| And then there was Deepika... |
Deepika Padukone's fiery response to the recent photo scandal shows how little she cares about the kind of behaviour "expected" of female film stars. mehr tarar lauds her response and, in the process, looks back at the different ages of the Bollywood leading lady. |
Deepika Padukone in Finding Fanny eepika Padukone is gorgeous. Deepika is very talented. Deepika is sexy. And Deepika is a superstar. And as reconfirmed recently, Deepika is not someone who will take your tawdriness quietly, with a sanctimonious (dis)honesty that acts as a trademark of many Bollywood stars (of the feminine gender) in public " notwithstanding the "low-ness" of her dcolletage, or your brazenness to comment on it. So here's to the one and only, the very dynamic Ms Padukone, who is in a constant business of rewriting the rules for "proper" behaviour expected of female stars in India. Deepika belongs to a generation of female actors who have attained superstardom, and mostly acting (pun intended) by their own rules. Be it the beautiful Kareena Kapoor, who demanded roles as big as that of her male costar in her movies. Or Vidya Balan, who turned her girl-next-door allure into a powerhouse of repeated brilliant performances. Be it the super-talented, stunning Priyanka Chopra, who despite her debut in a negative role has become one of Bollywood's biggest names. Or the ethereal Katrina Kaif, who may not win awards for her acting, but has millions of hearts go aflutter when she appears on the screen. Or be it the latest entrant, Alia Bhatt, who at 21 has had four back-to-back hits, and is all set to rule the box-office (and hearts) with her million-dollar smile and versatility. Dazzling side-by-side Shah Rukh/Aamir/ Salman/ Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Ranbir/Shahid Kapoor/ Farhan Akhtar, these women have marked a territory very proudly their own, and on their own terms. To me, it is their best tribute to all the females who struggled, toiled and made it or failed in the Indian film industry through its glitzy, and at times, gloomy, history. These stars represent the best of the biggest film industry in the world, and the principal ingredient of their success, to my film-loving mind, is simple: they stand for who they are. They are proud of who they are. And rightfully so.
Even a cursory glance at Bollywood's history reveals, in all its greyness, the rigid compartmentalisation of female artists into the accepted, merely accepted and barely accepted images. There was the angelic, doe-eyed, fully clad heroine (even off-beat strong roles were played by women who fit the bill of "nice woman"). There was the dark-eyelined, skimpily dressed vamp, who seduced the hero and danced suggestively, sometimes both simultaneously. There were the "bold", unconventional heroines who got A-list films but not many accolades for their acting prowess. The occasional daring bits (in "commercial" films) by mainstream heroines like Nargis, Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman, Rakhee, Vyjayantimala, Sadhana, Mumtaz, Rekha, Sharmila Tagore, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patel, Tina Munim, Padmini, Reena Roy et al were, predominantly, coyness-coated, justified and "culturally" correct. The bosoms were covered with flashy gingham, torsos with frills, and backs with tresses that were mostly long, wavy wigs. The "daring" ones were those who wore their sexuality as naturally as a bottlenose dolphin swimming in the sparkling blue Pacific Ocean. There were audible gasps when gorgeous sirens like Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi, Sarika and Kimi sashayed out of water into the waiting (and slightly heated) arms of the hero. The acting talent of these divas was air-kissed under the gloss of their exuberant sex appeal, and no amount of "serious" acting ever truly worked to get rid of the tag of "sex symbol". | |||
he "item girls" were in another league. To ostentatious beats matching the villain's evil guffaws, they shimmied around the hero tied to a column or a chair (varied with the story), or preened as the villain's arm candy, before and after the sexy dance number. Helen, with her unusual looks and sensual dance moves, became the diva of item numbers, and to this day, her position remains unchallenged. There were also Bindu, Aruna Irani, Jayshree T and Padma, who sizzled screens with their seductive moves to ditties that talked about undulating bodies and swooning men. For female artists, who accepted, without much ado, their compartmentalisation in Bollywood, the territories were clearly defined, and the lines were sharper than pencilled moustaches and overblown egos of their male counterparts. And then, with the sultry South Indian sirens, Jaya Prada and Sridevi's jhatkas and matkas, before one could whistle an aiyyo, the new form of the female protagonist emerged, alongside the good old ethically correct ones. As Madhuri dhak-dhak'ed into cinematic libidos, there was more ogling of her exquisite yet highly sensual moves than what was behind her choli. The heroine juxtaposed into the vamp/item-girl, and a new avatar came into being, with all its shades of red, gold and grey, of unabashed femininity and unconditional sex appeal. The era of Kajol, Juhi, Rani, Preity and Tabu saw the emergence of female-centric roles, and the rest, as they say, is cinematic history. Of woman power. Fast-forward to 2007. And along came Deepika. Deepika is one of those rare stars whose mere presence lights up the screen; be it her thousand-watt dimpled smile, her close-to-real-life roles, her close-to-real-life performances, her tongue-in-cheek one-liners, her devil-may-care attitude (her choice of roles), her mile-long, barely-concealed-in-shorts legs, her supremely toned abs, her bikini tops, her minuvscule sari blouses, her fabulous dance skills, or her expressive large eyes. She may not have yet attained Vidya and Priyanka's versatility of roles/enactments, but she's certainly created a position uniquely her own. Her dialogue delivery may not match that of Tabu's, but she speaks with her heart. When needed. Her moves may not resemble those of Madhuri, but there's beguiling oomph to all her dance numbers. When she appears on screen, I always think she will attain more heights, as she strikes me as one of those extraordinary ones with that elusive X-factor. Deepika owns the screen. And when it comes to Deepika's choice of clothing, my only reaction is that of... nothing. Nothing she wears (or rather, does not wear) has ever struck me as an affectation to ooze sexuality. There's no suggestion of dressing up to titillate or tantalise. There are no pouty come-ons or sexy mannerisms. There is merely a complete comfort with who she is. When Deepika dons shorty shorts, or a tiny choli, or a bikini top, she seems like a Caribbean-dweller, or a leggy, sassy Brazilian who grew up on a beach. There is no overt sexuality or camouflaged I-am-a-sex-bomb-but-let's-pretend-to-be-the-girl-next-door. Deepika is unapologetically Deepika, and that is her biggest charm. Deepika's as comfortable in her skimpy clothes as she is fully clad, and that is her biggest charm. Deepika wears low-necklines with as much ease as she wears buttoned-up kurtas, and that is her biggest charm. Ergo, when Deepika wows you with her artless Angie in Finding Fanny, the only OMG she should elicit is about her acting, not for a shot of her "cleavage". You see, Times of India, the "cleavage show" is "news" only for you, because for the rest of us, Deepika Padukone is a lot more than her breasts and cleavage. She is the OMG superstar who is fabulous, talented, honest, gorgeous and very, very sexy. And for that she needs no "show" of anything. She just has to be... Deepika. Any day. Keep hating her, that wont stop Deepika from being the QUEEN... |
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