Using films like 'Jolly LL.B 2' to spread message of gender equality

During the past few years, Bollywood has made a conscious and commendable effort to talk about gender equality. Be it an empowering story like Queen or a hard slap of reality in Pink, Bollywood is finally embracing its social responsibility. What worried some feminists like me, was that such movies might only reach the audience who consciously want to see a feminist movie, and hence would run the risk of preaching to the already converted.

When mass-appeal films like Jolly LL.B 2 introduce subliminal messages of changing gender roles and stereotypes, they reach a wider and more diverse audience. Popular movies can help normalise the images of men cooking food for their family and being appreciated for it.

Be it the raising of their child, or bearing him on his hip, Jolly's character lets us see that fathers have a nurturing side as well and can be as loving and caring as the quintessential ideal mothers. Their interactions have a "slice-of-life" feel, and we can easily imagine this happening in our own homes. 

However, some problematic aspects do surface in the Holi song 'Go Pagal'. It does what any Holi song does, sexualise the celebration as a 'chhed chhaad'. Even though we have come a long way from assault-positive lyrics like “Aaj na chhodenge bas humjoli...chaahe bheege re teri chunariya, chaahe bheege re choli, khelenge hum holi”, Holi still largely remains an excuse for lecherous behaviour. The blink and miss appearance of a transgender person in the song is neither here nor there. Though it does give an expression of inclusion in the festival, it does not really break out of the cliche of comic relief.

Time and again movies have used cross-dressers, transgender persons and persons of alternate sexualities as caricatures. Let us hope that the makers of Jolly LL.B 2 want to send a positive message, as is evident from the rest of the movie.

Jolly’s wife Pushpa, played by Huma Qureshi, is fearless and beats up goons who injured her husband, without hesitation. She is not depicted as a guilty woman when her husband cooks, rather she is unabashed about sharing the domestic responsibilities equally. This does seem like a step in the right direction if it would make couples yearn to achieve “marriage goals” like the happy couple.

The depiction of traditional mindsets even in the most modern of individuals too, is demonstrated when Jolly’s wife quickly dons a dupatta when she sees her father-in-law, or that she needs to change into her anniversary dress at a location far from her house, or that Jolly cannot openly admit that his wife drinks alcohol, but will serve her alcohol in the confines of his house.

The movie opens up a dialogue while not offending sensibilities or outright challenging them. This path of negotiating with skewed mindsets of society, may have far more success in delivering gender equality messages to a larger audience than "woman-centric" movies would. 

The writer is Programme Manager, Population First.