Strongly criticizing Bollywood item songs, veteran actor Shabana Azmi says that while majority might see them as “celebration of women’s sensuality,” they are just another example of women surrendering to male gaze.
In a panel discussion at the ongoing FICCI Frames, Azmi said “I have strong views on item numbers because they are not part of the narrative and they’ve been put in a film for the only purpose of titillation and nothing else.”
Azmi feels that when consent comes in, that’s a different story. “When a girl or a leading lady says ‘it’s alright, I want to celebrate my sensuality’ I have no problem with that. I think that’s wonderful.”
However, she added, “But under the presence of ‘celebrating your sensuality’ what you are actually doing is surrendering to the male gaze and objectifying yourselves because the business of cinema is of images.”
She thinks it is problematic when people are shown a woman’s “fragmented bits of her body, heaving bosom, swinging navel, and shaking hip”, as it robs her whole autonomy. She referred to the lyrics of Kareena Kapoor’s item song in Dabbang 2, ‘Fevicol Se’.
“Please be informed, when you say ‘main tandoori murgi hu, gatka lo mujhe alcohol kay saath and a four-year-old girl is dancing to it, you are leading to the sexualisation of children and the parents who are enjoying it, people who are encouraging her are just as responsible,”
She further explained the difference between a sensual shot and a perverted one. “In Zindagi Na Milega Dobara, Katrina Kaif comes out of the water in a bikini; the camera doesn’t go close to her. It does not linger on her bosom or the droplets falling. The camera in mid (frame) sees her coming out of the water. She picks up her bathrobe, wears it and you immediately accept that she is an instructor who is coming and doing her job.”
“If the director had decided to go overboard with the shot, it would be objectification. So it’s the intention. There’s a difference between sensuality and objectification,” she added.
