The new trend of Groping and Molesting Around Pubs
An article by blogger friend Vijay Nair was a trigger for writing this post.
A bindaas Chameli, paua chadha ke jiggles her bosom, shakes her booty as hundreds of inebriated men salivate and try to grab a piece of her. She tempts, “Husn jaan leva hai, dekhne mein halwa hai”.
Cut.
A skimpy Munni rolls her tongue, rubs her derriere as she belts out “Hai mujh mein poori botal ka naasha,..... amiya se aam hui.” The song is a chartbuster, the movie super hit.
Cut.
A pouting Mallika croons seductively, " Razia Gundo mein phans gayi" as several rogues try to grab her. Undeterred, Mallika happily teases some more.
Cut.
The trend could have started when ‘choli ke peeche’ became a hit and was followed by “mein aayi hoon UP Bihar lootne” and scores of others. No wonder, Kareena is proud of her seductive 'Halkat Jawani' number in the movie 'Heroine' and hopes to outdo Chameli in terms of winning lumpen goons.
In the movie Cocktail, an intoxicated Deepika suggestively encourages Saif to grope her as she dirty dances in a pub.Scene over. Deepika moves to the security of her vanity van. It is just a song. And with bodyguards around, no one can touch her.
So who gets groped in real life?
The ordinary girl on the street - the one without a bodyguard. No security. No driver.
These filmy images lurk somewhere in the crevices of psychotic, unbalanced minds. Apart from a criminal background, medieval mindset, parochial outlook or sick psyche, there could be hundred other reasons for getting inspired by negative images. I am not sure whether reel imitates real or vice-verse.
Ideally if a tipsy heroine in skimpy clothes invites raunchy men to grope her, it does NOT give a right to any man to molest women in or around pubs, be it Gurgaon or Guwahati. But when did we live in an ideal world?
A word about 'Responsible Drinking'. How many alcohol users understand the word? The five kilometer stretch of state highway in front of my house has no PCR but six liquor shops. Two liquor shops belt out provocative item songs for an assortment of truck and bus drivers. Some of these drivers ferry young girls from call centers at night.
The Delhi rapists younger brother Mukesh, who allegedly drove the bus around when the 23-year-old girl was subjected to a near unprecedented degree of brutality, had told the police: "mera bhai sharab peene ke baad janwar ban jaata hai" (My brother turns into a beast after consuming liquor).
Take a crowded public transport in Delhi and one in five girls will have strange men rubbing their thighs against them.Most have learnt to live with lewd remarks, groping, whistling and daily harassment.
Lately, we seem to ceaselessly hurtle from one outrage to another each time a new story of crime against women breaks on television. While one is still reeling from one outrage, a new one hits the headlines with double the vengeance.
Perhaps, there is only so much outrage that a nation can evince in a week’s time. In our hearts we know that such stories are breaking every hour somewhere, someplace.
Is it only me who feels the need to tone down the overt sexuality of raunchy item songs where a tipsy heroine invites hordes of leering drunkards to grope her?
there was an article about it in Time's life. 'given a chance a normal person turns executioner because of the power and relief it gives'.
ReplyDeleteand like joker says in dark knight 'When the chips are down. these civilized people are gonna eat each other' sad sad state of affairs
Right. But some did it for the camera.....there was heroism involved in it all....no shame.
DeleteWhat is the censor board there for ? To object to key words, and smoking ? Why do they look the other way and allow such stuff in movies ? Or is it also to allow liquor ads on TV under the guise of "Soda" with a wink ? And why doesnt the great NCW have something to say about this depiction in movies ?
ReplyDeleteThings are going far in the name of being modern....sadly we have sections of society with medieval mindsets.
DeleteInteresting post... on a topics that is often discussed and talked about. The idea, therefore, is not new for kerbside discussions and spicy conversations when there isn't much to talk about.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I didn't understand the Vijay Nair link there.
Arvind Passey
www.passey.info
If you could have sounded less condescending, one might have taken you seriously!
DeleteArvind, I'm surprised that you think what Alka has written about is the meant for 'kerbside discussions'. Are these the same kerbsides where women are molested? Your comment seems insensitive and I will continue to think you are so, unless you have an explanation for it.
DeleteArvind, why are you always on the wrong side of the bed? Not expecting you to go ga ga over a post...nah! But really intrigued which kerbs and what spices have you been indulging in? And if you feel offended at this, then I guess we are on the same page. Things don't need to be new, they need to be relevant. This is an opinion of a fellow blogger and a darn right one at that. No, not going to go in my women's lib mode, but seriously, of the entire post you noticed Vijay Nair???? I did not get that bit!
DeleteArvind, Vijay Nair blogs at The Dangling Conversations and had echoed my thoughts, so it was proper to mention his name.
DeleteAnyway, the idea was not to suggest new path breaking ideas. The post was meant to highlight the fact that such songs send wrong messages.
Purba, Corinne and Blogwati Gee...Thanks.
I didn't get what you were trying to say either, Arvind. Are you belittling the post or the concern women have with the status quo?
DeleteIf this seems to be a kerbside topic to you, then I believe every other topic related to women might seem so. Sad!! For your felt that way.
DeleteI also didn't get how such a thing can be just a kerbside topic for you Arvind. I think what Alka has written here has a very strong message.
DeleteIt is an unfortunate comment and highly condemnable for its partronising tone. When bloggers can come together and fight such ills, it is a sad day that one of them finds the topic to be of 'kerbside interest.' Need anything more be said?
DeleteRachna, Found in Folsom, Goingbeyond the pages, Zephyr.......Thank you. The comment reflects more on the commentators psyche. Good Luck to him.
DeleteYes, we need to curtail the raunchy and double meaning songs .. I may be judged for saying this but majority of men in this country are not sane enough to know the difference between scenes in reel life and how they are supposed to behave in real life.
ReplyDeleteFrankly a tipsy heroine invites hordes of leering drunkards to grope her makes me wonder why this heroine agreed to this scene – there is a fine line between sensuality and vulgarity and a lot of our actors cross that line !
Glad you echo my thoughts.
DeleteI don't want to read about girls getting molested. Spare me the outrage. I'd rather read about how the offenders got punished.
ReplyDeleteYes, I blame film makers for projecting an unreal sexy image to rake in the moolah. It's the woman on the road who ends up bearing the brunt.
Back in the 60's and 70's cabaret songs were a rage with not-exactly-thin actors clad in skimpy clothes shaking a leg or two..overt sexuality is not a trend of the 21st century. Had the power of the internet and tv taken place much earlier, the situation would have been the same then.
ReplyDeleteNot just films, ads too exploit a woman's sexuality to the hilt. But then again, films, according to me have the least negative impact on the mindset of the psychotic men you refer to.
Pornography on the other hand has the maximum effect. One of my friends explained to me how some men actually enjoy erotic stories of women getting raped. Sick right? This is just the tip of the iceberg.
You are right....just the tip of the iceberg. There are several reasons....this could be just one.
DeleteActually research says that more women have fantasies of getting raped than men have of raping women. Of course fantasy does not mean wanting to have it happen in real. It is just an edited version where the person is in control of script.
DeleteKittu
I have no words to reply to your comments....or research.
DeleteAnd remember this "sensational" masala does not end in movies alone. Why Chetan Bhagath found new ways of getting onto the bestseller list. The Indian Sydney Sheldon.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me for using names, and if it means offense, I care a sh**. I mean what I say. There isn't a movie or a book the younger generation like to enjoy without these creamy acts.
Creamy acts have been there for ages in books and movies....but these are hit numbers performed proudly by heroines on various stage shows....alcohol has become an integral part.
DeleteThe blogosphere and the English language press has been riled up over this issue for some time now. I really wonder whether this message, as enumerated by you here, is being transmitted with the same rigour by the vernacular press as well.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I don't trust TV journalism any more. They make even the most serious issue look like entertainment! Just look at India TV or Zee!
Excellent essay, Alka!
Glad you liked it. It means a lot.
DeleteWe as parents, thinkers, and educators really cannot expect youngsters to learn the value of respecting a person if this message is not backed up by the much more powerful and unconscious learning put out by the media. Films, television, lyrics, advertisements, all of them subvert young (and old) minds to consider women as objects of gratification. To make this worse, business interests encourage people to not practice restraint and to treat all objects as consumable and of time-bound utility. We are dealing with a very huge "conspiracy" here, and the way out is perhaps far removed from the apparent source of distress. Teaching kids to honor what they have, to know their boundaries and to respect the boundaries of others, to honor (and cherish) a person regardless of gender, and to understand pair bonding as a sacred and spiritual expression rather than something to gratify desire - these are the need of the hour. Great read.
ReplyDeleteBang on....these bawdy songs could be one of the reasons.....thanks for spending time.
DeleteTotally agree, Alka! A much needed post this. It bothers me no end to see top heroines dressed skimpily, shaking everything they have got and inviting men to seeti maro and grope. It sickens me, and I know the message this sends out. In the name of becoming modern, are we forgetting good values and common sense? Dressing skimpily and drinking -- Are these the symbols of empowerment for women? Just the other day, I was discussing with my husband how all the movies, even those of yore had a lot of chedna from the heroes and eve teasing before the heroine was manaoed. Recently, I watched "Ek Deewana Tha" which was outrageous! The girl keeps saying no. The boy lustily follows her. He once forcefully kisses her, and she falls in love with him. I was horrified. And, then there was an Anil Kapoor starrer with Juhi in the 90s that showed Anil as a goon who rapes Juhi. She is later forced to marry him and even falls in love with him. When we show such outrageous stories and have perfectly decent people portraying these roles then the average cinema goer is going to pick his own cues. I am really disappointed in the messages that are being propagated.
ReplyDeleteThat's what they portray...if you pester a girl Haseena Maan Jayegi.
DeleteThank you for sharing the post. It means a lot.
You're welcome! You write beautifully. I have shared many of your posts strictly on merit and not because you are my friend ;-).
DeleteThe Hindi movies have sunk to a new low and unfortunately in a hurry to make bucks no one gives a damn to morals be it the heroine or the movie producer. The overpopulated country and uneducated masses/value deprived society make a dangerous portent of what become the daily news! Even only such news sells and makes waves:(
ReplyDeleteWell said.
DeleteHave I stumbled on to an underground movement?? You mean that there are people left in India who values morals(aka sexual ones)? You mean to say that you are not among those goons who molest to enforce morals?? Is that possible?? You can be on same wavelength as those as the goons and not approve of molestation?
Deletekittu
Very well written, and you have brought out an extremely pertinent point. Its high time movie-makers realize the fact that what they show the public is what the public is going to imbibe.
ReplyDeleteAlka, I absolutely agree. The general population finds it hard to tell movies from reality and such songs and scenes only go to reinforce bad stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteVery well summarized. Glad u agree.
DeleteI am not that kind ... I do not think that the general populace is moronic or has such a poor idea of what is real and what is not. What I think is that they know this is fiction. They also know that the law enforcement is poor and lax. They take a chance to act out their perversions and if they are not caught they get bolder. If caught they trot out things like the Great Indian Culture and use excuses like this item numbers as excuses
ReplyDeleteLarge populace may not be moronic but under the influence of alcohol, a girl in and around a pub is taken as a willing catch. Such songs are played in the pubs and they send wrong signals for inebriated men.
DeletePerversion is subjective wearing revealing and lewd dress is considered perversion in certain societies. Wether we like to believe it or not the intent is to show off and attract attention. The problem comes when one assumes that having attracted attention of all and sundry one has the right and capability to select the level of attention and the source of attention.
Deletekittu
A lot is shown in the garb of artistic freedom. Well freedom is fine, but we should also realize that people do get influenced by what they see on the screen. Ideally people should be aware of the difference between reel and real...but that is usually not the case.
ReplyDeleteSnow, under the influence of alcohol when such songs play in the background, things can get out of hands. Not always.
DeleteBut we need to tone down the dance moves, the over sexuality and the images of tipsy men falling all over the heroine trying to grab a piece of her.
You are right sometimes in the name of artistic freedom, boundaries get crossed.
Today, it is not just the item girls or item songs but, the new age heroins wear skimpy clothes in the movie...common not everyone abroad is always wearing a bikini top. Does wearing them, make one modern? One can show that the women have come a long way and can wear whatever they feel like...but, in everyday life, it seems too far fetched.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you.
There has to be appropriate dressing....depending on the place and people. And you are right, skimpy clothes are not a sign of modernity.
DeleteIt is not only what you see in the movies.Dont forget,even 8 yr old have knowledge and access to the Internet.
ReplyDeleteRewind an old Raj Kapoor movie called Awara.It was given "A" certificate as Nargis had not worn a Dupatta in one scene.
In today's context,What Dupatta?
In my opinion,censor,for whatever reason started going easy on derogatory words,actions when Sharmila Tagore was the chief.
It hasnt ended.
It could be one of the reasons....not the only one.
DeleteThere never is a single reason.One leads to another,always
DeleteHave you seen Katrina's Aamasutra ad? Ads are not far behind too. Put deodrant on your body and the best white girl in town would try to touch you, though it never works, I have tried.
ReplyDeleteYes, the portrayal of women as sex objects whether in ads or movies needs to be toned down.
DeleteHope u r doing good. Stopped writing?
Alka,
ReplyDeleteYou have taken the words out of my mouth. Upbringing or favoritism to boys and treating girl as second rate citizen are the starting points. Society needs to wake up on that but this whole evil gets aggravated by what a tender mind sees as entertainment - FILMS. Why talk of these songs now or such movies these days. If we go back to early fifties there was not much of eve teasing or wolf whistles inspite of biases of the society. Then what happened? Movies started showing hero wooing heroine in college by singing while chasing her, this graduated to hero pulling her pallav teasing her while saying some mushy dialogue. Then hero and buddies going around girls including heroine on cycles, later motorcycles. This continues evolving as this had two reasons, first being it fed to starved sex urges of masses which lead them to see such movies making second reason Good Bottom Line for producer. I still remember movies like INSANIYAT, BOOT POLISH, DO AANKHE BARAH HAATH, ASHA OR TAXI DRIVER etc which pulled masses with other appeals than such nonsense. Censors are helpless as producers do not co-operate. Argument that such movies are OK in west is fine as their society has evolved and understands what is what.
Take care
You are right. but one has to move with the times. We have to resist from portraying women as sex objects.
DeleteAlka, I can open a floodgate of hate words castigating the revolting phenomenon cited by you but words seem to have lost their meaning in these grim times. Its sad that the nether elements of our society have taken full control of the civilization. What the creators of these sizzlers are doing is probably cutting throats merely to wipe the grime off the kitchen-knives.
ReplyDeleteps.The title of your post will ensure that you will keeping getting hits for years to come!
I agree Umashankar about the title. She is bang on with the SEO :).
DeleteHa, ha... you know, even I thought that the title was a bit cheesy....like Shiela Suhaag and Sindoor types....but I was in a hurry and this is what came to my mind. It seems it worked. And a certain blogger contributed to the traffic too. I am indeed indebted to him.
DeleteYou are exactly right, Alka. It is tinseltown that Indian masses look upto. Deepikas, Munnis and the likes live cushy in safety, it is the aam ladki that has to counter the surging male hormones these munnis bombard...
ReplyDeleteThe brunt of Katrinas thumkas is borne by the girl on the street.
DeleteThis is one of the main reasons why I hate Hindi movies. At least those after the era of Hrishikesh Mukherji. A very valid and thought-worthy link you’ve pointed out.
ReplyDeleteRecently, during a visit to Ahmedabad, I witnessed hundreds of families queuing to enter a famous drive-in theatre that was showing the movie you mentioned above (Rowdy Rathore). That made me wonder how an entire family is fine with watching such movies (with such nonsense in them) together. What many men find worth watching in these sequences is beyond my thinking, but I wonder why don’t the ladies object to going to such movies even with their male counterparts. It’s simply demeaning to portray a female as an object “as hundreds of inebriated men salivate and try to grab a piece of her”.
On one hand we have the moral police deciding what a female should or shouldn’t wear. On the other hand, the country goes crazy after such ‘item songs’. *hopelessly searching for some sanity around myself…*
One point I’d like to make here (and would like others’ opinions) is that would or would not be it any different to have such songs minus the booze and the bad men. Or is it only the combination of these that’s dangerous ? I have my doubts.
Yes, it is ironical how the moral police behaves.I am not sure Shobhit if the absence of such songs would have resulted in a lesser number of molestation cases ..but we have to resist from portraying women as sex objects.
DeleteI don't think heroines in skimpy clothes probe rogues to feel they can molest women. It is already in them. No one can ever change it, unless our laws and the ways of punishment change. If they take the heroines as inspiration, why don't they take the hero as a role model and save the girls in trouble? I don't remember which movie it is, but I used to love a song when I was in teens, "doodh ban jayungi, malai ban jayungi". I hardly watched hindi movies in the past 10 years and not one movie makes me feel nostalgic like good old hindi movies. Everyone is super duper rich, have the most luxurious homes, cars, has affairs..I sometimes wonder if I am watching a hollywood flick or a hindi movie. Their make ups, the hair colors, their dressing..hmm too modern for me..
ReplyDeleteIt is not only the clothes...it is the entire atmosphere of a high heroine, lewd gestures, bawdy lyrics and hordes of men ogling at her. Somehow the heroine revels in the attention she gets....never happens in real life.
DeleteReal life imitates reel life, more often than we care to admit. And as Suranga has pointed out the censors are busy chopping alcohol and cigarettes from the footage, but allow backdoor entry to them in such songs and ads. I will be lynched for this, but it is probably only after the drunk item numbers began crooning raunchy come hither lyrics that molestations around pubs have increased. I may be wrong, of course...In films of even the 70s, such item numbers were not performed by mainstream heroines, but in today's world of 'celebrating woman's sexuality' that distinction has vanished. Wrong signals are not only sent to the psychotic and perverted males, but also to gullible girls.
ReplyDeleteOne doesn't venture into jungles infested by wild animals without bothering to safeguard oneself. And with the country having become one, is it wise to take things so casually? Films and the media are only aiding and abetting the crimes against women. Sick.
E
Perhaps we cannot chop such songs as item numbers sell a movie. But we need to tone down the overt sexuality and the portrayal of women as sex objects.
DeleteI am totally with you on this Alka. In fact, this is how women are being portrayed increasingly in movies these days.. as sex objects primarily and so the man walking on the street thinks it is ok to leer at the women passing by. And some then get together and make a picnic by molesting someone.
ReplyDeleteGlad you get what I was trying to say...Thanks for spending time here.
DeleteThe current trend of songs are sickening. the music is good, the lyrics are unashamedly raunchy and disgusting. Kids sing them and really no one even feels that odd. people here that and decide ok if katrina likes being groped so what's wrong with the ordinary girl outside the pub.
ReplyDeleteSickening terribly sickeing. Our culture choses to keep sex as the bad thing but it is still SO MUCH OUT THERE. When are we actually going to start having sex education and self defence classes in school in india beats me. How long are we going to hide and shush this thing in the name of culture. the more we hide it the more people have the urge to experience it. Open up teach your boys that a girl is not an itme, and teach your girls self defence.
I feel these songs objectify and denigrate women....need to be toned down.
DeleteThese are the exact feelings I had when I saw another of these sleazy songs, a new one where Chitrangada Singh is all suggestive and dressed like Katrina in Pauo Chadhake aye. If we will allow ourselves to be presented and used like commodities, it will just add to all the dirt that is already filled in filthy minds. Even thought I do not believe that heroines are our touch bearers, but a majority of the world does take hints from such songs. And they have become dime a dozen these days.
ReplyDeleteI am glad most women are on the same page. thank you Ritu
ReplyDeletebelly showing, booty shaking and drunkard men trying to grope that half naked heroine has become an essence in every Indian cinema. And there's no relevance to these kind of songs and the story line! Don't know what Censor boards are for! Once or twice we can enjoy, but it's now become customary. It's actually disgusting to hear / see these kind of songs. Least, the film crew, and the heroines should have some moral way of earning money! They way they project the song is way too sexy for Indian culture. And the director's cameras always/only focus on the modest parts -"choli and patli kamar"! Yuck!
ReplyDeleteAnd it is very disappointing to see a man getting influenced and take advantage of women. I'm totally against movies like this.
Right....the entire picturisation is repulsive. And now look at this comment where the guy says.....women fantasize about getting raped. I am aghast.
DeleteDirectors make movies that they think will sell so it is up to us to decide if the movie warrants a boycott or if the sexual content is relevant, appealing and made with finesse. What with MCP policemen and MPs, I fear women with the help of family, other women and decent male friends will have to ensure their own safety for some time to come. Surprised at Arvind Passey's comment - wonder what brought that agro on. Does he honestly think we just discuss this for want of something better to do and not because we want to stop this disgusting and abusive behaviour? We WILL stop it as long as we come up with a consistent action plan and act in unity.
ReplyDeleteKayEm you are right but Sexual content is a different from the entire crass depiction of a tipsy heroine inviting men to grope her.....and Mr Passey,s views reflect on his psyche rather than anything else. Also I am aghast at the comments made by KITTU.
DeleteAlka, when Kittu says, "The problem comes when one assumes that having attracted attention of all and sundry one has the right and capability to select the level of attention and the source of attention." I tend to believe him as I think we've sometimes got to be realistic / practical and know where and with whom we are. As for his other comments, UTTER SNEERY AND ILLOGICAL DRIVEL.
DeleteBollywood has always been oversexualised when it came to women - be it village belles in backless cholis or college professors in spaghetti blouses. Its ridiculous. And while I admire Madhuri Dixit, and think she is tremendously talented dancer, I find many of her popular dances distasteful(I know many call it sensual). And the whole thing has only deteriorated. The skimpy clothes does not bother me so much -it is the pathetic characterisation that does more damage. Wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteYou have summed it up so very well......as long as we have people like my anonymous reader.....nothing is going to change. just read his comments and you will know what I am saying.
Delete/The filmy images lurk somewhere in the crevices of psychotic,unbalanced minds/
ReplyDeleteVery evident from the comments of a Kittu ji and Passey ji.Actually we need much more hammering from many more posts like yours before the point in question registers in their brain. Brilliant as always Alka!
I think that men in India should be taught to control their own sexuality. Toning down sexually explicit songs/movies is really no solution. What really is required is simple plain education, and ONE big slap to the boys when they first misbehave when they are growing up.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThese kind of raunchy songs become chart busters and make women's lives on the road miserable. Day by day these songs are getting worse.
ReplyDeleteThe movie makers need to be responsible, they show things that shud not be shown.. I dont know what to say ..
ReplyDeletebut then I doubt anything can be done about our society and the way our nation is heading ..
Bikram's
So so true Alka...I feel there's too much exposure to sex and sexy stuff to the new Indian young men and not enough ways to help him handle it-free availability of porn, raunchy numbers, internet-everything excites him beyond control which ends up in disastrous results for an innocent girl and more often for someone who is in a state that invites attention.
ReplyDeleteNot the girl's fault per se-but something somewhere is definitely wrong!
Sharmila, Sakshi, Bikram, Rachna, Suruchi....Thank you all for your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI am deeply concerned by the comment of this gentleman who says that women fantasize about getting raped.... The guy needs help.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlka, you have echoed my thoughts. This thing has been disturbing me for months. I too sometime back, wrote about how Bollywood projects women - http://mashedmusings.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/open-letter-to-the-indian-film-industry/
ReplyDeletePerhaps we need more voices...Thanks Amit.
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ReplyDeleteSuch films have no substance. I have no respect for such hindi film heroines and their directors.Sadly , we only want money.
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