Women in action: The Hindu update
Over the last two weeks, there has been chatter surrounding the release of women-led action films where the heroines slice up the bad guys with
Over the last two weeks, there has been chatter surrounding the release of women-led action films where the heroines slice up the bad guys with perfectly manicured nails. There is Alpha starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, which I had the misfortune of watching. This ‘slick’ action film with two sisters (Sita and Durga) on a mission has the leads prancing around in an array of colourful athleisure between major action sequences. They are whimsical enough to play with young pahadi children while still looking for their lost father, and have stern ‘game on’ faces while fighting the bad guys. Though the sequences seem well-choreographed and executed, it is but apparent that the entire film is written by a man and is created to cater to the male gaze. The Hindu’s review states that Alia uses her expressive face to tell the story of the fight, making every punch and kick feel deeply personal. “Almost like abhinaya in a classical dance presentation, she injects a wicked sense of personality in Sita…” the review adds. The question is: does a woman fighting require poise and grace? Can she not grunt and struggle? A paper titled The Action Heroine as Feminist Figuration: Mapping the transgressive potential of Hollywood’s post-Woman women, looks to position the figure of the action heroine as a productive political fiction for feminism. However, the paper then delves into why it is impossible to subvert the male gaze in the process. British film theorist Laura Mulvey wrote the ground-breaking essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (1975) that says that films featuring female leads were practically unheard of at the time.
The rare ones helmed by women were unnecessarily melodramatic, and were categorised as ‘women’s weepies’. Over time, the success of films like Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino, proved to filmmakers that there was money in action content where women were hypersexualised, leading to the spawning of several other film franchises including Lara Croft and Charlie’s Angels. India continues to try out these iterations of women suited in leather while carrying out operations, and possessing the magical capability of dancing to the ill-placed item song that has no connection to the plot. *Cough* Alpha, Jawaan, Race *cough*. However, interestingly, corollaries exist. Blast, a Tamil flick starring Priety Mukundhan and Abhirami is a surprise. It may be part of the same genre as Alpha but it is a refreshing take. “Usually, women who are cast in roles where they perform action stunts are transplanted into roles that men play. But in Blast, it was done pretty tastefully,” says a colleague who reviewed the film. “My only problem was that it was established much beforehand that they were both from a family of martial art warriors. This is not the case in films led by men,” he says. Priety is a striking-looking lead who transforms when she fights. Yet, both Abhirami and she continue to fight as ordinary people, sticking to the storyline and committing to the plot. It is still palatable, enjoyable even. She also has the right answers. That helps. When Bhuvanesh asked Preity in a recent interview if backstories are essential to women who perform action sequences, she says that she likes them irrespective of gender.
The BriefWire