Women in Indian Cinema

In Mother India Khan constructs an unconventional Indian woman in the character of Radha. Because her mother-in-law takes a loan to pay for Radha's wedding to Shamu, a series of misfortunes occur in Radha's life. She is cheated by Sukhilala, who takes three-quarters of the couple's annual crops instead of the one-quarter he was to receive in repayment for the loan. Shamu is involved in a crippling accident while working extra to help pay for the loan, and his shame and humiliation finally drive him away never to return. Radha keeps working to support her children, but she loses her youngest child to the effects of a storm that also destroys the village. It is Radha's attitude and indomitability through these e

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t, which has been tainted by Birjoo's abduction of one of its daughters." In this sense, Radha is a complex character who is at times conventional and unconventional. In contrast to Radha's complex character, we see a linear development occur in the construct of the character of Nisha in Who Am I To You? She is initially a carefree and fun-loving trickster who can be quite bold. At one point her beloved, Prem, maintains that "People say that when beautiful girls lie they become even more beautiful" (Barjatya 1994). When she is younger, Nisha is idealized by her older sister Pooja. Pooja is married to Prem's brother Rajesh. Basically a story of star-crossed lovers, when Pooja tragically dies from a fall down stairs the intended marriage between Pooja and Prem is compromised when Pooja is arranged to marry Rajesh. It is at this point in Pooja's life where we see she is confronted between being a "good" or "bad" woman with respect to her marriage to Rajesh. Her transformation to a more submissive role of wife and mother - conventional constructs of Hindu women - begins as she agrees to sacrifice Prem since "their child feels similarly with Nisha as with Pooja" (Ramchandani 1). In this we see the importance of kinsh
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Approximate Word count = 1507
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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