Is Mardaani a misogynist word for a feminist film?

It comes from the word "Mard". Does it signify that being brave, courageous and a fighter is a masculine trait?

Yes. Deeply misogynist, transphobic and patriarchal. Not to mention severely alienating for 56% of the non-Hindi speaking population of the country. What else can one expect in Modi's India.

On the surface level, the term "mardaani" sounds misogynistic. It implies that strength and bravery is a masculine trait. That women need to be "manlike" to display the traits.

But "Mardaani" actually comes from a poem by Poet Subhadrakumari Chauhan. She lived in the early 1900s during the Indian freedom movement. She wrote a lot of poems about the freedom movement and freedom fighters. One of her famous poems is on Rani of Jhansi that goes"Khoob Ladi Mardani, Woh Toh Jhansi Waali Rani Thi"

Poet Chauhan just wanted to praise Rani of Laxmibai and her bravery. With good intent and poetic license she coined the term mardaani to refer to a brave woman. She wasn't saying "Rani of Jhansi is masculine" nor is she saying "bravery is masculine". She is simply saying "Rani of Jhansi is brave".

The use of the term "mardaani" is a nod to Subhadrakumari's poetry and nothing more. To discard the term simply because it does not meet modern sensibilities would mean erasing the work and intent of a prominent female poet and her contribution to Hindi literature and culture.

Sometimes we have to go beyond the knee-jerk reaction and explore.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

On the surface level, the term "mardaani" sounds misogynistic. It implies that strength and bravery is a masculine trait. That women need to be "manlike" to display the traits.

But "Mardaani" actually comes from a poem by Poet Subhadrakumari Chauhan. She lived in the early 1900s during the Indian freedom movement. She wrote a lot of poems about the freedom movement and freedom fighters. One of her famous poems is on Rani of Jhansi that goes"Khoob Ladi Mardani, Woh Toh Jhansi Waali Rani Thi"

Poet Chauhan just wanted to praise Rani of Laxmibai and her bravery. With good intent and poetic license she coined the term mardaani to refer to a brave woman. She wasn't saying "Rani of Jhansi is masculine" nor is she saying "bravery is masculine". She is simply saying "Rani of Jhansi is brave".

The use of the term "mardaani" is a nod to Subhadrakumari's poetry and nothing more. To discard the term simply because it does not meet modern sensibilities would mean erasing the work and intent of a prominent female poet and her contribution to Hindi literature and culture.

Sometimes we have to go beyond the knee-jerk reaction and explore.

Doesn't Mardaani mean "male like"?

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

On the surface level, the term "mardaani" sounds misogynistic. It implies that strength and bravery is a masculine trait. That women need to be "manlike" to display the traits.

But "Mardaani" actually comes from a poem by Poet Subhadrakumari Chauhan. She lived in the early 1900s during the Indian freedom movement. She wrote a lot of poems about the freedom movement and freedom fighters. One of her famous poems is on Rani of Jhansi that goes"Khoob Ladi Mardani, Woh Toh Jhansi Waali Rani Thi"

Poet Chauhan just wanted to praise Rani of Laxmibai and her bravery. With good intent and poetic license she coined the term mardaani to refer to a brave woman. She wasn't saying "Rani of Jhansi is masculine" nor is she saying "bravery is masculine". She is simply saying "Rani of Jhansi is brave".

The use of the term "mardaani" is a nod to Subhadrakumari's poetry and nothing more. To discard the term simply because it does not meet modern sensibilities would mean erasing the work and intent of a prominent female poet and her contribution to Hindi literature and culture.

Sometimes we have to go beyond the knee-jerk reaction and explore.

very well said 👏

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

On the surface level, the term "mardaani" sounds misogynistic. It implies that strength and bravery is a masculine trait. That women need to be "manlike" to display the traits.

But "Mardaani" actually comes from a poem by Poet Subhadrakumari Chauhan. She lived in the early 1900s during the Indian freedom movement. She wrote a lot of poems about the freedom movement and freedom fighters. One of her famous poems is on Rani of Jhansi that goes"Khoob Ladi Mardani, Woh Toh Jhansi Waali Rani Thi"

Poet Chauhan just wanted to praise Rani of Laxmibai and her bravery. With good intent and poetic license she coined the term mardaani to refer to a brave woman. She wasn't saying "Rani of Jhansi is masculine" nor is she saying "bravery is masculine". She is simply saying "Rani of Jhansi is brave".

The use of the term "mardaani" is a nod to Subhadrakumari's poetry and nothing more. To discard the term simply because it does not meet modern sensibilities would mean erasing the work and intent of a prominent female poet and her contribution to Hindi literature and culture.

Sometimes we have to go beyond the knee-jerk reaction and explore.

take a bow for making us understand nuances of regional terms. We often try to couch or look for an English (read western) understanding of an Indian (be it Hindi or any other indian language) word. Words from Indian languages do not always have linear or onetoone connect with English or western words. There are often nuances and cultural contexts that we need to educate ourselves on, thank you for this.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

On the surface level, the term "mardaani" sounds misogynistic. It implies that strength and bravery is a masculine trait. That women need to be "manlike" to display the traits.

But "Mardaani" actually comes from a poem by Poet Subhadrakumari Chauhan. She lived in the early 1900s during the Indian freedom movement. She wrote a lot of poems about the freedom movement and freedom fighters. One of her famous poems is on Rani of Jhansi that goes"Khoob Ladi Mardani, Woh Toh Jhansi Waali Rani Thi"

Poet Chauhan just wanted to praise Rani of Laxmibai and her bravery. With good intent and poetic license she coined the term mardaani to refer to a brave woman. She wasn't saying "Rani of Jhansi is masculine" nor is she saying "bravery is masculine". She is simply saying "Rani of Jhansi is brave".

The use of the term "mardaani" is a nod to Subhadrakumari's poetry and nothing more. To discard the term simply because it does not meet modern sensibilities would mean erasing the work and intent of a prominent female poet and her contribution to Hindi literature and culture.

Sometimes we have to go beyond the knee-jerk reaction and explore.

Very interesting. Does this mean the word “Mardaani” didn’t exist in the vernacular before the poem? Because if it did then as great as the poem is it also has used a misogynistic word. And if the word didn’t exist before the poem then didn’t the poet herself use a variation of the word mard to describe a warrior woman? Though as you said, at that time it was not seen as such since cultural sentiments and sensitivities were very different. But that doesn’t apply in today’s times.


It does feel like there’s a degree of insensitivity in using the title Mardaani on a movie about a serial rapist who targets young college girls. But commercially speaking it’s a sequel to a successful movie and it needs to make money. Then there’s the whole angle of Rani Mukherjee who infamously victim blamed during Masand’s Round Table interview, but that’s neither here nor there regarding the use of Mardaani.


Using any variation of the word “man” to describe a woman’s bravery transcends cultures and languages unfortunately. Just as using a variation of the word “woman” to insult a man does.

Originally posted by: columbia

take a bow for making us understand nuances of regional terms. We often try to couch or look for an English (read western) understanding of an Indian (be it Hindi or any other indian language) word. Words from Indian languages do not always have linear or onetoone connect with English or western words. There are often nuances and cultural contexts that we need to educate ourselves on, thank you for this.

But the word Mardani is derived from an actual hindi word 'Mard'. No connection with western or english words here.

Yes Subhadrakumari used the word to describe Rani Laxshmi Bai's bravery but the context still resides in its literal meaning.

She used the word Mardani because Rani Laxshmi Bai fought like any man would, at a time when women were just restricted to their homes.

The explanation still doesn't change the actual context. Otherwise there are many other generic words to describe someone's bravery.

Like RTH said....it comes from that poem praising Rani Laxmi Bai...and then at that time it wasn't a misogynist word....but in today's world it definitely is.....that is why it is important to judge things according to the time they were used in.