LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 18:1 January 2018
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
         Dr. S. Chelliah, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Portrayal of Women Prostitution in Hindi Cinema:
An Analytical Study

Dr. Barnali Chetia, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Ms. Dharna Bhatt M.A., M.Phil., B.Ed., Research Scholar
Indian Institute of Information Technology, Vadodara


Mughal – e – Azam (1960 film by K. Asif)
Courtesy: http://www.culturebowl.com/lesser-known-facts-of-mughal-e-azam-the-legendary-movie/

Abstract

Vest, Nariyo, Gamaniyo, Ganika, Vannadasi, Kumbhadasi, Muhuttia, Janapadakalyani, Pumschali, Mahanagni, Atitvari, Atishkadvari...(Vinaya Pitaka III. 138) This generous profusion of synonyms is a gift from the Vedic literature to mankind, to understand prostitution better. Prostitution, still claimed to be world’s oldest profession, has a long history. It has been witnessed in the narration of various epics that the Kings' forces were accompanied not only by craftsmen, singers, spies but also by courtesans for their entertainment. The term Prostitute is somewhat descriptive in nature, basically an adjective which often takes the form of a noun. Prostitution has been a common feature in both ancient and modern India and is increasing in number with time. Prostitutes have been widely represented in cinematographic narrative since the early days of cinema. It is more of a reflection of the ever evolving human society. Generally, in Hindi cinema, prostitution centric stories deal with poverty in which the protagonist passes through many traumatic situations, and more often than not, the story ends with various kinds of unsolved questions. Hindi cinema has been successful in portraying women prostitutes under different shades of a society dominated by patriarchal idiosyncrasies. This paper is an attempt to portray the different aspects of women prostitution as reflected in the journey of Hindi cinema from 1950 to 2014 using seven cinemas, typical of the genres at their times of release, as case studies: Pyaasa (1957), Mughal-E-Azam (1960), Pakeezah (1972), Mandi (1983), Aastha (1997), Chandni Bar (2001), Lakshmi (2014). This is a qualitative research which follows the form of narrative method for analyzing the selected cinemas.

Keywords: Women, Prostitution, Patriarchy, Hindi Cinema

Introduction

The term Prostitution has been taken from the Latin word prostitut which means ‘exposed publicly or offered for sale’. It refers to a sexual act which a woman or a man does in exchange of cash or kind. According to the International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences (Sills, D. L., 1968:592), 'Prostitution is the granting of sexual access on a relatively indiscriminate basis for payment either in money or in goods depending on the complexity of the local economic system. Payment is acknowledged to be for a specific sexual performance.' The Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act 1956 says that Prostitution is the act of a female offering her body for promiscuous sexual intercourse for hire, whether in money or in kind.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Barnali Chetia, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
bchetia03@gmail.com

Ms. Dharna Bhatt, M.A., M.Phil., B.Ed.
Research Scholar
dharnapandya@gmail.com

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Vadodara
c/o Block No.9, Government Engineering College,
Sector-28, Gandhinagar 382028
Gujarat
India
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