It’s that time of the year when everyone’s putting out their “Best of” lists- the best books of the year gone by, the big news moments, and of course, my personal favourite, the best movies. And as you go down these lists, I’d like to pitch an idea I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: the idea that the biggest change in the last one year in Bollywood is that the movies have finally started featuring real women like you and me. In fact, I’m going to risk looking like a movie buff who’s wearing rose-tinted glasses and say that mainstream Bollywood finally has a considerable, roomy, feminist space. The trend actually seems to have started a little before the year gone by with the aptly named Queen. Nothing else celebrates the idea of being a woman than a movie that tells you that you deserve to be in Paris, even if you’ve been jilted at the crucial saat phere, even if your fiance cruelly dumps you while your little brother feels sorry for you. And our heroine didn’t feel the need to then surreptitiously creep away or lie to her family to keep up what may be appropriate behaviour post-heartbreak. She proudly announces that she will go alone on her honeymoon. And then cinema magic takes over when her West Delhi parents completely understand her needs and encourage her to fly away while, of course, skyping with her constantly.
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