When mommy is an item girl

I have often wondered what it must be like to be the child of a sex symbol. It struck me when I saw a picture of Malaika Arora and her teenage son stepping out of a Bandra restaurant. What unfolded after the two were out waiting for their car was kind of disturbing.

The seemingly ageless and creaseless Malaika was soon accosted by a bunch of street urchins and beggars, who kept teasing her and calling her by her most famous screen name — Munni. The paparazzi did not photograph the son, but captured every expression on Malaika’s face. And none of them were pleasant. Does Arhaan still feel uncomfortable when his mother is greeted by cat calls and wolf whistles and sexually charged heckling? Or is he used to it? Did he ever get teased by his classmates? Or has he, like the rest of the industry kids, instinctively drawn a line between the professional woman and the mother in his head? I have no clue. But I could not stop thinking about the boy and his mother ever since.

Perhaps it is because we are wired in a certain way — we cannot imagine a mother figure in a bikini. If she wears something that is less than severe, we cannot take her seriously at all. Picture this: advertisers put women with long legs and short skirts to sell everything that men want. Cars, bikes, deodorants, beach vacations, drinks. But have you ever seen a woman in a G-string sell insurance, home loans, washing machines, mosquito repellents or detergent?

Which is why some of the most glamorous and sexy women — from Dimple Kapadia to Kimi Katkar to Raveena Tandon — toned down their sensuality once marriage and motherhood happened to them. A recent exception being Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has evidently discovered her mojo with all the sass of a woman in her 40s. And from the looks of it, Kareena Kapoor intends to channel her inner Sharmila Tagore, her classy mom-in-law, who rocked the bikini as Mrs Pataudi at a time when people were less opinionated.

The classic Pin Up star however, the so called ‘item girl’ the sex icon, is perhaps best viewed in isolation. Images of them as a doting mumma, who is shopping for diapers, or buying Enfamil, is somewhat incongruous with their image of a sex goddess. At least in India, where there are only two kinds of women — mothers and wives.

Scribbler, scribe, traveller Chandrima Pal takes you through the sexual landscape of today

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