December 2009
Movies do contribute in defining gender roles. In our Indian cinema both men and women have played significant roles from time to time. Afterall, movies are successful in creating a vital impact on the larger audience. The images of Salman Khan of Maine Pyaar Kiya and Aamir Khan of QSQT where they are shown to be sweet lover boys dominated the Indian Cinema in the 80’s. I am talking about this era and these movies in particular because these had a huge impact on cinegoers. When I saw Maine Pyaar Kiya, I loved it and particularly the song , “Mere rang mein rangne wali.’ The film projected love in a different manner , very unconventional yet very decent. Many critics saw the success of Salman Khan as a rising sign where he is different from the other typical manly heroes and his plus point was that he was very young at that time. Salman and Aamir provided the most publicised and most visible image of the figure of the sweet and cute hero who had come to dominate the Indian Cinema of the 1980’s. Both these films represent something new, infact a refreshing look. Similarly women too were stepping out of their coy and beautiful images. Here I am reminded of Kajol of Kuch Kuch Hota hai who is shown as an independent girl. Kareena in Jab We Met is another actress whose point of view counts in the movie. She is open and candid about her love life and that represents our very own times. That is why this movie is another hit. Let’s talk about real life romantic couple of the year, Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra who’ve got married recently. They had been in the news for quite sometime. Our Cover Page and Cover Story tells about this sweet couple. And not to forget I have lots of good wishes for my readers. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. See u in 2010.