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Prabhudeva defends the portrayal of women in his movies
November 21, 2014 0 comments
A conversation with Prabudeva can be baffling- he leaves you feeling rather talkative. The man with the nimblest dance moves in Indian cinema prefers to let his feet, and his films, do the loud, brash talking. In person, he is a humble, smiling, soft spoken man of very few words. Presently, he is promoting his forthcoming dance- action entertainer, 'Action Jackson'.
My prime curiosity with Prabhu was this question- for a gentle person like him, his female characters tend to be not more than accessories, sometimes, objectified to a rather crass level. Take, for instance, the item song from Rowdy Rathore, with lyrics titled "Aa re Pritam Pyare". The lyrics are shockingly filthy as are the dance moves. Needless to say, the song is a huge hit. Overall, it's humiliating beyond toleration.
Quiz Prabhu on this, and he says, "I have only one thing to say- take it as a film, no. Why do you want to look at it like that? It's a film, I am making it to entertain. I don't think like that."
For once, me, a perennial skeptic, do believe this man. His humility is natural, his bafflement with a series of interviews for a film's release endearing, and his reply, unguarded. Perhaps it's the language barrier (he works on Tamil films primarily), or just believing that a film is make belief. Prabhudeva doesn't seem to find his female characters or songs offensive. Rather he finds them entertaining, he likes the roles that he writes in for women. With 'Action Jackson', which has three leading ladies- Manasvi Mamgai, Yami Gautam and his favourite, Sonakshi Sinha, he engages them with the comic element. He said, "All three have important parts to play in the film. Sonakshi is very easy to work with, she will do whatever a director asks for with the best efforts. No tantrums at all".
As for Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar, when asked to pick one, he shrugs off the question, as childish. But does say that he wants to work with everyone in Bollywood, wants to write scripts for everyone.
A look at Manasvi's gyrations in the latest song from 'Action Jackson' titled 'Gangster Baby' and you know that Prabhu's lenses to view his leading ladies hasn't altered.
Surprisingly though, yesterday, at a press meet, Rajkumar Hirani mentioned that his wife believes so far, he hasn't portrayed his female characters with depth. Hirani hopes to change that with 'PK', as always, endearing with his honesty.
I find Prabhudeva equally honest. Perhaps, a woman's place in his world is a bit like what we see on-screen. Or perhaps he is being completely truthful when he views a film as just that. The medium of cinema though, holds more clout and reach than most, and its time that this maker of very popular, entertaining films with such mass appeal wakes up to that. It will only make his films better and more inclusive for female audiences who choose to think.
CREDITS: PINKVILLA
TAGS:ACTION JACKSON AJAY DEVGN PRABHUDEVA SONAKSHI SINHA NEWS
November 21, 2014 0 comments
A conversation with Prabudeva can be baffling- he leaves you feeling rather talkative. The man with the nimblest dance moves in Indian cinema prefers to let his feet, and his films, do the loud, brash talking. In person, he is a humble, smiling, soft spoken man of very few words. Presently, he is promoting his forthcoming dance- action entertainer, 'Action Jackson'.
My prime curiosity with Prabhu was this question- for a gentle person like him, his female characters tend to be not more than accessories, sometimes, objectified to a rather crass level. Take, for instance, the item song from Rowdy Rathore, with lyrics titled "Aa re Pritam Pyare". The lyrics are shockingly filthy as are the dance moves. Needless to say, the song is a huge hit. Overall, it's humiliating beyond toleration.
Quiz Prabhu on this, and he says, "I have only one thing to say- take it as a film, no. Why do you want to look at it like that? It's a film, I am making it to entertain. I don't think like that."
For once, me, a perennial skeptic, do believe this man. His humility is natural, his bafflement with a series of interviews for a film's release endearing, and his reply, unguarded. Perhaps it's the language barrier (he works on Tamil films primarily), or just believing that a film is make belief. Prabhudeva doesn't seem to find his female characters or songs offensive. Rather he finds them entertaining, he likes the roles that he writes in for women. With 'Action Jackson', which has three leading ladies- Manasvi Mamgai, Yami Gautam and his favourite, Sonakshi Sinha, he engages them with the comic element. He said, "All three have important parts to play in the film. Sonakshi is very easy to work with, she will do whatever a director asks for with the best efforts. No tantrums at all".
As for Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar, when asked to pick one, he shrugs off the question, as childish. But does say that he wants to work with everyone in Bollywood, wants to write scripts for everyone.
A look at Manasvi's gyrations in the latest song from 'Action Jackson' titled 'Gangster Baby' and you know that Prabhu's lenses to view his leading ladies hasn't altered.
Surprisingly though, yesterday, at a press meet, Rajkumar Hirani mentioned that his wife believes so far, he hasn't portrayed his female characters with depth. Hirani hopes to change that with 'PK', as always, endearing with his honesty.
I find Prabhudeva equally honest. Perhaps, a woman's place in his world is a bit like what we see on-screen. Or perhaps he is being completely truthful when he views a film as just that. The medium of cinema though, holds more clout and reach than most, and its time that this maker of very popular, entertaining films with such mass appeal wakes up to that. It will only make his films better and more inclusive for female audiences who choose to think.
CREDITS: PINKVILLA
TAGS:ACTION JACKSON AJAY DEVGN PRABHUDEVA SONAKSHI SINHA NEWS
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