Gender Justice and Item Songs In Indian Cinema

Khushi Pandey,  a 1st Year student of, the Army Institute of Law, Mohali has written this Article on “Gender Justice and Item Songs In Indian Cinema”.

An item song in Bollywood is a dancing interlude with a young actress that has nothing to do with the plot of the film. It doesn’t provide any information regarding the film’s plot. Companies frequently use it as a promotional tool and marketing strategy, making it a substantial source of advertising. The frequency and significance of item numbers constitute a puzzling social and cultural phenomenon. Many other spheres of the state acknowledge a global trend toward restricting social representations of females that are sexually provocative. It entails putting women in suggestive clothing, loud music, pornographic dancing styles, or dances that objectify women’s bodies physically and sexually in an effort to appeal to male audiences.

Some more precise definitions of “Item Songs ” won’t take into account how these behaviors or presentations have changed over time. Despite this, at their core, it continues to serve up the female body as a tool for sexual enjoyment. When Katrina Kaif performs an item song, for instance, it captures the attention of many male viewers. She is a prime example of someone who draws a large audience to a movie. Kaif’s 2010 film “Tees Maar Khan” did not perform well enough at the box office. Her track “Sheila Ki Jawani” garnered huge success among music stores, television viewers, and online users. The truth is that the production received more praise than the film, including Zee Cine Award for finest dance skills.

The visual representation of the item song is purposefully intended to portray the item woman as a collection of her individual body parts rather than as a whole. Intentional cuts to the breasts and lower back in the camerawork and dancing choreography are suggestive of sex encounters. The effect is increased by the camera movements, which consist of a series of fast cuts that highlight the female’s face, belly, thighs, eyes, and lips rather than presenting the female herself. Earlier, the clothing in early item numbers evolved into close Contemporary dresses; presently these are nearly often eroticized versions of traditional Indian clothing, which may have been worn to denote the actress’s “sanctity.”

Although audiences enjoy the item music in Bollywood films, it just makes the situation for the country’s women’s population worse. Item songs and the story of Hindi movies don’t appear to go together. Yet because of their popularity, these obscene numbers have become a required part of the movies. Rap appears to have received minimal research in India, and item songs are only a few years old. To comprehend the denigration of women in these songs and their lyrics, it is necessary to analyze them. It is important to study them critically. Further studies help lyricists comprehend the impact that this content will have on people. It may eventually serve to better the position of girls around the world. Movies, music, and advertisements have a great influence on children. Young learners or people look up to and emulate famous persons out of blind imitation.

When young kids see specific role models or think of them as good examples in music and movies that brutalize, dehumanize, and present women as objects of sex, they may wish to imitate them. Professional men sexually harassed female performers in the film industry. Some actors also have spoken out against the negative aspects of the entertainment industry. Actresses who advanced to the finals frequently talk about some of these situations that strangers to either the business experienced. The item songs are frequently intended to ease any shame of a male moviegoer. Which they might experience while watching a sexually explicit show in a crowded environment like a movie theatre. One’s own on-screen audience, for instance, typically supports the movie’s simulated presentation. On the screen, there was a group of drunk men who were openly scowling just at the woman they were trying to approach.

In order to represent the sexually suggestive female via the item song but without absolving the ethics of the performed act, cinema has recourse to a range of narrative devices. This entails having the “vamp” perform the item song and having a fantastic professional dancer perform the item number throughout the film.

Shabana Azmi believes that there is a pressing need for significant changes, particularly in relation to item music. “The item tunes of today’s modern era are outright unpleasant,” claimed the activist actor. Distorted images of a woman’s lean body, spinning belly button, and undulating curves arouse the desire of men. Obscene lines and sexy camera angles diminish her as well. The marketing of women in movies and advertisements does not actually serve as encouragement for them. Instead, this denigrates us or threatens the decades-long advancement of feminist rights. Our leadership ladies need to be more adaptable in their decision-making.

Shabana, on the other hand, is against making all of the item songs using essentially the same hand. “Not all item numbers are bad. It is liberating and reveals the female in charge when a female’s identity is celebrated in a powerful way, like in Omkara’s “Beedi jalaye le jigar se piya“, she claims. Ila Bedi, the daughter of renowned director Narender Bedi from the 1970s, claims that item songs are simply an act of hostility. Chikni chameli, Sheila ki jawani, and Ooh la la have cheap entertainment,” says Ila. Why do males value females who refer to themselves as roast chicken, fish fry, as well as other delectable?

Item songs certainly monopolize girls with the risqué vaginal thrusts”. “Music and its lyrics certainly take their part,” agrees Reema Kagti, who depicted Rani Mukherjee and Kareena Kapoor as powerful confident women in Talaash, “but the general misinterpretation of females in our movies is a greater issue.”

Also Read: Critical Analysis of Women’s Human Rights In India. Click Here!

Another must-read Opinion: Dear Bollywood, It’s Time To Get Rid Of The ‘Item Song’. Click Here!