Zeenat Aman sparks conversation on women’s clothing rights through Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Dostana’ scene
Mumbai Dec 4 (IANS) Bollywood veteran Zeenat Aman has always been progressive, both in style and thoughts, and her movies back in her hit era spoke volumes of the same.
The actress recently took to her social media account to share a video clip from her superhit movie Dostana, which also starred Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha. In the video shared by Zeenat Aman, she shared a scene that reflected on the patriarchal mindset and condescending attitude of men back in the 70s era.
The sequence from the movie shows her character, Sheetal, walking along a beach in beachwear when she gets harassed by a man. A fearless Sheetal drags the offender straight to the police station, where Inspector Vijay, essayed by Amitabh Bachchan, takes the man into custody. What follows next is sure to raise eyebrows of the current generation.
Vijay is further seen questioning Sheetal about her ‘revealing’ beach outfit and asks her to reflect on her choice of clothing. He is commenting that in the past women preferred wearing more clothes, whereas the newer generation wears less, something he struggles to understand. Sheetal firmly stands her ground and asks what exactly was wrong with her attire and states that her choice of clothes is completely her freedom, trying to put Vijay back in his place.
To this, Vijay is heard saying that it was his “duty” to suggest, and the rest depends on her. In the classiest way, Zeenat, after about 45 years of the movie’s release, took to social media in reflecting deeply on the patriarchal mindset casually shown in the movie. She wrote, “Every now and then I’ll find myself flipping through clips from my old movies, in search of something to share with you. Today I found one from Great Gambler, one from Don, and then the algorithm offered me this. A scene so ripe for social commentary that it sent me into a spin!”
“When one is young, one thinks the moralities of the time are set in granite. Absolute and unyielding; at best to be chipped at by one’s own impotent acts of rebellion. Then the years turn, and one day you look up from your screen and think “wow, everything changed”. Okay, perhaps not everything. The moral police is no doubt as vigilant as ever today, but the narrative has certainly progressed,” she added.
“If you’re a woman who watched this clip, let me make a few guesses – you were infuriated by the eve-teasing and resonated with Sheetal’s discomfort and anger, having probably experienced such a thing firsthand. You loved that she dragged her harasser to the police station, a triumph you probably never felt… And then you were incensed by our hero, Inspector Vijay’s, condescending opinion and tone! Am I right?” asked Zeenat. She added, “Well that opinion and tone were par for the course back in the day. The patronising attitude to women who defied convention, the barely veiled “you’re asking for it” gaze and that superior air!
She added, “Oh, I am glad you’re annoyed. That’s what’s changed. Back in the day your average woman would think Vijay to be a mighty upstanding gentleman because Sheetal deserved a reprimand just as much as her harasser. But the young woman I showed it to earlier today? She sneered at the poor Inspector and said, “What a loser.” I had a good laugh at that.”
The actress mentioned that she has become more realistic. “Now I myself have graduated to being more of a realist. I absolutely support the right of women (all people, actually) to wear what they please, while also understanding that the world doesn’t operate on my ideals and that some outfits are more suitable for one place than another. Is that archaic of me?” Aman wrote.
She added, “Perhaps, but be patient. My every hair has turned silver, and the truth is that the new social codes and lingo are as confusing to me as those ones were stifling. I would love your comments on this. Especially if you’re better informed than me!”
For the uninitiated, Dostana was released in the year 1980 and was a superhit.
–IANS
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