Where sports & women don’t mix

Bollywood’s many representations of women in sports are an amalgam of glamour, perverse voyeurism and crudity, writes Shakuntala Rao

THERE is an elaborate bicycle race scene in Subhash Ghai’s Yaadein. Kareena Kapoor participates in, what appears to be, a professional cycling race across the streets of Singapore. In the film she wins the race. Her attire is body-hugging bike shorts and a flimsy top. Her make-up is barely disturbed as she crosses, smiling and waving, the finish line.

Who can forget the horror of a song from Feroz Khan’s abominable film, Prem Aggan, where a roomful of girls in tights and leggings perform a bizarrely homoerotic version of floor aerobics. These are just two of Bollywood’s many representations of women in sports as an amalgam of glamour, perverse voyeurism and crudity.

Is it a surprise then that there is hardly any Indian women’s team that has made a mark in any international sporting events? That adolescent girls do not consider being sporty an asset or that the perception exists that athletic, well-built girls are thought to be unattractive to boys? Meanwhile studies after studies have shown that girls who participate in athletics and sports in school are often emotionally healthier, display maturity, leadership qualities and also do well academically.

Though Hollywood has not fared significantly better in its efforts at representing women athletes, the past few years have seen a concerted effort from filmmakers to present a more positive (and realistic) picture of women in sports. Girlfight, Million Dollar Baby, Love and Basketball and Blue Crush have made it to mainstream cinema with their gritty depiction of women competing. In recent years, athletes like Serena Williams, Rebecca Lobo and Marion Jones have given the world a new, intoxicating image of female beauty rooted in discipline, power and confidence as well as grace.

In Bollywood, representations of active women continue to be relegated to men’s prepubescent visions of sexual fantasy. Activities like swimming, cycling and skiing, which are competitive Olympic sports, have become opportunities for filmmakers to show women in skimpiest of outfits. Dress designers for Bollywood stars like Manish Malhotra, Savio Jon and Neeta Lula have made the sports bra, which was originally developed for women doing high-impact activities, an outwear rather than a garment which women wear under other clothing. Such representations confuse girls between being "fit" with being the right shape. Girls might flock to gyms but not because they want to excel in a sport or live healthy lives but rather they want to wear certain clothes.

Meanwhile Neha Ahuja, the first Indian woman to qualify for Winter Olympics held in Torino, Italy, this February, participated in Alpine skiing and was placed 51^st in a group of 58. Women athletes at the Commonwealth games tried hard to win medals and be recognised as serious competitors in different sports. As these female athletes struggle to train and find endorsements, Bollywood’s million rupees industry keeps churning images that undermine their efforts.

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