Sex and Sexuality!

If you make a tally of the recent releases, you will notice that Bollywood is taking a bold stance when it comes to tackling sexual depictions. Bollywood is now daring to treat the topic of sexual norms with more openness and audacity. So far, Bollywood's standpoint was restricted to tried and tested formula of extra-marital affairs. But off late Bollywood is trying to break free of all the customs and in a way bearing a new perception

In 1998, Deepa Mehta's FIRE created such a huge furor throughout this country. It was the first film in India that portrayed lesbianism. Before that, Bollywood never attempted the issue of alternate sexuality and hence FIRE was received with much hostility. In the same year, Kaizad Gustad's low budget but a credible film BOMBAY BOYS hit the screens. In the film the Indo-Brit character Xerxes played by Alexander Gifford was shown as a gay. The film has some great performances from its lead cast that included Naseeruddin Shah accompanied by a funky soundtrack.

In 2004, there was Karan Razdan's GIRLFRIEND, that had the characters of Amrita Arora and Isha Koppikar entwined in a same sex relationship. This film too had to face some brief outburst from certain sections of the society.

Madhur Bhandarkar's National Award winning film PAGE 3 had a similar theme where Konkona Sen's friend in the film tries to coax her boyfriend who aspires to be a model for a physical relationship. Also a portion about child abuse was induced in the film that made the film assertive. The film was clicked both with the audience and the critics. Madhur's CHANDNI BAR had a similar portion in the end where Tabu's son is sexually abused in jail by two of the inmates. He goes on to kill the two boys who maltreated him and has his first brush with crime. CHANDNI BAR too was a box-office triumph and boasted of some brilliant performances from the cast.

Last year's acclaimed film MY BROTHER NIKHIL showed Sanjay Suri's character coming to terms with his own sexuality. This was Onir Ban's directorial debut and he subtly dealt with the topic of HIV/AIDS and same sex liaison.

Mahesh Bhatt's KALYUG saw actress Amrita Singh's comeback to celluloid after a long hiatus. In the film Amrita Singh is the entrepreneur of a big international po*n website, whose daughter is a lesbian.

And now, Bollywood takes a step further. Rajat Kapur's much appreciated film MIXED DOUBLES shows a couple going off-way to spice up their married life. The husband (Ranvir Shorey) suggests partner swapping to his wife (Konkona Sen Sharma) and the experiment just excuses the audience for some smart humor and first-rate performances. The film deftly deals with the subject of marital boredom.

Before this film, Abbas-Mustan had efficiently tackled the matter of spouse swapping in AJNABEE. The film starred Akshay Kumar, Bipasha Basu along with Bobby Deol and Kareena Kapoor. The film was a decent show at the box-office.

In Bollywood, subjects having sexual connotations have always called upon some rage. The orthodox rituals in our society have deterred the transcendence of such bold and daring stories from hitting the screen. Just a while ago, Rituparno Ghosh's ANTARMAHAL received flak from section segments for its graphically intimate scenes. The film was about sexual repression in the 19th century Bengal. Ghosh however dealt with the subject with remarkable astute and conviction.

Now that Bollywood is going global, it would have to play by the rules. A small example in this context could be cited that of GUIDE. The Dev Anand-Waheeda Rehman starrer was directed by the late Vijay Anand and the film was released in 1965. The film was made in two versions and in the English version Waheeda Rehman has sported a swimsuit. This was four decades ago and it says it all. The international audience has got a different 'taste' and a more casual perception about onscreen exposure.

Take for instance, the recent Saif Ali-Preity Zinta starrer SALAAM NAMASTE, a film about live-in relationship. The film has got a hitherto unexplored theme and was a big hit abroad. The same goes with NEAL 'N' NIKKI that had Uday Chopra and Tanissha in the lead. Both the films had some 'bindaas' attitude creamed all over them and were undoubtedly aimed at the overseas spectators.

Secondly, about nudity in mainstream films! When Shekhar Kapur's BANDIT QUEEN and Mira Nair's KAMASUTRA featured nudity did amuse the viewers and also raised quite a few eyebrows. So it'll be interesting to see what's in store if Bollywood ever decides to take a stride in that direction!

So is Bollywood defying the traditional norms those remain unchallenged so far? Will this transition see a new phase in Hindi cinema? While topics like alternate sexuality, spouse swapping is not a new proposition for Hollywood; it is a different territory for Bollywood! But the new-age filmmakers are niftier in trying out the options and let's wait and watch whether their swimming against the tide could drag them up to the shore!

I agree w/ u i hate these new bold movies and it's stupid how more and mopre directors and actors think theat those type of movies sell. Sure they do to a certain audience which is like 2% of india

thankz....ya and i hate the fact that bollywood is always tryin to remake hollywood films in their own style....they hardly ever work unless they have the big stars in it, and most of all bollywood is no more original all their films are copy of some hollywood hit

Thanks, while I like the fact that filmmakers are making different type of films. I think they could make it without the skin shows.

they look soo cheappppp!! and grosss!! who sees sex movies! that is just cheap sh**....sorry to say..it gives a really bad name to bollywood