In the last millennium, Hindi Cinema was more famous for its films full of songs and romance with its lead actors dancing around the trees unrealistically. Though there was an important ‘Thoughtful Art Cinema Wave’ too operational within the Industry itself, but still meaningful subjects were rarely adapted by the mainstream film makers in those years particularly in the 80s.
And that’s the reason why ZAKHMI AURAT should be rated as an important trendsetter of that era, which despite of having all the usual songs, dance & drama, had something extraordinary to give to the conservative Indian viewers pointing towards the burning issue of RAPES.
The menace has constantly been in news since the last many years, rather decades, and we haven’t seen any positive change in the situation or the mindset despite several demonstrations, candle marches and promises made by the authorities.
Ironically, apart from our ages old questionable social structure, the biggest reason behind the ugly curse continuing and still being reported almost every day remains the unjustified laws and no seriously severe or scary punishments for the offenders. Moreover, we often hear the accused getting bail and then roaming freely, even threatening the girl and her family members without any fear of the law.
Recently films like KAABIL, MAATR, MOM and more were made on this crucial issue, but they all followed the typical Hindi film format of a straight forward revenge drama, strategically killing the involved rapists.
On the other hand, ZAKHMI AURAT made in 1988 (more than quarter a century back) came up with a much more shocking way of tacking the offenders, mocking at the Indian thought process and its questionable social structure. Directed by Avtar Bhogal, it dared to suggest a horrifying punishment, of castrating the rapists and then let them face social humiliation all through their life for such heinous crime committed ruining a girl’s life.
No doubt its subject was bold enough for the Indian audience who were still used to watching Doordarshan as their only TV channel in those years. But at the same time, the courageous project was also applauded a lot by the women power of the country and remained the talk of the town for weeks through newspapers and magazines. Dimple Kapadia played the lead role of the victim Police Officer in the film which is still envied by many renowned Hindi film actresses as they don’t get to play such strong characters on the screen often.
Though ZAKHMI AURAT was an average film taking its major inspiration from the English film THE LADIES CLUB (1986) with references from the controversial I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978), it still was a rare, courageous and unapologetic attempt proposing a sentence that surely could have resulted in the much required change in the coming decades.
The film got appreciated but the message never reached the people in power or the judiciary, continuing with the same old, ineffective norms and painfully lengthy procedures.
Now after three decades one dreams that had the judiciary worked on some similar suggestion given by the film back in the 80s-90s, we would have certainly not reached the present pathetic situation of 2018, saving thousands of innocent girls and their suffering families.
But perhaps FILMS are just seen as FILMS, not considered capable of making any major constructive contribution in the society, and we still haven’t learned the fact, that every artistic expression - actually is nothing else but the ugly mirror of our own self and the people around.
(Updated in September 2018)
(Note: An edited form of the article was also published on UC-News Mobile App in March 2018)
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The article is also included as an individual chapter in my first book on cinema titled DID YOU KNOW (Vol.1) published by Notionpress.
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