Indian film puts Bollywood in spotlight

INDIA: A new Indian film looks at the sensitive topic of sexual harassment in the workplace at a time when Bollywood has come under fire for its portrayal of women, after a fatal gang-rape shocked the nation.

“Inkaar” (Denial), a Hindi movie combining crime and romance, explores how a relationship turns sour between Rahul, the alpha male CEO of an advertising agency, and his ambitious protegee Maya, who rises up the company's ranks.

She claims sexual harassment, a charge he flatly denies, and the film develops through a series of flashbacks as the pair tell their story to a social worker looking at the case.

The theme is an unusual one in an industry that has faced fresh criticism for objectifying women as merely skimpily dressed arm candy for a macho hero.

The brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi on December 16 sparked shockwaves and protests across the nation, along with much soul-searching about its treatment and portrayal of women.

Director Sudhir Mishra said the timing of Inkaar's release, on Friday, was a coincidence but he hoped the film would spark debate on under-discussed issues facing modern and rapidly urbanising India.

“The film explains the environment of a workplace from both men's and women's points of view,” he told AFP.

Chitrangada Singh, the female lead in Inkaar, said song-and-dance numbers in films had been around for decades. She pointed in particular to Helen, a legendary Indian star in the 1970s and the most famous “item girl”. “Helen did a lot of dances during my mother's time but men were not like this,” she told AFP.

AFP