point where Deepika Padukone’s saffron bikini in the song ‘Besharam Rang’ caused people to take offence. Why? Because she is seemingly disrespecting, and sexualising a political colour. One female MP actually threatened to kick Deepika in the stomach, never watch any of her films, and destroy her business. Feminism 101.

Over the years, the portrayal of female sexuality on-screen has witnessed a constant evolution, from Deepa Mehta’s film Fire (1996) to Dirty Picture (2011) to Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016) to this year’s Thank You For Coming. Several of these films spotlight sensuous women, who are actively indulging their desires, whether for sex, money or fame. How, then, does one understand films like these in relation to the whole ‘Besharam Rang’ saga? There is a cognitive dissonance here; while one aspect of the Hindi film and television industry has gotten steadily more permissive and progressive, another part has tightened the shackles of societal mores, policing any and every transgression. This lays bare one of the most basic problems with breaking the glass ceiling; that a few female-driven films don’t mean we have evolved into an equal society. In fact, these transgressions are often punished with a doubling down on female sexuality in more mainstream films. In light of this, let’s take a look at the evolution of female sexuality on screen over the years.

Released in Indian theatres in 1998, Fire is loosely based on Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai’s short story Lihaaf, and is a seminal film when it comes to depictions of female sexuality on screen. 

The film revolves around Radha and Sita, two women unhappily married into the same house. While Radha (played by Shabana Azmi) is a “barren woman” whose inability to have children has accorded her second-class status, Sita (Nandita Das) is plagued by her husband’s affair with another woman. In the absence of marital love, Radha and Sita start spending time together, and eventually, develop a relationship. Radha, at one point, tells Sita, “This isn’t familiar to me, this awareness of needs and desires” – spotlighting how female sexuality is often extinguished in Indian families.

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To top it off, their names — Radha and Sita — draw parallels to the goddess Laxmi in Hindu mythology, alluding to divine sanction for their relationship. The film was revolutionary in its emphasis on two women desiring each other, an act that acknowledges female sexuality can exist outside of marriage and reproduction. This is a sexuality purely predicated on pleasure.

Though there was a general backlash to Fire (a 1998 India Today article on the subject begins with ‘It started like a bush fire…’) with the film being recalled by the Censor Board over objectionable content, it was eventually screened across the country – and moved the dial of female-centric cinema forward.