Of lovers, liars and loneliness

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><img align="left" src="/photo/642413.cms" alt="/photo/642413.cms" border="0" /><br />Rekha did it in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Aastha</span>. Tabu gives in to her sexual fantasy with another man in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Astitva.</span> Mallika Sherawat lusts after her ex-lover in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Murder</span>.<br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="33.3%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img align="left" src="/photo/642414.cms" alt="/photo/642414.cms" border="0" /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Mallika Sherawat needs an excuse to stray in </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">Murder</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Manisha Koirala enjoys a one-night stand in </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Tum</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> and then there in Boney Kapoor''s </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Bewafaa,</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> which borders on the subject of desire and turmoil of his heroine Kareena Kapoor.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Until now, sex was entirely absent from mainstream Indian cinema, barring </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Arth </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">, </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Thodi Si Bewafaee</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">, </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Ek Pal</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> and </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Ek Baar Phir</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> which focussed on marital misunderstanding and a woman''s search for her own identity. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">So infidelity, explicit kissing, and rampant female sexuality on screen truly reflects our changing times. Right?</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Wrong.While real Mumbai knows this, Bollywood, despite a rash of films like </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Aastha , Murder , Tum</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> and the forthcoming </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Bewafaa</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> exploring female sexuality, needs to give a woman a reason to romp.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><formid=367815></formid=367815></span><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />Boredom, loneliness, neglect and so on. While men blame it on the libido and are none the worse for it, women still need an excuse, in these films.<br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="32.1%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">Tum</span><span style="" font-size:=""> is yet another remake of Hollywood hit </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">Unfaithful</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Mahesh Bhatt, who has transcended hitherto set limits of sexual explicitness on screen in </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Murder</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> agrees: "We are conditioned to believe that for women, pleasure, for the sake of pleasure, is sinful. So even in a bold film like</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic=""> Murder</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> , I had to find an excuse (the unheeding husband) so that she can be drawn to her lover''s arms." </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">The original </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Unfaithful</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> , needed no such excuse. The heroine lusted after a stranger and slept with him. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Bhatt says that even Rajneesh, who preached free sex, had to find an excuse to practice sex as pure pleasure in his ‘Tantra Club'', where devotees found spirituality.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Even filmmakers who have tried to etch clear contours of honesty while displaying female sexuality have fallen just short. </span><br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />For instance, in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Astitva</span> , Tabu says, "Is it only men who have such desires? Does a woman have fewer desires than men." <br /><br />But filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar tempers the theme by making Tabu imagine her husband while making love to her lover.<br /><br />But what begs the question is that if the real world accepts women''s sexuality for what it is, why do filmmakers not mirror this reality. Says Boney Kapoor, "A majority of filmmakers are still moderate and orthodox. It will take time for them to accept such a blatant truth."<br /><br />Says film analyst Indu Mirani, "Filmmakers are scared as this will open up a completely new facet of the heroine. It''s a risk they do not want to take. Audiences are ready for anything. Filmmakers also go by the age-old belief that heroines are mothers and sisters and are virginal and young."<br /><br />Clearly, there are no brave departures in Bollywood. But Boney Kapoor is optimistic: "Bollywood has taken its first step by exploring bold stories that are commercially accepted.<br /><br />Maybe the next step will be to recognise women''s sexuality honestly.<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>