Women’s stories, as mainlined by cinema

Laapataa Ladies has been picked as India’s official entry for the Oscars ahead of All We Imagine as Light, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes earlier this year. This decision has sparked a controversy, given that All We Imagine as Light, with a prestigious global award already under its belt, may have had a better chance to be nominated for the Academy Awards. Be that as it may, there is a larger message in how the debate has boiled down to two sensitively told stories — of women, made by women. Laapataa Ladies centres around two very young brides in the Hindi heartland dealing with a traumatic situation while staking all to keep their hopes alive. All We Imagine as Light, on the other hand, is a lambent exploration of female friendship and care through the lives of three nurses.

The two are part of a larger trend seen in Indian films that have women, especially from rural areas or at the peripheries of the “cosmopolitan” metros, as protagonists. These women question patriarchy in settings that mirror the dominant social and cultural mores of real life. Think Sandhya from Pagglait, Badru from Darlings, or Mahima from Kathal. Women-centric films, in the past, were mostly relegated to the fringes of mainstream cinema, if not pigeonholed as arthouse productions. Laapataa Ladies, All We Imagine as Light and the others in this league represent a welcome shift.

This shift perhaps reflects a churn at the grassroots where women are marking out their space, even in matters as fundamental as economic independence and political agency. That said, while we celebrate these films, the Indian cinema industry needs to stay in step by turning its gaze inwards in light of the Hema Committee report on Malayalam cinema.