Why is Bollywood obsessed with Tawaifs? “Heeramandi” revives stereotypes

BHollywood has long been obsessed with courtesan culture. THEmoujrathe song and the courtesan with the heart of gold were a staple of the stereotype. She loved the male hero unconditionally, sacrificed herself and looked more glamorous than the heroine.

When item numbers broke into films, the courtesan withdrew from the plots.

Scheduled for May 1, it is a return to the courtly world imagined by Bollywood. But Pakistanis are not satisfied with what they have seen of the film so far.

Filmmakers from the subcontinent have created a fantasy chimera, a celluloid courtesan, who has nothing to do with tawaifs.This did them no favors. Bhansali is the greatest fantasy creator among them, Pakistani film critic Omer Adil tells ThePrint.

In India, the film has been making waves since its announcement in 2021, with early reviews calling it fascinating and opulent..The premiere of the web seriesApril 24,which saw almost every Bollywood audience in attendance, added to the hype. “I just saw two episodes ofThe Constitutionand I already want more, wrote actress Genelia DSouza on her Instagram story.

The feeling is not quite the same on the other side of the border. As actor Ushna Shah calls it quitscultural appropriationothers see it as another example from India unhealthy obsession with Pakistan.

Real lifetawaifsshaped Bombay cinema. These classically trained performers were among the first actors, singers, choreographers, producers, directors and musical directors of Bombay films, writes Ruth Vanita in her book,Dancing with the nation: Courtesans at Bombay cinema(2017).

The particular aesthetic of Bombay film, shaped centrally by song and dance, owes much to women from courtesan lineages, even if their role is not yet fully recognized, she writes further.

India's obsession withtawaifs

DeK AsifsMughal-e-Azam(1960) toPakeezah(1972) andUmrao Jaan(1981), the Indian film industry and audiences have been fascinated by courtesan culture for decades. What probably propelled this trend was the casting of stars like Meena Kumari and Rekha. Through these films, an imaginary era of indulgence, languor and royalty was being recreated. It was a different kind of male gaze, often assigning attributes, dialogue and songs that the director could not give to the virtuous and virginal female protagonist.

The courtesan on celluloid in Pakistan and India is almost always Lucknowi, dressed in a particular way and with her entourage of musicians. But this was not historically accurate, Adil points out.

In Bollywood, the genre was firmly established withMughal-e-Azamthe iconic love story between Mughal prince Salim (Dilip Kumar) and his favorite courtesan, Anarkali (Madhubala). Since then, almost every Bollywood film has had at least onetawaifcharacter or performance. Leading actors would portray these roles of Waheeda Rehman inGive me your life(1963), Meena Kumari inPakeezah(1972) to Shabana Azmi inchess players(1977) and Rekha inUmrao Jaan(nineteen eighty one).

Pakeezahwhich took 15 long years to complete, saw the majorbox office success. Movies, memorable dance numbersInhi Logo Ne,Chalté ChaltéYun Hi Koi,There you have it, my friends.AndToday we wait for our prayersDekhengeshowed the unrivaled grace and artistry of courtesans.

Umrao Jaanreleased almost a decade later and based on Mirza Mohammad Hadi Ruswas' 1899 Urdu novel.Umrao Jaan Adais a story of love and loss.

Umrao Jaanis probably the last well-documented film [to be] do. Muzzafar Ali actually called on the 25thtawaifswho were still alive at that time and learned their ways, said classical dancer and Courtesan Project founder Manjari Chaturvedi. Rekha has also performed many Kathak dances inUmrao Jaan,such asThe pleasure of these eyesAndWhat is the heart?.

The popularity of the two films and the songs and dances that accompany them make them an inseparable part of popular culture. They were featured either as subplots or hit dance numbers in films likeMuqaddar Ka Sikandar(1978),Do Unknown(1976) andRam Teri Ganga Maili(1985). These films contributed to the development of atawaifa character that has been perfected over time by actors like Rekha.

There was also Shyam BenegalsMandi(1983), which focused on how sexual relations between courtesans and wealthy married men led to the birth of children who perpetuated thetawaifculture due to lack of other options. He immersed himself in the lives of aging courtesans, whose only hope for survival was the continued patronage of royalty and the wealthy. It shows how, in the absence of such patronage, they are forced to engage in sex work or prepare their daughters to continue their activity.tawaifsin a new world. The film was nominated for three Filmfare Awards in the Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories, and won the National Film Award for Best Art Direction.

The women's stories were written with affection or from hearsay, said Arfa Sayeda Zehra, a Pakistani educationist and Urdu language expert. And this rings especially true for courtesans.

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Read also : Mujra, tawaif, no bad wordsA classical dancer saving courtesan culture from the British gaze

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Glamor over substance

The opulent world of courtesans began to disappear from films between the 1990s and 2000s. And the few films that were made later, such as the newUmrao Jaan(2006) with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan,Begum Jaan(2017) with Vidya Balan, andKalank(2019) starring Alia Bhatt, Madhuri Dixit and Varun Dhawan, tanked at the box office.

But we are seeing a renewed interest intawaifsstories today on OTT platforms. To Mira NairsA decent boy(2020), Tabu plays the role of a courtesan Saeeda Bai, who becomes the object of affection of a young Maan Singh (Ishaan Khatter). In Vikramaditya MotwanesJubilee(2023), Wamiqa Gabbi plays Niloufer, a courtesan from Lucknow who becomes an actor in post-Partition Bombay. But BhansalisThe Constitutionis perhaps the greatest of all, released 14 years after the writer Moin Baigthrew himthe story.

Courtesans in films like BhansalisDevdas,Gangubaiand nowThe Constitution[first look] look dreamy with gorgeous and opulent suitskothas[brothels]. It is a distinctive Bollywood sketch, far removed from the real lives of courtesans, writes commentator and film historian Yasser Usman.in a column.

Bhansali seems to have sacrificed authenticity and historical accuracy of all kinds to accommodate grandeur. Even the pain and torture are stylized, and it is obvious that, in his view, courtesans never really dressed. Heera Mandi was a space for entertaining the Mughal royal family.in the 15th and 16th centuries.In the 1940s it was a regular grain market, which quickly turned into a sex work area.

If Bhansali had actually visited Heera Mandi, he would have seen that there were only filthy houses and very narrow streets. Women standing in frontkothasand on the streets are destitute, said Adil.

But in the end, thetawaifculture has fallen victim to the male gaze, artists have been reduced to simple dancers in real life and in cinema. Think like a patriot, not a performer.moujraBibbo Jaan (Aditi Rao Hydari) says in the trailer, reinforcing the stereotypical image that Bollywood has built for itself.

The industry has never taken the trouble to distinguishtawaifIt's about glorified sex workers, and has rather conflated the two.

There are many paintings of courtesans, and they never show any cleavage. But in almost all Hindi cinema, there will be a hole in their clothes for cleavage, and unfortunately, that's what stays in the audience's memory: tight outfits and a bulging chest with exciting dancing, Chaturvedi said . This is also visible in certain scenes ofHeermandistrailer.

Chaturvedi doesn't fault Bollywood for choosing to depict what sells; she worries that audiences often perceive these films as an accurate depiction of historical events.And the Constitutionthe trailer contains a statement about recreating history. He should not make such statements, Chaturvedi said.

In a scene fromAnd the Constitutiontrailer, a glamorous Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha) provocatively guides Nawab Wali Mohammads (Fardeen Khan) into handing him his chest, making a sly joke about the arrow hitting the right spot. Amid the charm and intrigue of Bhansalis's ornate sets, designer costumes and flowery dialogues in Urdu, his courtesans find themselves confined to singular emotions: rage, revenge, nostalgia. Their quest for action seems to make them the very archetype they hope to transcend.

Opinions are personal.

This article is part of a series called Beyond the Reel. You can read all the articles here.