Does Bollywood objectify its women?

New Delhi, June 25: I am actually a bit divided on this one. Yes of course Bollywood objectifies its women on a much larger scale than men. But this debate on objectification of women is not new even in my own head. Objectification is known to be those portrayals of women in ways and contexts which suggest that women are objects to be looked at, ogled, even touched, or used without any regard to their personality or dignity. The Indian film industry is known for its glitz and glamour and ‘item songs', where 'shiela ki jawani', 'munni banaam hui', 'chikni chameli' and 'choli ke peeche kya hai' become instant hits with the audiences. Indeed the more indecent and vulgar the song is the more it will stand out and give much more recognition and popularity to the actress than her acting or films. Katrina kaif is the new ‘chameli' in town while Kareena is more often then not referred to as the ‘chammak challo' of the tinsel villa. But item songs, in particular, should not be singled out as the symbol of this practice. Devoid of opportunities to portray lovemaking or smoking or so many other things on screen, item-songs are Bollywood's workaround solution for attracting eyeballs from men. The creativity is getting hampered by the never ending bans by the sensor board, making the film makers desperate to sell their product. Isn't Bollywood showcasing the reality? Hasn't the Indian society objectified its women since time immemorial? Have we forgotten the time in Mahabharata when Yudhisthira succumbed to the weakness of gambling and sacrificed his own wife's dignity for a pack full of cards? Also in the epic Ramayana when the revolted Sita was asked to leave her house? Why doesn't Hollywood showcase its woman merely as an object of pleasure? Because it portrays what the society feels, where a superhero movie sells more than a sex scene and content matters more than the skin show. The recent case of the brutal rape of a medical student in Delhi has highlighted strong objections from all over India. Filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap tweeted "We need to stop objectifying our women in what we call our second religion... Our films.” Actor Aditi Rao Hydari in an interview said: “I wish our movies wouldn't objectify women. There's so much more to being a woman.” This is certainly true that there is a desperate need of women-centric movies in Indian cinema with strong and powerful characters. While there have been movies like 'Hunterwaali and Mother India' where the woman triumphs, movies like 'Kahani', 'Fashion' and 'No one killed Jessica' also portrayed the power of a woman. But off late, who watched 'Hazaar Chauraasi Ki Maa'? But is banning the item songs or the poor portrayal of woman in the industry, the only solution to elevate the demeaning status of women in our society? If we wanted to ban everything offensive or that might lead to a criminal act, we would have to ban murder scenes and plots that involve murder. The efforts have to be from all four corners to stop the co modification of women in our society. No one is solely to be blame and no one can solely bring about a change. While there is definitely a need for strong women characters and women centric films where a woman is the ‘hero', what we also need is compulsory education and a change of mindset of everyone who thinks of them as objects to ogle at whether in film fraternity or out.