Mallika Sherawat

Bollywood has a tendency to project women as sati-savitri. Why are we so shy about being called brazen and sexy?

Mallika Sherawat Bollywood has this tendency of projecting women in an unnatural way like sati-savitri and homebound. Why are we so apologetic about being called brazen and sexy?   Women of desire Bollywood has this tendency of projecting women in an unnatural way like sati-savitri and homebound. Why are we so apologetic about being called brazen and sexy? I’m sure every woman loves to look good and I don’t mind being called sexy so long as it is aesthetically written. I’m not here to titillate, yet I’m not apologetic about my body and its charm. Lets grow up here. I have given some very hot scenes in my forthcoming film Murder (a story of a woman trapped in a lonely marriage where she seeks passion and love outside marriage) and those expecting anything less would be disappointed. I’m already getting calls from mahila mandals and other organisations for the act. But I don’t care, as I don’t subscribe to hypocrisy. What would you expect from a woman searching for companionship in a marriage  – you can’t expect her to be selective! Do you find any woman today in the sita-savitri mould? Gone are those days as women have come of their own and are not willing to take it lying low. Also they are very comfortable with their sexuality. Celina Jaitley Though the industry is changing for the better, sometimes, the script demands that you be projected in a glamorous 'look'   Women of desire Bollywood has this tendency of projecting women as glamourised objects of desire. But off late the industry is witnessing a lot of change where women centric roles are being written. So we cannot say for sure that the film industry has relegated women to pretty objects only. Sometimes, the script demands that you be projected in a glamorous 'look' - like my role in Janasheen. Being a Feroz Khan film it was ascribing to a kind of brand in itself as he is known to portray his girls as sexy and glamorous. You have to adhere to a certain look, which is pretty alluring. Yet in my other film Khel  I’m very much in my being. There's nothing over the edge in that film. Madhu Kishwar The fact that society does not raise an eyebrow today when girls in cities move around in mini skirts and plunging necklines owes much to Bollywood.   Women of desire These heroines of today who expose blatantly, and want men to drool over their bodies and are proud of flaunting - what is the difference between them and prostitutes? I think they are stupid and childish... There are better ways of demanding your sexual rights than sitting on top of a man. Meena Kumari also asked for her rights in bed in Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam with that song Na Jao Saiyan... Was it necessary to be sexually aggressive... Aparna Sen also talks of a woman's rights - sexual and otherwise - and very powerfully, without resorting to the exposure tactics... But yes, the fact that society does not raise an eyebrow today when girls in cities move around in mini skirts and plunging necklines owes much to Bollywood. Even in villages, women dress more fashionably and revealingly than before and the acceptance of a woman's body by society owes much to Bollywood too. But to say that the dare bare act by girls on screen means that the profile of the heroine is become more progressive and she has the right to express her desire is wrong. Women had better roles in the 50s and 60s. Next: Manisha Koirala