Shyam Benegal accuses directors of trying to cash in on the Delhi gang-rape incident
Jan 10, 2013, 12.00AM IST
TIMES VIEW
No harm in portraying reality
Films are often perceived as representations of reality. They deal with daily narratives, including spiralling incidents of violence against women. Hardly surprising then, that a number of filmmakers now plan to make films on the recent gang rape of the 23-year-old paramedic student in Delhi. But many in the entertainment industry are unhappy with the project. An influential section of the film fraternity has come out openly against what they believe to be 'opportunist attempts' at extracting commercial capital out of the terrible tragedy. "I expected this would happen. They are trying to make quick money from the issue before it loses heat. I find it disgraceful," says veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal. Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt adds, "A certain amount of sensitivity is essential today. It is important that these filmmakers do some soul-searching."
True, sensationalising violence '" in this case the brutal gang rape '" is crass commercialisation. But sensitive portrayals of hard reality sans sensationalism are a legi-timate part of cinematic expression, which can even help mobilise public opinion against such violence. For ins-tance, Telugu director Ramana Gaddam, planning a film about the Delhi rape says, ''I'm not trying to cash in on the sensitivity of this issue but bring to light a barbaric act that shook our nation. I want to send a strong message..."
Recall here Tanuja Chandra's Dushman, a film about the fight-back by the sister of a rape victim, or Zakhmi Aurat, in which Dimple Kapadia played the role of a raped police officer failing to get justice from the system. Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen, portraying the stark and brutal gang rape of Phoolan Devi, a dalit woman, by upper-caste men, and No One Killed Jessica on the Jessica Lall murder case. This genre of cinema, no doubt, has played an important role in creating public revulsion against such acts of violence.
COUNTERVIEW
Needs skill, not sensation
Srijana Mitra Das
Industry disapproval for movies apparently based on the Delhi gang-rape case is correct. Director Shyam Benegal is right in expressing concern over quick films depicting a traumatic tragedy impacting one woman, her family and, indeed, several thousand citizens. To those who argue films must mirror social realities, Benegal is no stranger to doing so. After all, he made Nishant decades ago, focussing on the gang rape of a rural woman.
But quite possibly, the films on this event now will feature a rather different level of skill and sensibility. Few of these are likely to be out-and-out art cinema, with the guts to challenge established commercial norms. If these are to be full-on commercial movies, the seriousness and complexities of what happened in the Delhi gang rape could be intercut with the nav rasas of desi norm. But few sensitive cinema-goers will really want to see such a serious story layered with cliches like college romance, dreamy songs or mushy family scenes.
Which leaves us with less serious movie-goers for whom such films have been made in profusion previously '" flashback to the 1980s 'rape flicks', the Zakhmi Aurat and Insaaf Ka Tarazu school of cinema. These were notoriously sly, mouthing high-minded lines about women's empowerment, but delivering their message cloaked in voyeuristic shots of rape, legs and cleavage, quaking, undressed women and lascivious men delivering coarse lines often cheered in the halls. So low were such cinematic standards that new age cinema-makers in the 1990s deliberately stepped away from such sensationalising moviemaking. By doing so, they've hardly ignored social reality - they've only chosen not to zoom in until they're sure of their craft and audience. That's a responsible choice, leaving just a certain type rushing in where angels fear to tread.
Times of India Edited by Kal El - 12 years ago
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