The two great ancient epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have provided a foundation for the burgeoning of Indian commercial cinema, that later came to be known as Bollywood.
Early Indian cinema took on an interpretation of a distinct moral code at a time when India was under the ruling of the West. Indian cinema was in very early stages when the Mahatma Gandhi-led national movement was at its peak. At that time it was no surprise that most Bollywood directors and screenplay writers were influenced by the Gandhian worldview. Many directors were conscious about making their films a vehicle for delivering messages of social reform.
During Mahatma Gandhi’s era, Indian commercial cinema reflected Mahatma’s social concerns. Caste based inequalities were tackled in films like Sujata, Acchut and Haasil. Dil Ek Mandir focussed on the oppression of women in family and society. And most prominent perhaps which seems to be most relevant in Bollywood films today is the disparity between rich and poor in films like Pyaasa, Lawaaris and Jaagte Raho.
In this modern age, Bollywood continues to embrace commercialism. Just as in the West, there is a culture for people to read about A-list actors in Grazia or Heat magazines; pages brimming with celebrity diets, fitness regimes and DVDs, fans of Bollywood actors and actresses seek to emulate their screen icons, albeit through their clothes, makeup, dance styles or workout regimes.
In India the trend to copy the lives of Bollywood screen idols is evidentially extreme. The Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor caused a storm when she dropped down to a size zero. Last year, her nutritionist brought out a book detailing Kareena’s eating regime which led to her size zero. The foreword of the book was written by Kareena herself, endorsing her size zero diet. Suddenly women in India were obsessed with becoming the ultimate size zero. On Western catwalks the size zero is frowned upon. And it seems bizarre that Indian women once celebrated for their natural fuller figures are choosing to be more willowy and waif like in favour of their European counterparts.
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