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Indian Media and Women Images of Women: The Case of Bollywood Film The film Mother India (1957), directed by Mehboob Khan, stars Nargis, one of the most famous actors in India, in the title role. Her role embraces complex, sometimes contradictory images and identities of Indian women. You will also see an excerpt from the film, Pyaasa, directed by Guru Dutt, in which he sings about the degradation of women in prostitution despite the new, independent India. You will have the entire films here, and also excerpts that focus on the images and representations of women in these films. The words to the famous Pyassa song which Dutt sings are also here for you to read. On Mother India, you will have information on Nargis, the film's star. In films everywhere the star and the character he or she plays in the film are often meshed for viewers. Nargis's willingness to appear in unglamorous ways is important, as is her departure from film when she married. Nargis's character, her well-known affairs with director Raj Kapoor, her later marriage, and her political statements were all part of Bollywood expectations and contradictions for actresses and actors alike.

Pratibha Tiwari

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Actresses Speak Out on Sexual Harassment
As you look at these three commentaries on sexual harassment in the Indian film industry (the kind of harassment found in film industries across the globe, as well), think about the effect of the comments in relation to the images—which ones look ordinary, which ones especially glamorous? Do certain images conflict with commentary against sexual harassment and remind us that women movie stars are encouraged to appear attractive and erotically dressed, images that conflict with complaints? This is the central contradiction in the images and treatment of women and in the formation of men's thinking, as well: women are raised to believe their looks are the most important thing about them (endorsed by family, society, popular culture, advertising, etc.), and so many men consider women's physical attraction a justification for their sexual abuse of women, their right to treat women like objects or property.