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Films like Dev D have paved the way for much-needed openness and discussions ONE of the great attractions of Hindi films historically has been to provide the showing of spaces usually associated with transgressive non-marital sexual relations. The most famous, of course, is the kotha or the place for courtesans. In Pakeezha, Umrao Jaan, Utsav and other films, kothas provided the space where sexual playfulness between men and women could be most visually and openly depicted.
While modern spaces, which represent sexual permissiveness (such as the nightclub) have become common on screen, sex itself remains metaphoric and implied. Except for some minor attempts by realist filmmakers Hindi film industry, by and large, has not been allowed by censors to show intimate kissing, nudity, or god forbid, even a circuitous hint at intercourse. Indian censorship laws, which date back to the late 19th century, have not allowed the filmmakers much latitude. What it did lead to was the construction of a convoluted sexual masquerade in which filmmakers employed unusual devices to bend rules. Derek Bose’s brilliant analysis in his book Bollywood Uncensored, of the song, "Choli ke peeche kya hai?" from the film Khalnayak suggests that when the camera turned to Ganga (Madhuri Dixit), it was not only to show Ganga singing, "Choli mein dil hai mera" but also evoke obvious references to her breasts.
The door was opened, not as much by the traditional Bollywood directors and actors, but by alternative filmmakers who always had more leeway in depicting risqu`E9 cinematic material. After all, censors believed, art house crowd hardly needed the same moral policing as the regular janta. Soon there was a realisation that if Deepa Mehta could come to India to film Fire, Shekhar Kapur could find acceptability in Bandit Queen, Somnath Sen’s Leela and Karan Razdan’s Girlfriend could draw crowds to theatres, themes like gay love, pre-marital sex, and adultery could come into mainstream movies. The success of Anurag Kashyap’s low-budget film, Dev D, a modern Punjabi take on Devdas, is particularly interesting because the film weaves sexual pleasure, fantasy, and angst into the storyline. Dev D shows that Indian audiences are maturing to depictions of non-marital sex and that they are capable of distinguishing between pornography and erotica. The important factor censors have yet to come to grips with is the defiance contemporary Indian society demonstrates towards conservatism. Men and women are less inhibited about discussing their sexual choices, erogenous zones, and expectations from their partners. That sex is out of the
closet is evident from the vocabulary on sexuality which has gained
currency — all one has to do is pick up a lifestyle magazine and
read myriad of columns giving advice on sex and intimacy. One can only
hope that the success of films like Dev D will pave the way for
much needed openness and discussions about relationships and sexuality
in the larger Indian society.
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