‘DEPICTION OF FEMALE DESIRE NEEDS TO BE NORMALISED’
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; March 10, 2024)

Leena Yadav, who directed the 2015 drama Parched – the film revolves around three women living in seclusion in their village, who decide to take charge of their lives – tells us that depiction of female desire on screen has increased, which is a step forward because it sparks conversation.

She says, “Female desire is shown from a lot of perspectives, and many of them are not to my liking, but it's fine as long as it's there (on screen) and there is a conversation about it. I think we still have a long way to go. We need to normalize depiction of the female desire. It is still the case that one film on such a subject will come out, there will be some conversation around it, and then no other project on similar lines will follow. In a love story or any portrayal of a relationship, a depiction of a woman’s needs should be normalized. It should be the most normal thing to explore, like we have been exploring the male desire for years and years.”

She adds, “Actors should not have a problem with portraying female desires on screen, but they do, which is fine. After one gets past that, there is society. The societal framework is important to navigate. I remember some sex scenes from Parched were leaked online. That is how suppressed and starved we are for sexuality as a society. At that time, there was another (short) film that Anurag Kashyap had done with Radhika Apte; those scenes were also leaked. I think there needs to be a change at the societal level. Just putting some content out is not enough. We have to create enough awareness and normalize it in society to really progress further."

Addressing the same depravity in society, when Radhika Apte’s scenes had leaked from the Anurag Kashyap short, the director had said, “You try to take a step forward as a filmmaker, they take you five steps back."

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Leena Yadav says, “To be honest, the depiction of sexuality on screen is a distant goal right now. I am appalled at the content now, where one sees such underdeveloped female characters, at times. If the conversation has progressed to discussing sexuality, let’s at least see female characters being portrayed properly. But we still come across sloppy writing of female characters. Within the setup of any blockbuster, there’s nothing preventing filmmakers from better defining the female characters – it wouldn’t make the film less commercial. But, in 90% of our commercial cinema, the depiction of fully developed female characters is lacking. Therefore, a decent portrayal of female sexuality remains a distant destination."

She adds, "We have to create enough awareness about the female desires and normalize it in society to progress further.”

Kausar Munir, lyricist who has written songs like Doobe Doobe for Gehraiyaan and Main Pareshaan for Ishaqzaade says, "When one thinks of songs portraying female desires in films, the first song that comes to mind is 'Na jao saiyaan' from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam which had pathos, longing, and oppression, capturing the beauty of the scene. But that song was more about a woman who is wronged and oppressed. Many of Gulzar Saheb's songs, such as 'Aaj kal paon zameen par nahi parte mere,' when looked at from a woman's perspective, are songs about female desire. In fact, 'mera kuch samaan' is tinged with longing, desire, and loss. Gulzar saheb comes out as a champion of (writing) female desires in songs. Even a song like Kajra Re, which is kind of a club song with the line 'aankhein bhi kamaal karti hain, personal se sawaal karti hain', is the ultimate flirtatious line, layered with context where she is asking -'what's next? where do you want to take it now?' Many of Kaifi Azmi's songs have also expressed female desire. One of the best songs on female desires is Jaan Nisar Akhtar's 'Ae-dil-e-nadaan,' with the second line 'Aarzoo Kya Hai, Zustajoo Kya Hai,' beautifully depicts desire."
She adds, "When people, and by people I mean mostly men, think of an item song, it's often very different from what female desire actually encompasses—it's much more varied."

Talking about her songs, she says,"'Gehraiyaan' is particularly fascinating; it goes into forbidden desires. But it is for both men and women. I was asked to capture the film's essence in the song. I coined the word 'besafar' for the song, which many people thought was an actual word. Similarly, I created the word 'Ishaqzaade,' which, in fact, is not a real word. Reflecting on it now, 'Main Pareshaan Pareshan Pareshan' from Ishaqzaade is also about female desire. What else would she be pareshaan about?"