Reel Romance, Real Consequences: Does Indian Cinema Normalize Harassment?

Read Time: 10 minutes

Growing up in Bangalore, a metropolitan city in India where people from different regions of India settled, helped me appreciate and consume content in various languages. While regional boundaries of entertainment were less fluid than today’s, I had the privilege of watching Indian Cinema of all languages, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Looking back at my old favorites, some of which I still enjoy as guilty pleasure, I can see the flaws in portrayals of human interaction, behavior, and people. I see the flaws in how women are portrayed, the false bravado of mainstream masculinity, toxic romanticized tropes, and the often cringe-worthy drama. While the past cannot be judged through the moral prism of the present, some of the movies that are made today still carry remnants of tropes that Indians as a society have apparently discarded, or so we thought. This post examines some blockbuster movies in Indian Cinema that shed light on my point from my previous article about the normalization of harassment in films and its symbiotic relationship with societal norms.

Problematic Tropes 

Since the 1960s, Indian cinema has romanticized stalking and harassment. These gimmicks have since then and until recently been considered acceptable forms of pursuing women. The norm was to show a man stalking a woman singing a song, catcalling, standing outside her house sans the boombox, the woman’s evident irritation or fear in reaction. What follows next is what I consider the iceberg beneath the surface that the Titanic never saw—the real danger when it comes to the normalization of harassment. It’s not just the stalking, but the female lead’s refusal being ignored or dismissed as mere coyness or reluctance by the male lead, the epitome of the charming, well-dressed, or heart-of-gold but rough-around-the-edges male lead.

This lack of consent was normalized by the saying, “ladki ki na mein hi haan hai,” meaning a girl’s ‘no’ means ‘yes. Further, when the exasperated woman responds to harassment with even mild assertiveness, she is often berated in a patronizing manner, met with verbal abuse, labeled arrogant, or accused of being ‘blind to true love.’ In some cases, this escalates to physical abuse, intended to ‘teach her a lesson.’ We don’t have to look far for examples. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) is considered a cornerstone of romantic cinema, but it also passes off problematic behavior as comedy or something cute. DDLJ, during the first meeting of the main leads, the male protagonist invades the woman’s personal space, practically lying down on her lap as she tries to avoid him. Later in the film, he finds himself stranded with the drunk female lead and pretends they were intimate the night before, to her horror the next morning. This “joke” causes her to panic, prompting him to drop the act and condescendingly shush her before saying, “I might have been raised in London, but I am an Indian at heart, and I wouldn’t do something like that.” 

In Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein (RHTDM), a Hindi remake of a Tamil movie, the male lead falls in love with the female lead after seeing her at a wedding. Upon learning that she is engaged to another man, he assumes the identity of her prospective fiancé. When his true identity is accidentally revealed, the female lead, understandably feeling betrayed, dumps our “hero.” In the end, despite everything, the female lead rejects her perfectly decent fiancé and reunites with the creepy man because she loves him. 

Tunes of Influence

India is unique in how mainstream music is typically a product of its role as a storytelling tool in movies. Most people listen to music that is part of a film’s soundtrack rather than standalone albums. Music and lyrics are often specifically crafted to advance the narrative. While this makes for great musicals, it also provides examples of how music was used to express misogyny. Another aspect of this trope is that music is used to show harassment as comedic or cute. In some movies, the stalker hero whose love interest has been rejected sings sad tunes about the girl’s rejection, invoking sympathy for the poor male lead. 

This is perfectly illustrated through the song Apun Bola (2000). When the male lead chases a girl, he does this through music and dance. The catchline of Apun Bola can be translated to “that might be her style—saying ‘no’ with her lips, but ‘yes’ in her heart. Similarly, in RHTDM, the female lead’s anger and rejection are followed by a sad tune, where our main lead sings a beautiful melody lamenting his heartbreak. The lyrics translate to, “…my friends, the one whom I loved and worshipped, broke my heart and abandoned me…. My friends, don’t fall in love; their promises and love are all lies…” subtly evoking the audience’s sympathy for the male protagonist. 

The transition of Indian Cinema and Problematic Tropes 2.0 

Exposure to international cinema, evolving taste, and a more discerning audience seeking relatable content have created room for deviation from the larger-than-life narratives and given room for more realistic, grounded, and socially relevant stories. Some examples are Gully Boy, Article 15, Super Deluxe, Lunch Box, Badhaai Ho, Delhi Crime, and Lipstick Under My Burkha. However, with the loss of this kind of cinema in the more widely spoken Hindi language, attention has shifted to the south through dubbing, creating a pan-Indian audience for their larger-than-life content that does follow the traditional formula. Movies like Baahubali (largely redeemable), RRR, KGF, and Pushpa generated some of the biggest hits in Indian Cinema, drawing attention to the tropes we had thought regressive. 

Pushpa (2021) is the story of an underdog who uses violence and cunning to get to the top. It shows violence, family drama, comedy, and romance, if you can call it that, and is, therefore, the perfect package from the audience’s perspective. The movie, however, also depicts a man, probably in his 30s, aggressively pursuing a teenager. The problem with these movies is that they are less about the male protagonist’s actions and more about how the women reciprocate his feelings, creating a standard for romance.

Srivalli initially dislikes Pushpa’s overt advances, such as when he pays her to kiss him. However, she later succumbs after being blackmailed by a goon who threatens to kill her father. She begs Pushpa to spend a night with her first before she goes to the goon. Pushpa then engages in an over-the-top action sequence where he stakes his claim over her as he beats the goon to a pulp. This sequence concludes any character development she has in the movie, if at all.  Animal (2023), like Pushpa, panders to similar plot devices. It is a story about a man with a toxic relationship with his father who goes unhinged on a killing rampage against those who threaten his father. Along the way, he treats his wife as an object and speaks about her “wide child-bearing hips” to convince her to marry him. He then proceeds to treat her with little respect and verbally abuses her when she tries to express her frustration before committing adultery, which he justifies. 

Arguments can be made that the women in the movies use whatever minuscule agency they have to protect themselves. Srivalli’s decision to approach Pushpa with her abrupt declaration of devotion and love for Pushpa might have been the only way she could have protected herself and saved her father. Geetanjali’s actions to stay with her husband despite his dismissive, toxic, and abusive behavior, only to leave him when she discovers his infidelity, can be seen as a show of strength and resilience. Ultimately, women are plot devices to further glorify the hyper-masculine male protagonist who follows his twisted moral compass and perseveres, gratifying the audience, who responds with shouts and whistles. 

Implications 

The success of these movies has again made some wonder whether there was an actual change in the audience’s perceptions or if it was just the opinions of the woke, Westernized crowd who preferred the shift toward realism. In contrast, some might analyze these movies’ commonalities to understand if a pattern exists, apart from all these movies being pan-Indian. It can be argued that the audience likes the action sequences, dialogues, bravado, and personality of the male protagonist, which have been missing in mainstream big-budget Hindi movies for the most part since the last decade or so, rather than the questionable romance or interactions with the love interest. Both Pushpa and Animal gave the audience the archetype depiction of hegemonic masculinity.  

Impact on Society

Some surveys show that young people are more aware of the difference between fiction and reality. Still, these surveys, like the one below, are usually undertaken in metropolitan cities where people are more exposed to discourse on such topics. 

Research conducted in rural areas has shown different results. Men perceive a hero as fearless, brave, a provider, and devoted to his family. It also showed that most young males and adolescents only watched Telugu movies dubbed in Hindi. This is combined with the fact that Telugu movies have perfected the action-drama genre, playing to the hegemonic masculine protagonist. Results also reveal that 85% of males perceived actresses in movies such as Pushpa as objects of fantasy and that they only wanted to see movies for the star power of the male lead or if there was merit to the plot. 

However, they wouldn’t watch a movie presence of a “heroine” as their visual pleasure was compulsory for success. 30% of male respondents believed that women enjoyed the attention they received in the form of “eve-teasing.” Young men interviewed also said that when girls didn’t respond to their attention, “The girl was not coming under him,” they would, along with friends, follow the girl wherever she went and try to talk to her. Some stated that these movies should be watched if you can differentiate between good and evil. These results in the tropes we see in movies are reflected in societal perceptions to a certain extent. They can support the assertion that cinema not only mirrors culture but actively shapes it. 

Conclusion

Filmmaking is a powerful art form that serves as a mirror, reflecting and shaping how we think, behave, interact, and aspire to live. This commentary does not argue for censorship or place blame on filmmakers but instead asks: why are certain films so beloved and popular today? For example, the year Pushpa was released, films like Karnan, Doctor, and The Great Indian Kitchen received far less attention. While distribution plays a role, the reality is that the film industry is just that—an industry. The popularity of films like Pushpa and Animal shows that, despite room for progressive narratives, films featuring hyper-masculine men and problematic relationships continue to captivate the public. In an industry driven by audience demand, the real question is why these films are made and what they reveal about the values we continue to celebrate.

References

Impact of Indian Cinema on Young Viewers: Responses to Gender and Violence Against Women Link.

Pushpa: The Limits of Indian Cinema? Link.

Glorification of Harassment in Bollywood Movies: Can the Censor Board Undo It? Link.

Hindi Cinema Dancing Female Stars  Link

An Analysis of Romantic Harassment in Contemporary Tamil Movies  Link