'Wrong portrayal of women in Bollywood'

DHNS
Talk
The stereotypical role of women in Hindi films has a negative impact on society

As a prelude to International Women's Day, the Bangalore International Centre arranged an
illustrated talk on The Mind of a Woman: Portrayal in Bollywood by Dr Dinesh Bhugra,
President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK.

Bhugra has already published a path-breaking paper and book on the representation of
madness in Bollywood, giving the reader keen insights on cinematic influences in the country
mirroring social and political changes over the years. With the aid of well researched film
clips, he covered development of Bollywood cinema emphasising the treatment of mental
illness in films with regard to women.

In a country like India, where people are greatly influenced by cinema, it is very important
that issues like mental illness are portrayed accurately and responsibly, he said. Bhugra took
one on a journey, from the idealism of the 1950s to the stalking, jealousy and psychopathy
that characterises the films of the 1990s to the present day.


India makes more films than Hollywood. They are mostly formatted in a highly operatic style
with a lot of singing and dancing. They provide people with a form of escapism and a fantasy
based version of reality. Within this stylised formula, however, Bollywood films feature strong
messages, reinforcing traditional principles such as family values and acceptance by society,
he opined.

The talk was followed by a discussion that threw up important questions on the stereotypical
role that women play in Indian films and the subliminal messages that are constantly being
transmitted to the public at large.

With inputs from the audience the discussion further explored Bollywood's portrayal of mental
illness and its effects on the family within the broader historical, cultural and social context of
Indian society.

Bollywood films need drama and conflict to engage the audience, and mental illnesses and
the mentally ill easily serve this purpose; the more extreme the behaviour, the better it is,
especially if the subject is a woman. Unfortunately, the repeated portrayal of mentally ill
women and mental illness with the filmi distortions has contributed a lot to the stigma and
burden which the mentally ill and their caretakers have to bear, said Bhugra.
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