This course analyzes the representation of women by men and women in Indian fiction and film. Issues such as the question of imagining the nation—and women’s place in it—in the colonial and postcolonial periods; the passage from tradition to modernity; feudalism; patriarchy and modern life; and community questions of distinctions in religion, class and caste, sexual preferences and sexuality are discussed.
Prerequisites:
None.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, film screenings, seminar discussions, and guest speakers
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation 15%; class presentations 15%; midterm exam 25%; final exam 25%; final paper 20%
content:
I. The Unimagined Woman in the Imagined Nation
The Indian nationalist movement against British colonialism opened up new literal and metaphoric spaces for women more by default than by design. The transgression of the frameworks of home and desire in the context of this movement is the subject of many films and literary works: Discussed texts:
Tagore, Ghaire Bhaire, made into a film of the same name by Satyajit Ray (Film)
Mahashweta Devi, Statue (Literature)
Krishna Sobti, Zindaginama (L)
II. Partition of the Subcontinent and the Burden Women Bore
India was divided into India and Pakistan with the Independence in 1947. The subcontinent witnessed the migration of millions of people across newly drawn borders. The violence that was unleashed between communities was on a scale never before seen. This violence in its most brutal forms—rape, kidnappings, forced marriages—was borne by women of all communities. Discussed texts:
Bhisham Sahni, Tamas, made into a film by Govind Nihalani (F)
Qurutailan Haider, Aag ka Dariya / River of Fire (L)
Amrita Pritam, Pinjar (L)
Ritwik Ghatak, Meghe Dhaka Tara / Cloud Capped Star, 1960 (F)
III. Taking on Patriarchy
Male-oriented societal values that allow little or no space to women have been challenged. The “outcasting” of women—widows, women of lower castes, courtesans—and their resistance have been represented in literature & cinema in different ways. Discussed texts:
Shyam Benegal, Bhumika and Ankur (F)
Rituparno Ghosh, Chokher Bali / Speck in the Eye, based on Tagore’s novel (F)
Kamal Amrohi, Pakeezah (F)
Ketan Mehta, Mirch Masala / Spices (F)
IV. Rites of Passage to Modernity
The transition from feudalism to capitalism, and from traditional mores to modern ones, caught women in its web. This transition was a traumatic one and women coped with it in different ways and often at
great cost to themselves.
Discussed texts:
Guru Dutt, Sahib Bibi Ghulam (F)
Kumar Shahani, Kasba / Small Town, based on Anton Chekhov’s In the Gully (F)
V. Thinking of Women in Binary Stereotypes
Women in commercial cinema have been represented according to the axis of the good/bad woman, the opposition of the virtuous woman/wife against the vamp and courtesan. This is now changing with globalization and new values. The distinction has collapsed.
Discussed texts:
Clips from films over the past 5 decades (F)
VI. Sexuality, Desire, Sexual Preference
This unit analyzes the articulation of desire and transgression in socially inscribed frameworks.
Discussed texts:
Ismat Chugtai, Lihaf / Quilt (L)
Deepa Mehta, Fire (F)
VII. Spirituality and Devotion
This unit studies the articulation of desire as transmuted into the spiritual. Women saint-poets of centuries gone by gave up home, hearth, and husband in the desire for “oneness” with their lord. An interesting body of poetry was created by these women on this desire.
Discussed texts:
Women saint poets Lalded, Meera, Akka Mahadevi, & others (L)
VIII. Community Issues: Conflicts of Religion and Caste
Post-Independence India has seen bloody conflicts on issues of religion and caste. Women have been caught in this crossfire.
Discussed texts:
Aparna Sen, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (F)
Dalit women’s writings (L)
Shyam Benegal, Mammo (F)
Saeed Mirza, Naseem (F)
Bimal Roy, Sujata (F)
IX. Diaspora and the Conflict of Values
Indians abroad have become an important community since the 1990s and are playing a significant role, politically and economically, in India and abroad. This is reflected in the growing number of films being set abroad. This unit explores whether the roles envisaged for women have changed or remain in the
same stereotypical modes.
Discussed texts:
Gurinder Chadha, Bend it Like Beckham (F)
Jhampa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies (L)
Nikhil Advani, Kal Ho Na Ho / Tomorrow May Not Come (F)
Subhash Ghai, Pardes / Foreign Land (F)
Aditya Chopra, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge / The One With the Heart Will Take the Bride (F)
X. Social Issues in Documentaries
Documentaries have explored issues that touch and shape women’s lives, particularly those who are marginalized, in many ways.
Discussed texts:
Shohini Ghosh, Tales of the Night Fairies (on Calcutta’s sex-workers) (F)
Mediastorm, From the Burning Embers (on the Roop Kanwar Sati case) (F)
Mira Nair’s film on cabaret dancers (F)
Writer Arundhati Roy’s political essays (L)
XI. Interactive Session with Women Filmmakers
Tentative list of Delhi-based filmmakers for interaction: Shohini Ghosh, Ranjani Mazumdar, Sameera Jain, Mira Nair
XII. Interactive Session with Women Writers
Tentative list of Delhi-based writers for interaction:
Indira Goswami, Githa Hariharan, Arundhati Roy, Anamika, Ajeet Cour
Required readings:
Bose, Sugata and Ayesha Jalal. Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy. 2nd ed. New
York: Routledge, 2004.
Desai, Jigna. Beyond Bollywood: The Cultural Politics of South Asian Diasporic Film. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Dwyer, Rachel. All You Want is Money, All You Need is Love. New York: Cassell, 2000. Ganti, Tejaswini. Bollywood. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Kabir, Nasreen Munni. Bollywood. Channel 4 Books, 2001.
Khilnani, Sunil. The Idea of India. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1998.
Rajadhyaksha, Ashish and Paul Willemen. Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Indian Women In Fiction And Cinema
This course analyzes the representation of women by men and women in Indian fiction and film. Issues such as the question of imagining the nation—and women’s place in it—in the colonial and postcolonial periods; the passage from tradition to modernity; feudalism; patriarchy and modern life; and community questions of distinctions in religion, class and caste, sexual preferences and sexuality are discussed.
None.
Lectures, film screenings, seminar discussions, and guest speakers
Class participation 15%; class presentations 15%; midterm exam 25%; final exam 25%; final paper 20%
I. The Unimagined Woman in the Imagined Nation
The Indian nationalist movement against British colonialism opened up new literal and metaphoric spaces for women more by default than by design. The transgression of the frameworks of home and desire in the context of this movement is the subject of many films and literary works:
Discussed texts:
Tagore, Ghaire Bhaire, made into a film of the same name by Satyajit Ray (Film)
Mahashweta Devi, Statue (Literature)
Krishna Sobti, Zindaginama (L)
II. Partition of the Subcontinent and the Burden Women Bore
India was divided into India and Pakistan with the Independence in 1947. The subcontinent witnessed the migration of millions of people across newly drawn borders. The violence that was unleashed between communities was on a scale never before seen. This violence in its most brutal forms—rape, kidnappings, forced marriages—was borne by women of all communities.
Discussed texts:
Bhisham Sahni, Tamas, made into a film by Govind Nihalani (F)
Qurutailan Haider, Aag ka Dariya / River of Fire (L)
Amrita Pritam, Pinjar (L)
Ritwik Ghatak, Meghe Dhaka Tara / Cloud Capped Star, 1960 (F)
III. Taking on Patriarchy
Male-oriented societal values that allow little or no space to women have been challenged. The “outcasting” of women—widows, women of lower castes, courtesans—and their resistance have been represented in literature & cinema in different ways.
Discussed texts:
Shyam Benegal, Bhumika and Ankur (F)
Rituparno Ghosh, Chokher Bali / Speck in the Eye, based on Tagore’s novel (F)
Kamal Amrohi, Pakeezah (F)
Ketan Mehta, Mirch Masala / Spices (F)
IV. Rites of Passage to Modernity
The transition from feudalism to capitalism, and from traditional mores to modern ones, caught women in its web. This transition was a traumatic one and women coped with it in different ways and often at
great cost to themselves.
Discussed texts:
Guru Dutt, Sahib Bibi Ghulam (F)
Kumar Shahani, Kasba / Small Town, based on Anton Chekhov’s In the Gully (F)
V. Thinking of Women in Binary Stereotypes
Women in commercial cinema have been represented according to the axis of the good/bad woman, the opposition of the virtuous woman/wife against the vamp and courtesan. This is now changing with globalization and new values. The distinction has collapsed.
Discussed texts:
Clips from films over the past 5 decades (F)
VI. Sexuality, Desire, Sexual Preference
This unit analyzes the articulation of desire and transgression in socially inscribed frameworks.
Discussed texts:
Ismat Chugtai, Lihaf / Quilt (L)
Deepa Mehta, Fire (F)
VII. Spirituality and Devotion
This unit studies the articulation of desire as transmuted into the spiritual. Women saint-poets of centuries gone by gave up home, hearth, and husband in the desire for “oneness” with their lord. An interesting body of poetry was created by these women on this desire.
Discussed texts:
Women saint poets Lalded, Meera, Akka Mahadevi, & others (L)
VIII. Community Issues: Conflicts of Religion and Caste
Post-Independence India has seen bloody conflicts on issues of religion and caste. Women have been caught in this crossfire.
Discussed texts:
Aparna Sen, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (F)
Dalit women’s writings (L)
Shyam Benegal, Mammo (F)
Saeed Mirza, Naseem (F)
Bimal Roy, Sujata (F)
IX. Diaspora and the Conflict of Values
Indians abroad have become an important community since the 1990s and are playing a significant role, politically and economically, in India and abroad. This is reflected in the growing number of films being set abroad. This unit explores whether the roles envisaged for women have changed or remain in the
same stereotypical modes.
Discussed texts:
Gurinder Chadha, Bend it Like Beckham (F)
Jhampa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies (L)
Nikhil Advani, Kal Ho Na Ho / Tomorrow May Not Come (F)
Subhash Ghai, Pardes / Foreign Land (F)
Aditya Chopra, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge / The One With the Heart Will Take the Bride (F)
X. Social Issues in Documentaries
Documentaries have explored issues that touch and shape women’s lives, particularly those who are marginalized, in many ways.
Discussed texts:
Shohini Ghosh, Tales of the Night Fairies (on Calcutta’s sex-workers) (F)
Mediastorm, From the Burning Embers (on the Roop Kanwar Sati case) (F)
Mira Nair’s film on cabaret dancers (F)
Writer Arundhati Roy’s political essays (L)
XI. Interactive Session with Women Filmmakers
Tentative list of Delhi-based filmmakers for interaction: Shohini Ghosh, Ranjani Mazumdar, Sameera Jain, Mira Nair
XII. Interactive Session with Women Writers
Tentative list of Delhi-based writers for interaction:
Indira Goswami, Githa Hariharan, Arundhati Roy, Anamika, Ajeet Cour
Bose, Sugata and Ayesha Jalal. Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy. 2nd ed. New
York: Routledge, 2004.
Desai, Jigna. Beyond Bollywood: The Cultural Politics of South Asian Diasporic Film. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Dwyer, Rachel. All You Want is Money, All You Need is Love. New York: Cassell, 2000. Ganti, Tejaswini. Bollywood. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Kabir, Nasreen Munni. Bollywood. Channel 4 Books, 2001.
Khilnani, Sunil. The Idea of India. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1998.
Rajadhyaksha, Ashish and Paul Willemen. Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Oxford University Press, 1999.