Paheli - did the movie make people uncomfortable? - Page 5

I’ve watched Paheli several times. I love this movie, it has a good message. The songs are really great!

SRK never stops being SRK the star even he had to play a Rajasthani villager. You dress him up in any outfit, emperor, drawf, superhero, village, he still hams the same 

Rani on other hand is a fantastic actor and dancer 

Originally posted by: TrollikaDevi

I was too young to appreciate it when I first watched it at the theatre.  The second time it was pretty interesting. Didn't make me uncomfortable except for the part where he lets her sob and makes a decision for both of them to keep the shareer ki jaan asleep.  I know a lady who went through this.  Her husband kept refusing to touch her because of some 'vrat'.  She was a bit on the.. ermmm.. horny side. So it got ugly. She picked fights with everyone. Ended up divorcing him.  Now she's obsessed with an 'evil spirit ' that keeps her from the ...you know.  A very unpleasant woman at the moment but I feel bad for her because it's actually pretty easy to solve her problem but then not that easy for somebody from her generation. 

  

I think the film dealt with the concept of Gandharvas.  Demigods who are after lonely women.  Interesting topic in terms of parapsych.  Paheli had great photography. 

Apart from the affair angle; what must have made people uncomfortable was the arranged marriage angle where people generally tend do deceive by hiding things - because they know the woman will be trapped. She has no way whatsoever. She can only plead before her husband. 

I never thought of it from mythological perspective. Though - in Hinduism we see, how Ahalya was punished for no fault of hers; at the same time - Tara had an affair with Chandra and had an illegitimate child.. Draupadi in her past life as Nalayani was a dedicated wife but had unfulfilled sexual desires which ultimately led her to having five husbands in the next life. Ganga left her husband because he broke her promise on which her marriage was based.. There is an instance where the pure wife leaves her husband on account of a broken promise.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

There are myths and folk tales about ghosts and Gods having relationships with women whose husbands are away. In Greek myth, Ares would promise heirs to men at war visiting their wives in their form. Loki tricked many women by pretending to be their husbands. There are even African folk tales similar to the narrative of Paheli. 

In reality, the women were lonely and either had relationships with other men or were violated by other men. The fantastic tales and myths were woven to soften the situation and preserve a woman's honor. They're also meant to serve as a cautionary tale to men that they need to appreciate their wives or end up losing them to Gods and ghosts. 

It's been ages since I saw Paheli. I don't remember being uncomfortable at all. I remember thinking the narrative was languid, but it was a nice movie overall. It wasn't blockbuster material, but it didn't deserve to flop. I don't think everyone understands the metaphors and symbolism in the movie. And I think Indian audiences do have a hard time digesting narratives where a woman would wilfully choose infidelity for her own happiness. The hardest thing people have wrapping their heads around is that an unfaithful wife can be given a happy ending. That's an unforgivable crime to most. 

@ bold..In Indian mythology too, lord Indra was one such God..

@blue.. true… Even after 15 years, we don’t see a lot of change in content, especially television. Most Indian tv shows are trash anyways..Some Pak shows are nice but so deep in patriarchy - most of them become really hard to watch. 

Originally posted by: Autumn_Rose

Tagging some more.

thanks for the tag, but I had only watched the movie once and that too when I was really young. To understand the post, I will need to watch the movie again 

I was a kid back then. Did not understand the movie. Was it about a ghost?

Okay so much discussion and no one glorified RANI. She looked breathtaking in Paheli. Those eyes were hypnotizing. She is such a powerhouse performer and was definitely way ahead of her contemporaries in terms of acting. Anyways she is one of my Fav actress of all time thus posting these GIFs and gushing over her beauty.

I bet, Paheli made a lot of people feel uncomfortable - in different ways.

In my eyes, it was a very fruitful collaboration of especially 3 persons: the director Amol Palekar, the producer & leading actor SRK and the gorgeous Rani skilfully making a movie about women empowerment.

Tales of gods and ghosts following their own (mostly egoistic) agenda by taking the role of a husband are known (and told/read) in cultures as diverse as Asian, African, European, so THIS idea is nothing new. But the part of the story that was REALLY special, was the fact, that the imposter  genuinley cared for the woman and thus being honest to her and giving her the means to make an own choice - it was kind of juxtaposing forced (and disrespected) against giving a choice (and respected). It's something still not well received in the beginning of the 21st century in a world where the too many males still could not deal with respecting women as genuine partners.(I felt that the Oscar-responsibles did not grab the special position, Paheli had as an Indian/Hindi film).

As for the ending, I was happy that the physical husband and the ghost's soul&love&respect merged. The husband had already shown a slight inclination to be a man on his own (and not the weakling of the beginning).

Originally posted by: TMKOC_MY

Okay so much discussion and no one glorified RANI. She looked breathtaking in Paheli. Those eyes were hypnotizing. She is such a powerhouse performer and was definitely way ahead of her contemporaries in terms of acting. Anyways she is one of my Fav actress of all time thus posting these GIFs and gushing over her beauty.

Yes she looked breathtakingly beautiful in the movie. I believe she had replaced Aish but I think, Rani was more suitable for the role - not just acting wise but looks wise too. She has a dusky complexion with piercing coloured eyes that just took my breath away. Her chemistry with SRK is also so good. Indians are obsessed with fair skin but looks wise - she is one of the most beautiful actresses in BW.

I legit cried with her as she let go of the ber from her hands and cried on her first night. These scenes are actually very significant as it is a story of countless women in traditional cultures. Rani does them wonderfully. 💔

Originally posted by: Clochette

I bet, Paheli made a lot of people feel uncomfortable - in different ways.

In my eyes, it was a very fruitful collaboration of especially 3 persons: the director Amol Palekar, the producer & leading actor SRK and the gorgeous Rani skilfully making a movie about women empowerment.

Tales of gods and ghosts following their own (mostly egoistic) agenda by taking the role of a husband are known (and told/read) in cultures as diverse as Asian, African, European, so THIS idea is nothing new. But the part of the story that was REALLY special, was the fact, that the imposter  genuinley cared for the woman and thus being honest to her and giving her the means to make an own choice - it was kind of juxtaposing forced (and disrespected) against giving a choice (and respected). It's something still not well received in the beginning of the 21st century in a world where the too many males still could not deal with respecting women as genuine partners.(I felt that the Oscar-responsibles did not grab the special position, Paheli had as an Indian/Hindi film).

As for the ending, I was happy that the physical husband and the ghost's soul&love&respect merged. The husband had already shown a slight inclination to be a man on his own (and not the weakling of the beginning).

@bold I don’t think western audience can relate or capture the sensibilities of the film. Amol Palekar himself wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being Paheli as an official entry for Oscars for India. 

@red, he was a bit too late though. 

Yes; it was the transcendental quality of love-  she loved the ghost in his essence not the physicality of it.  Lacchi, like most woman needed to be loved and cared for. She wanted her husband to be there for her - both in body and soul. It’s all she had asked for.