Wednesday, March 8, 2017

My Woman of Choice for the 2017 International Women's Day - Kangana Ranaut

Today I volunteered to present on a panel for the International Women's Day at my university.  An event hosted by the Women's Resource Center at Southern Illinois University, panelists were asked to prepare a small talk about trailblazing women who have made changes in the industry that they are working in. I am from India and it was initially my intention to write about a historical female figure. There are many strong female figures in Indian history and I thought discussing their achievements would give everyone a good idea about the struggles that women have faced throughout Indian history. However, I chose to focus on a present day female figure, rather than a historical one. This is because the recent media storm concerning this woman is interesting and highly indicative of the challenges that Indian women continue to face in professional settings. Today, I have decided to focus on a literal heroine, a Bollywood actress by the name of Kangana Ranaut.
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Bollywood is the name of Hindi language film industry that is set in the city of Mumbai. While Hollywood continues to loom as an important influence on Bollywood, it is minuscule in size compared to Bollywood. In terms of earnings, in terms of the amount of movies it makes, and the number of people it hires, Bollywood is the largest film industry in the world with a significant global audience. Yet, for all its connections and earnings, Bollywood remains an industry that is extremely difficult to become a part of if you are what they call, "an outsider". And Kangana Ranaut, for all her current success as a Bollywood actress, is this "outsider".
                Bollywood has its dynasties and not surprisingly, most of the new actors, actresses, directors, and producers who enter this multi-billion dollar industry are almost always related to the members of these dynasties. The most famous Bollywood families are the Kapoors, the Johars, the Chopras, the Bachchans, and the Khans. To find a way to get into Bollywood, you need to find a way to get close to these families. If a large banner such as Yash Raj Films introduces you as an actor / an actress, then you, by default, become an A-List actor / actress in Bollywood. How some of the "outsiders" who have been launched by the big banners, have managed to get to this place, is a mystery in itself. Sadly, Kangana did not have the luck to be launched by a big banner.
Born in a small village at the foothills of the Himalayas, Kangana Ranaut comes from a middle-class family. With a business man father, a school teacher for a mother, and two siblings, Ranaut reminiscences about being treated differently at home than her brother. Talking about her childhood in an interview, Ranaut said, "If my father would gift my brother a plastic gun and get a doll for me, I would not accept that. I questioned the discrimination. I’m still the same." (Source) In another interview, in response to questions about sexism in Bollywood, Ranaut responded, "Why just Bollywood? We have to… especially the kind of environment that I grew up in, I come from a middle-class family and we know that sexism or misogynistic society is a matter of fact… I feel it's a matter of fact we live with… We can't claim that it doesn't exist or exists only in a few portions of the country. That is not true. [Even today] when a girl child is born the first thing the family feels is a [sense of] disappointment. And that goes for even the high society people in India. So, that is where a girl child starts from". (Source)
                Growing up Ranaut recounts her grandfather asking her to move away from the dining table during meal times so that the men of the house could eat their meals first, after which the women eat their meals (Source). This is a tradition that continues to be practiced in many parts of India, something I have myself encountered when I was carrying out my ethnographic fieldwork in India in 2014. Ranaut's family expected her to be the model offspring who studied hard and worked on achieving a career in medicine. However, after having failed one paper in a school test in the last year of high school, Ranaut decided that being a medical doctor was not for her (Source). She chose to take a path that most middle-class Indian families would never approve of. She decided to enter the world of glamour. Ranaut recalls very clearly that her father had a strong opposition to what she chose to do. At the age of 16 she moved away from her hometown to Delhi, the capital of India, and got hired as a model. From there began her journey (Source).
Soon after, Ranaut started acting and finally moved to Mumbai. What she expected to find, she herself does not know. But what she did find were walls, many many walls. Her first movie Gangster, became a commercial hit with the critics lauding her portrayal of an alcoholic and a drug addicted woman. At the age of 17, Ranaut found a small foothold in Bollywood. Gangster released in 2006. In the 11 years since, Ranaut has managed to, as some might say, "weasel her way in the industry and make something of herself". I could speak for a long time about the history of Kangana's career but I will focus on one important storm taking place in Bollywood over the past week.
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One of the things that makes Ranaut so incredibly intimidating is what her peers might say behind closed doors, is "her lack of tact". On camera they usually call it "being bold". In the past 5 years Ranaut has managed to break away from the stereotypical mould of the neurotic female characters that she kept being offered to play. Her 2013 movie Queen finally established Ranaut as a star capable of playing a wide range of characters. In the past 5 years, she has also managed to bag multiple awards, including 3 National Awards which are treated as the highest distinction in Bollywood. As Ranaut became important, she started being called for interviews. However, instead of thanking Bollywood for accepting her, Ranaut started clarifying just how much of a struggle it has been to enter Bollywood and to retain her integrity in an industry mired in nepotism.
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This February, one of the most famous talk shows on Indian television finally invited Kangana. A show running since 2004 by the name of Koffee with Karan. Who is Karan you might ask? Karan Johar is the son of Yash Johar, a movie producer. Johar's show is as he calls it, is a "frivolous show to talk about nothing in particular". On this show, he often calls his friends in the industry and has many a times attempted to make trouble by insinuating one thing or the other about their colleagues to them. Many take this in jest, some take it seriously. The bigger the trouble, the higher the TRP ratings. Over the years Johar has worked as a film director, producer, screenwriter, costume designer, and actor. To say he is steeped into Bollywood since his childhood would be an understatement. The current topic of discussion in the media is about the appearance of Kangana Ranaut on Johar's show.
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As an outsider Ranaut was often shunned and consistently kept away from being cast in big banner movies. Another issue that she faced was with her English. For those of you who don't know this, mastery in English is indicative in elite India, of just how cultured and educated one is. Coming from a small village, Ranaut has, over the years, been mocked for her bad English by her peers. For her part, she has been very honest about her struggle and often told reporters and interviewers about the amount of work she has had to do on her English to be treated respectfully by her peers. On that fated show, Ranaut, for the first time since the inception of the show in 2004, appeared on Koffee with Karan. But instead of showing gratitude, as expected by Johar, Ranaut chose to talk about how she thinks Johar's mocking drove her to become better at what she does. In answer to his question about "Who in the industry has given you the most amount of unnecessary attitude?" Ranaut went on to reply, "I think it is you Karan." She continued, "In my biopic, if ever it is made, you will play that stereotypical Bollywood biggie… who is very snooty and completely intolerant of outsiders. The flag bearer of nepotism. The movie mafia." While nothing Ranaut said was untrue or even exaggerated, it left Johar and the other male guest on the show aghast and speechless. As the show proceeded one can see Johar having a harder and harder time maintaining his smile.
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The show aired as planned on February 19th. Two weeks later Johar started talking about the episode. For one he claimed it was rather decent of him that he aired the show without cutting out Kangana's nasty comments, implying that he was free to shut her out and quiet her down if he chose to do so. He went on to say, "I’m done with Kangana playing the woman and victim card. I am done. You cannot be this victim every time and have a sad story to tell about how you’ve been terrorised by the bad world of the industry, leave it." What is the woman card you ask? It is what men fall back on when they feel intimidated by women who call them out on their behavior. They call it the victim female card that allows women to make accusations about their alleged bad behavior. Not surprisingly, Johar's reaction only adds to the point Ranaut was intending to make. In that, he does not think her struggles are real and that now that she has made it big, he expects her to be grateful that the Bollywood glitterati are finally welcoming her into the fold. Johar's implication that she should leave the industry again adds to the Bollywood dynastic structure that revels in its hold over the industry attempting to quiet voices of dissent, especially those of women like Kangana that make public statements about their displeasure in seeing that female actors get paid less than their male counterparts or that most movie scripts have male actors as an integral movie character with women playing the peripheral roles of the mothers, wives, and daughters. In a recent speech delivered at the London School of Economics, Johar went on to say, "She was my guest and I had to hear what she had to say. She has a right to have an opinion. When she says ‘flag-bearer of nepotism’, I just want to say, I am glad she knows what it all means. [Though] I don’t think she has understood the entire meaning of the term." This again reiterates Ranaut's jibe at Johar on the show where she said, "You have mocked my English on this couch Karan."
What is interesting about the Johar-Ranaut controversy though is that India, which has been undergoing a metamorphosis for a long time when it comes to the position of women, is currently a place where blatant sexism is being held accountable. In an interesting turn of events, many female journalists and columnists have taken to defending Ranaut and slamming Johar. 
One columnist writes, "One small piece of advice: When women talk about victimisation, they are not necessarily playing the victim card. And when someone is showing their vulnerable side, you don't exploit it to stir another controversy. Most importantly, you don't attack a person when she is not present to defend herself" (Source). Writing on March 7th, Vinta Nanda, another industry outsider and a script writer states, "It is unfortunate that I am writing this on the eve of the International Women’s Day" Speaking about the sexism that she has encountered in Bollywood over the past 2 decades, Nanda says, "These men were simply not accustomed to assertive women, particularly those who were not brought up to believe that their intelligence and knowledge were meant only to add value to the performances of their male counterparts—husbands, boyfriends, colleagues. And that is why I support Ranaut. I will stand up for every single girl like her who is before the camera or behind it and has the courage to speak her mind. However uncomfortable that may make the men, whom I expected to change at least in Johar’s generation" (Source).
Asked about her role as the feminist of the industry, Ranaut claims to have done nothing for women. She asserts that everything she has done so far has been for herself and to be true to her own values. In fact, Ranaut states that she finds it terrifying that Bollywood and women all over India view her as the feminist icon because according to her, there is nothing that she has done consciously to help increase awareness or better the position of women in Indian society. She hopes that someday she may be able to say that she has been a feminist icon and has helped women reach a better place with pride. But for now, she continues to focus on her career and call out people when they mistreat her and expect her to be quiet.
In her own way, though Ranaut may not take the credit for it, she remains a shining example for all those women who face sexism every single day of their lives at home, work, and even in their social lives. On this International Women's Day, therefore, I chose to talk about Kangana Ranaut, one Bollywood actress who refuses to be bogged down. A woman who speaks her mind and unabashedly tells the world about her sexual experimentation and her romantic faux pas. A woman who refuses to become the insider and who thinks that being an outsider is in itself her greatest strength. While women the world over persistently struggle to be treated equally, it is important that we acknowledge and celebrate candid statements made by women like Kangana who continue to challenge the boundaries drawn for them by patriarchy which reigns supreme and uninterrupted in many parts of the world even today.

-- 
Ms. Gauri A Pitale
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Anthropology
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Carbondale, IL - 62901

Monday, September 6, 2010

Khosla Ka Ghosla - Movie Review

KHOSLA KA GHOSLA (2006)

Starring: Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Parvin Dabas, Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey
Directed by: Dibankar Banerjee

A beautifully movie that very clearly shows the plight of the Indian Middle Class. Though not quite as melodramatic as other Bollywood movies, this little piece of gem has paid attention to details that most other Bollywood movies lose in their melodrama as well as their gloss and shine. The movie is well-scripted and almost everyone in the movie, except for Tara Sharma, is true to their character. The movie portrays very realistically what it feels like for middle class people to be helpless and at the mercy of the highly corrupt institutions that do, in reality, exist. The humour in the movie might not be appealing to foreign audiences just because it hits a little to close to home and it is difficult to relate to it if you aren't an Indian who knows what most of the jokes are in reference to. Be that as it may, I give this movie 4.5 starts just because it portrays the reality of the situation in such a humourous manner.

Swades - Movie Review


Since I rarely update this blog, I'm going to write movie reviews here. In case you're wondering why? I'd say, just for the heck of it!!

SWADES (2004)

Starring: Shahrukh Khan and Gayatri Joshi
Directed by: Ashutosh Gowarikar

I had been avoiding watching Swades for a long time because I had a feeling I would not enjoy the movie as much as other people have. I wish I had been proven wrong but that does not seem to be the case.. I liked the movie no doubt and I like the premise of the movie and applaud the courage it must have taken to produce it. Regardless, the movie does sound far too preachy. The chemistry between Shahrukh Khan and Gayatri Joshi is non-existent. Though she is a pretty woman she has a lot to learn about how to act. I wish the director had made her more than an uptight grouch with strong ideals that she seems to presume everyone should live by. Yes, the movie deals with issues that are very real to India but I dont see why Mohan Bhargava is supposed to be so awesome for helping one village and coming back to India to live with the woman he loves. I would much rather that he did something on a larger and grander scale that affected the entire country to some extent or the other. Mohan is no better than any other person, he does what he does because he cares about the people in the village, NOT because he thinks India is in need of help. Be that as it may, the movie is worth watching, at least once if not twice. Shahrukh Khan's acting is good as always and the soundtrack of the movie is decent with a few exceptionally good songs.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

On ignoring and being ignored

The funniest part about being a pro a ignoring people is understanding right away when you are being ignored. As it turns out someone I thought I was making good progress with as a friend (and may be in the future romantically) has decided to ignore me. Now there are two things one can do when one is being ignored. Either you can confront the said person or send them acerbic emails (again something I'm good at) and tell them it would have been nice of them to just tell you that they weren't interested in talking to you. Of course, I myself, take the other route so that's kinda hypocritical of me but when it's me who is being ignored, I get pretty damn preachy. Well, the world is full of hypocritical people like myself and I'm not proud of it but I do agree, it IS simpler to avoid people rather than tell them truthfully that you do not want to have anything to do with them. And when one takes that route, it is just so much simpler to know when someone else is doing the same to you, sigh.. The other course of action when one is being ignored by someone is to ignore them back. Sometimes that ACTUALLY works and the said person eventually comes to you and wants to spend time with you. However, when this happens you are extremely angry at having been ignored in the past and the person thinks he/she successfully ignored you and is back and that things are just peachy. Now that, is a recipe for disaster..

Well in this special case of mine, I'm pretty damn sure that the person who is ignoring me at the moment isn't returning anytime soon. Neither is he very dear to my heart. So instead of confronting him, I think I'm going to ignore him in return. I think that's the best course of action at the moment, don't you?

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A day fraught with frenimies and personal issues..

Happiness, do you find it when you start looking for it or does it just fall in your lap? How is fair that I slog my ass off and still feel pathetic and useless? I'm angry and tired and I just want to punch someone in the face right now. No, not just one someone, several someones. I have a list of em' in my head and I swear to God I wanna punch em' all in the face! #&@#%!@$^$#^$!!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Unjust Life















What do you do when your life goes topsy-turvy in the matter of hours? How do you defend yourself against accusations that are untrue? What do you say when people have already made up their mind about you without even bothering to give you a chance to explain? How do you react when people you think are your friends suddenly turn out to be the enemies that everyone had warned you against?


Why do people do this? Why is life so unjust? Why am I so defective?

Too many questions and no answers, all I know right now is I want to go back home and crawl into my mother's lap and cry my heart out. But I can't, so I'll just continue to be myself and learn to deal with the fact that life doesn't always hand out to you the things that you deserve...

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Sweet sweet sleep...

What bugs me the most? Not getting enough sleep.. This horrible finals week with all of it's tensions is bad enough as it is. And then to top it all, there's no bloody time to sleep it seems. When I was back in school, exams were the time to study and sleep. The highest amount of sleep I got was during exam time. And now, there's so much studying to get done that I have no freaking idea where to incorporate sleep in it.. So yesterday, I finished writing some shit and said, ok I'll lie down for an hour. Next thing I know, I'm up after 8 hours!!!! AArrrgggghhhh.... I have so much to do and NO time to do it now. Holy crap, I just hate feeling this way.. So I decided to relax by procrastinating! Not a good idea, I know but it does help me some..