Character Analysis of women in movies of 3 time periods and defining them in their social context.

Characters:

1. Geeta from Seeta Aur Geeta, directed by Ramesh Sippy, 1972.

2. Milli from Khoobsurat, directed by Shashanka Ghosh, 2014.

3. Tara Shinde from Mission Mangal, directed by Jagan Shakti, 2019

Character Chosen: Geeta

Played by: Hema Malini

Film: Seeta Aur Geeta

Director: Ramesh Sippy

Year: 1972

The film revolves around two twins Seeta and Geeta, which are separated at birth and are later reunited. Seeta is shown as an idealistic, proper, calm and quiet woman, while Geeta is shown rambunctious and sometimes violent.

I have chosen Geeta as my character for this assignment because she was shown differently in context to how the Indian society perceived women during the 1970s. She is playful, noisy, cheerful, energetic, boyish, fearless and stand up for herself and make her own decisions. She can’t cook and is not very “grihastha” oriented a.k.a household work-oriented. She explored new things like skating, cycling, marrying and is not afraid to try. She is shown violent towards Seeta’s paternal aunt, but in the context of the movie, it seems like a relevant act considering how much she tortured Seeta. She also stands up to his son and breaks the patriarchal norms of the household in the same manner with a belt, like he hit Seeta, which is often considered liberating considering the events of the movie.

Unlike Seeta who has always been shown to dress elegantly in a saree, Geeta was shown in

Even if, in the movie she is shown brutally violent, it definitely gives up a statement that every woman (especially in a domestically violent household) should stand up for themselves, for they are the only person who can make their situation better, and probably not every Seeta would get a Geeta to help her out.

Character Chosen: Milli

Film: Khoobsurat

Played by: Sonam Kapoor

Director: Shashanka Ghosh

Year: 2014

Mili Chakravarty is a physiotherapist who works for the Indian cricket team. Her mother Manju hopes that she will find a suitable and charming man to marry. Her services are called upon by a royal family in Rajasthan where King Shekhar Singh Rathore is paralyzed from the waist down. She is told that 40 doctors have already left the demanding job.

Mili travels to the royal palace and meets the discipline-oriented queen, Nirmala Devi Rathore, who is not amused by Mili's enthusiasm and clumsiness. Mili finds that her casual way of living clashes with the strict discipline of the royal household.

Milli is shown to be a bubbly and enthusiastic girl, who is a little clumsy and has a vibrant and quirky sense of fashion. She is the perfect example of an emotionally troubled yet optimistic Millenial who has high hopes for romance as well as her life. She is shown to have a great career and is really passionate about her career. But at the same time, she is also shown childlike with her behaviour at the starting of the film, which is all fun-loving and least bothered, yet affectionate, caring and adjustable. Later in the movie, she turns into a more understanding adult, and let go off things for the betterment of others.

Back in 2014, civilians had attracted themselves with the term weird. Anyone with a different mindset or approach to life or a different sense of fashion or life choices was considered weird. Milli as a character was set out there in the open with her weirdness, drama and honesty. She was accepted. It gave hope to all those “weird” people out there, that there must be someone who might be able to understand them for who they are. Thus, setting the standards for hope in people’s life.

The only problem I have with this and various other movies is

“Why are the women who are shown great with their careers shown whacky?”

Why can’t there be women who have great careers, and don’t need a man for their happy ending?

Why ain’t female strong characters always relying on their male counterpart for a better life(emotionally or financially)?

Character Chosen: Tara Shinde

Film: Mission Mangal

Played by: Vidya Balan

Director: Jagan Shakti

Year: 2019

The film, Mission Mangal is loosely based on the life of scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation who contributed to the Mars Orbiter Mission, India's first interplanetary expedition. Although, there were various major female characters in the film.

I have picked up the role of Vidya Balan because the film majorly revolved around her family. Also, because she has been shown to portray the role of a normal working mother of the Indian Society. She has been dressed simply throughout the movie, like a middle-aged working woman, in a saree, bindi and specs. Her husband is shown very authoritatively, but Tara handles his arguments very well with logic and calmness. His son decides to switch to another religion to follow his idol A.R. Rehman, to which Tara acts all cool and understands him. Later, she makes him understand subtly that individuals don’t need to copy their idols, to become like them. She is shown very progressive and passionate along with a modern mindset. She is shown as someone whose heart is in the right place, as she feels guilty that the initial mission was a failure coz of her little mistake, and she also accelerates the whole plan of Mars Mission. She is a very appropriate example of a “cool” and understanding working mother, in the current society, who handles both work and home.