Poison Pen

don't worry, she doesn't bite anymore.

Friday, June 16, 2006

let them freeze

so i saw a video of that song in fanaa. the one thats been shot in poland, even though it looked just like a set to me. anyway, so like many other people, the thing that i noticed in the song wasn't the music or the location or anything like that. it was the fact that kajol was wearing this really sheer outfit in the freezing cold, while aamir was covered from head to toe in a thick woolen outfit.

this is not the first time they did something like this. in pukaar, they got madhuri to walk around in antarctica in a chiffon sari!! and then, they even cut the song out of the movie. all this while anil kapoor was bundled up in thick jackets. if i remember, madhuri was really pissed off about this.

now i know how incredibly uncomfortable it gets in these climates. to spend hours shooting a song in just a chiffon sari must be blue murder. i've never been to antarctica, but its probably ten times worse. and i would be mad to step out in winter without adequate protection.

so why this unfairness? since my mind is always digging up conspiracy theories, it seemed to me that this is some kind of complicated ploy by the men. convince the women that its more important for us to look good, which means baring enough skin, than protect ourselves from frostbite. thats not the case with men, who can be bundled up in five layers and still be hot (pun intended).

if you think about it, this is part of a deeper problem. for women, fashionability and comfort are often at loggerheads. this is NEVER a problem for men. they can wear flat shoes and be warm and toasty under layers of clothing, and never worry about the fact that they're not looking good. they dont need to worry about straps peeking out, or tops slipping. they just button everything in place and are fine for the rest of the day.

doesn't any one else think that this is all a HUGE conspiracy? they keep telling us that we need to be uncomfortable to look good. and when you're uncomfortable, you can't think straight. how are you going to be CEO of your company if the only thing you can think about is how much your feet hurt? its like we've been brainwashed into making ourselves weaker, just so that they can run the world in their smart shirts and trousers.

oh, and you know what else i discovered? men actually have a HIGHER body temperature. so they should need to wear even LESS clothes than women on cold days, not MORE. i demand that any song shot in the snow must involve a bare-chested hero. (unless its anil kapoor).

23 Comments:

  • At 3:28 PM, Blogger Rimi said…

    I demand too!

    This HAS been part of the over-a-cup-of-tea feminist discourse off and on, but I get the feeling no one really cares, you know? The men get to see Madhuri in a sheer saree, the women get to copy it next season.

     
  • At 11:20 PM, Blogger Kaushik Gopalan said…

    I cant make out how serious you are about the sexist conspiracy thing from your post, so I write this at the risk of looking foolish.


    Fashion designers have been asked for many years why their female models are more skimpily clad than the male ones.

    Many of them claim that when they have had male models in some state of undress, the reaction from women has been mostly negative. Basically they are saying that most men like to see skin, and most women dont.

    Can the director's defense be that he is just doing his job by giving almost everybody in the audience what they want by keeping Aamir more covered than Kajol?

     
  • At 9:19 PM, Blogger Shark said…

    Haven't you heard of the phrase "God Disposes, Man Proposes and Woman Exposes"!
    So, this is all part of "exposing" stuff!
    I equally detest this! Seriously it's so uncomfortable for the women to be doing that and actually keeping a "happy/elited" expression on their face!!!!

    But the hard fact is that Hindi Movies DONT run without these kind of songs :(

     
  • At 9:07 PM, Blogger Neeraj | www.bharari.net said…

    lol
    i take it you don't like hairy chests.

     
  • At 9:22 PM, Blogger Gamesmaster G9 said…

    Regarding the lack of barechested men on wintry slopes, I would like to point you in the direction of the song Mera Dil Le Gayi from Guddu Dhanoa's Ziddi, in which Sunny Deol showed that he was too macho to let a little thing like snow bother him, and whipped his shirt off before the shoot.

    The story goes that his actions were in response to Raveena's whining about the cold, in spite of being quite sensibly wrapped in sweater, woolen skirt, cap and gloves.

     
  • At 1:42 AM, Blogger Swathi Sambhani aka Chimera said…

    i dunno wat the film fraternity these days think, tell them to take a look at
    -Mumtaz in 'Aap Ki Kasam'
    -Rekha in 'Silsila'
    - Jaya B in 'Anamika'

    to know that women can indeed look smart with their winter wear on

     
  • At 2:21 PM, Blogger Vishnupriya said…

    @rimi - yeah, i'm pretty sure i'm not the only person who noticed it. and i do think some of the blame must go to women.

    @kaushik gopalan - no, i am serious. and as for what you said, i don't know the details but i guess the fact that women don't want to see skin has been proved through surveys, so i'm willing to believe it. but my point isn't that women shouldn't show skin. there's absolutely no problem with that. all i'm saying is that it shouldn't have to come at the cost of comfort. if the song was set on a beach in summer, there would be no problem if the heroine wore a swimsuit. and this isn't only about skin show. heels can kill your feet, but you're still expected to wear them with a dressy outfit. thats not the case with guys.

    @shark - i don't see why not. is it absolutely necessary for the heroine to be almost undressed for a song to be a hit? i don't think so.

    @ can't c me - umm, thats not entirely true :). but hairy chest, back, shoulders, stomach AND sides is a bit too much.

    @gamesmaster g9 - ok, i don't remember the song, but yay for sunny deol. i'm sure the women didn't mind.

    @swathi - i gues that was in a time when heroines generally wore more clothes, even in summer.

     
  • At 5:52 PM, Blogger Kaushik Gopalan said…

    @Vishnupriya = Guess I misunderstood the point of your post a little.

    Completely agree with you on the heels. Looking good is NOT part of a woman's job and nobody should be expected to wear uncomfortable shoes unless they particularly want to.


    I think of the movie shots as an occupational hazard though, rather than sexism. It's true that male actors dont have to, but that I think has to do with different screen personas rather than any kind of discrimination.


    For example, action heroes(or stunt men) have to do all kinds of dangerous stunts while other actors dont. I dont see that as discrimination, I see that as an occupational hazard.

    I think that as long as the people in charge make every effort to minimize the discomfort to the actress, I'm ok with the whole thing.


    Apologize for rambling on your comment space.

     
  • At 1:43 AM, Blogger twip said…

    I demand shirtless men as well!

    But let us exempt the likes of Anil Kapoor or Sunny Deol from the 'shirtless' list. Eugh.

    But on a serious note, I cant possibly imagine how the actresses put up with the cold. It must be horrible.

    *shudder*

     
  • At 7:18 AM, Blogger Bishu said…

    Looks like your prayers are answered.Check out the Krissh song amidst snowy backdrop starring Hrithik and Priyanka.

     
  • At 8:48 AM, Blogger Szerelem said…

    oh dear...this was too funny!...i competely agree!
    in fact not only should men be barechested in the cold i also demand they wear 4 inch heels to work...(sniggers...lets see how the do that!)

     
  • At 7:41 AM, Blogger Badhri said…

    Vishnu Priya,
    So you empathize with Madhuri for having fallen right into the net of men's "sexist conspiracy". When a director (or whoever came up with the crapy idea) says Hey Madhuri how about acting with just a saree on in Antartica. All she had to say is "No"! She didn't for obvious monetary benefits. She is an actress popular enough to affect the revenues from the movie by her presence or absence. My question is Why is she pissed off? After all she got paid for her acting! (I assume this since I have not heard her complain about the money).

    About the heels, I know girls who fight for their rights to wear-pointed heels (and for that matter I have even seen girls scantily dress themselves to pary in chilly Ohioan winter). It almost convinces me that girls are masochists.

    As for the "sexist conspiracy". If it really is one, it is probably the dumbest and to say that Madhuri fell for it makes her look even dumber. Even if all you say is true, after all masochist girls go very well with male sexist conspirators.

     
  • At 12:17 PM, Blogger Vishnupriya said…

    @kaushik gopalan - hmmm. i don't know about occupational hazard. what if mashuri had contracted frostbite? i think it would merit a lawsuit for wrongful endangerment.

    @the wannabe indian punkster - i agree! we only demand shirtless hrithik.

    @bishu - thanks for the info. i will definitely watch.

    @meena - nice site.

    @szerelem - yes yes! and skirts too! :D

    @badhri - its nto as simple as you make it out to be. when you are in an industry where the heroine has to do what she's told or someone else will, then that can't be called a choice. the girls in ohio also have been told over and over again that they are not attractive unless they show more skin than the next girl, and they'll believe it. look at all the anorexic girls who starve themselves becaus they want to be "beautiful". would you say its all their fault and they are just stupid? or would you also blame a society that forces them to conform to unreasonable standards of appearance.?

     
  • At 6:05 PM, Blogger Kaushik Gopalan said…

    @vishnupriya - I guess it would depend on the degree of discomfort she is put to.


    If they made all possible arrangements to keep her warm between shots, she should have been exposed to the cold only 15-20 mins in a few hours shoot. I think if they did that, they were pretty being reasonable.

    If they didnt even bother doing that much, they should definitely have been sued.

     
  • At 10:31 PM, Blogger 4wD said…

    hmm ... why would anyone see a movie with naked dancing snow men?

    I'd rather see a cartoon. With girls in it. Wearing bikinis. In the cold :)

    I demand more snow scenes, with women in bikinis. Just that they should be doing something excitin, like, snow-boarding or Palmer boards.

     
  • At 12:54 AM, Blogger Vishnupriya said…

    @kaushik gopalan - i agree with you.

    @4wd - in fact, lets make it mandatory for all characters in ALL movies to be only dressed in swimsuits, whether its james bond or spiderman.

     
  • At 6:17 AM, Blogger Rohini Mohan said…

    yes! and they're made to dance barefoot whether it be on top of burning rock, inside forests or on pokey thorns! Enough of the shakuntala, please..
    And also, long straight flowing hair in the summer. Do these directors know how HOT it can be?!
    But you know, when Madhuri, Sridevi etc were Top of the Bollywood Babes, i think they could've flat refused to do such things. You hear of so many "heroine tantrums" anyway. So add a valid one to that list!

     
  • At 12:41 AM, Blogger P said…

    I blame Yash Chopra and his anal obsession with Switzerland and women in chiffon..didn't he flag off this unwavering trend?
    Like your post..well written!

     
  • At 11:04 PM, Blogger Canary said…

    Well, lets just say women are the prettiest creations so they are displayed lik dat ! grrr... though dats just an excuse !!

    Anyway.. toppled upon your blog and really liked wat i saw.. :) :)

     
  • At 6:27 PM, Blogger Sparsh said…

    u given up blogging dude?

     
  • At 6:27 PM, Blogger Gypsynan said…

    the fact that you wrote about hindi movie songs, TOTALLY makes me want to ask you to check out the video link in my blog! that's my comment, vish darling!

     
  • At 9:46 PM, Blogger Nabanita said…

    owww....gr8 one

     
  • At 2:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    gr8 post...liked ur writing style...and I totaly wid u on this...SHOW ME UR BOOBIES!

     

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