Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Depiction of Women in his Movies- Part 2

I have always admired the great work, effort and thoughts that have gone into making those fictional characters come to life, but at the same time, some characters break that real connection and convince me that it is just a fragment of imagination.

In the previous post we saw the inspiring, larger than life characters and here I would like to shed some light on the characters, who were visually appealing but far away from reality.

Here we go:

Lack of Vulnerability:

I would also like to add that Sanjal Leela Bhansali in one hand portrays the strength, tranquillity and bold side of the women, but in the other hand it fails to show today’s women.

When I see  Paro and Chandramukhi dancing together for Devdas, or Kashi Bai and Mastani matching feet for Baji Rao, I fail to understand if two women deeply and madly in love with the same guy will dance together happily in today’s world.

I think somewhere Bhansali is stuck in the old era and the women he depicts, does not fit in the shoes of the modern woman. The modern woman would not share her husband or male counterpart. The modern woman will fight for her rights and if time comes, she would not hesitate to remove the rotten raw nerve of her body, if that is what the male counterpart has become for her. The modern woman is vulnerable and well aware of her rights and knows how to not shy away from showing off her weak side, after all women are equally human.

Unrealistic:

Those women were bold, beautiful, strong, and independent but in between the transition, the modern woman cannot actually relate to them much.

Like for example: no girl is going to light a lamp for 12 long years, in a hope that her boy friend will return to her. No husband will ever accompany his wife to go and search for her lover. No woman will welcome her husband or lover’s lover with open arms.

Not just in some village but in metro cities, where women have learnt the value of education and career, will ever follow these women as ideals.

So with the mix of positive and negative portrayals of women, been presented by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, I think when we go to see a movie, it is a give and take relationship. I try to take some learning or life lessons from the span of 120 minutes. I also look forward to get entertainment as it is meant for the purpose, and SLB does justify the entertainment part.