Pushpa is a film set in a small village, where the protagonists are smugglers and gangsters, and it’s set in the 90s….
None of the characters are educated or even had a decent upbringing and we’re all brought up in a patriarchal society …the girl is essentially surrounded by predatory men which is a believable situation …
For that era and setup, they stayed true to it and still managed to give the girl some agency…srivalli works and earns for her family, she expresses her consent and pushpa does respect that…once she rejects him he stays away from her until she asks for his help and consents to be with him ….as opposed to the villain character who wants to have her at all costs and dosent care abt her consent ….and blackmails her by kidnapping her father ….
I didn’t find the romance in it regressive…crude, sure with the whole paying for a kiss thing ….but they show her agreeing to it …..and when she backs out, pushpa lets her be without forcing himself on her …
there is crudeness and regressive ness in the environment of the film…but the film made a clear distinction between having consent (hero) and not having consent (villain) despite both of the hero and villain pursuing her …..
There is a difference between showing something regressive where we all know it’s regressive because of the setup, vs showing something truly problematic as “ok.”
Using that logic, pride and prejudice is regressive af given it’s all about women trying to get hitched and thus earning respect in the society and financial stability ….but that was the situation in that era …..and again, that story also shows the difference between women consenting, vs women being coerced
Context is important …
Edited by pathaka - 3 years ago
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