Believe it or not, somewhere cinema immensely affects the way we think. Films somewhere leave an impression on our brain, be it good or bad. When we see a hero doing something, it is considered to be alright and we often term it as love when it, in reality, is nothing more than stalking. Karan Johar’s ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’ is one of the best examples of stalking a female and audience and makers terming it as love.
(c) Dharma Productions
You see Badrinath Bansal (Varun Trivedi) literally stalking Vaidehi Trivedi (Alia Bhatt) be it out of love, but following someone is truly not so cool, be it on-screen or off-screen. It might look glorious on the silver screen but in reality, it’s creepy and movies are the medium that often advocates such propaganda in name of entertainment.
Things the makers show on the celluloid often sets up an example and prompt an individual to behave in a certain way, because of the mere thought that when a hero of the film can do it then why not ‘I’?
At times filmmakers don’t realise that they have some unsaid moral responsibilities because what they show to thousands of people make a huge impact and item numbers are something we seriously need to take a look at.
(c) Dharma Productions
Yes, we do love it. Yes, it’s on our playlist because of the peppy beats. Yes, the woman on the screen is a glamorous actress and looks every bit hot and sexy. But let’s not forget the basic fact that at the end of the day item song is nothing more than a woman dancing in skimpy clothes with people hooting for her and checking her out in all inappropriate ways possible.
These songs in simple terms objectify women and portray misogyny. And that is exactly what’s wrong with Bollywood. Cinema has a lot more potential than just set some negative examples in an individual’s life.
(c) Dharma Productions
And finally, we have someone from Bollywood who acknowledges this and accepts his mistakes. Filmmaker Karan Johar who has himself made songs like ‘Chikni Chameli’, ‘Shut up and Bounce’, ‘Mera Naam Mary Hai’, admits to his mistake of objectifying a woman in his song and promises to never do it again.
Talking to ‘She The People’ he said, “The moment you put a woman in the centre and a thousand men looking at her lustingly, it’s setting the wrong example. As a filmmaker, I have made those mistakes and I will never do it again.”
Manning up to his mistake he has made a sensible decision. Of course, cinema should be entertaining but not at the cost of setting up wrong examples. Let’s hope more filmmakers follow and understand this basic need.
Check out the interview here: