STEREOTYPING WOMEN IN INDIAN CINEMA

Cinema is believed to entertain, to take the viewer to a world that is different from the real one, a world which provides escape from the daily grind of life. Cinema is a popular media of mass consumption which plays a key role in moulding opinions, constructing images and reinforcing dominant cultural values. The paper deals with representations of women characters in mainstream Bollywood movies. Women constitute fifty per cent of the population and hence their portrayal on screen is crucial in determining the stereotypes that exist in the society. The paper begins with a discussion on the field of feminist film criticism and how mainstream Hindi Cinema has restricted itself to defined sketches of womanhood. It also undertakes some glimpses from popular films to analyze this process of stereotyping. Cinema is always constructed from the male view point. In conclusion, a debate ensues on whether mainstream Hindi cinema has been successful in portraying Indian women of different shades in a society dominated by patriarchal values.