The first working women of Hindi films

Aradhika Sharma

At last! Here’s an acknowledgement of the social-cultural-economic importance of a class of women, who have, since the inception of Indian cinema, played a vital role in it. And since cinema is but a reflection of society, the opposite is naturally true as well.

In her book about the courtesans in Indian cinema, Ruth Vanita has covered over200 films from the 1930s to the present. Among these movies are Devdas (1935, 1955 and 2002 versions), Bhumika (1977), Teesri Kasam (1966), Pakeezah (1971), Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985), Mandi (1983), Begum Jaan (2017) Barsaat ki Raat (1960) and Ishaqzaade (2012). Vanita argues that the courtesans were the “first group of single, working women depicted in South Asian movies.” As opposed to the heroines — who were supposedly the purer representation of womanhood, these women were independent, made their own choices (almost), had their own money, travelled freely and conversed without fear.

They dominated the arts and were invited and celebrated in the topmost echelons for their artistry and conversations. Some were even awarded by the government of India. Some of the outstanding performers, aesthetes and artists  were Malka Jaan and her daughter Gauhar Jaan (1873-1930) who recorded the first-ever Indian song in 1902, Jaddanbai (1892-1949) who was a master music composer, singer, actress, and even film maker, Begum Akhtar (1914-1974) who was awarded the  Padma Bhushan and Zohrabai Ambalewali (1918-1990).

Unlike the item girls of today who are over sexualised and appear only for one song to titillate and so as to add to the salability of the movie, most courtesans played a major role in taking the plot of the film forward and in defining the social mores of the time, for example, Mughal-e-Azam (1960), probably the greatest courtesan film of all time. Set in the latter half of the 16th century, this young girl ruled the heart of Salim, the prince of Hindustan, and caused a rift between the emperor and his heir apparent, altering the course of history.

The courtesans are the groundbreakers of defining the pleasure principle, so much in conversation today.  They are matriarchal. In Hindi films, they have been imagined in various situations — as co-mothers in Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) and Sunny (1984); as second wives in Shyam Benegal’s Zubeidaa and Bhumika and Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s Bajirao Mastani. Mostly, however, they are the outsiders in the institution called marriage. They could only provide friendship and love as in Amar Prem (1972) and Muqaddar ka Sikandar (1978) but not legally live in it.  There are others who are artists or small-town erotic folk dance as in Teesri Kasam, Anarkali of Aarah and Bhumika — women who lead flamboyant and unconventional lives. 

Many times the ambiguity of the sex trade versus the artist comes up, but various directors define it according to the plot. Labelled variously as tawaif, nachnewali, vaishya, kothewali, she is sometimes the victim and sometimes a predator. The portrayals have been as varied as the actresses who have played the role.

In fact, every major actress has played the courtesan in some movie or other — Suchitra Sen (Mamta), Shabana Azmi (Mandi), Smita Patil (Bhumika), Madhubala (Mughal-e-Azam), Meena Kumari (Pakeezah), Deepika Padukone (Bajirao Mastani), Rekha (Umrao Jaan), Karisma Kapoor (Zubeidaa), Wahida Rehman (Guide), Madhuri Dixit (Devdas), Vidya Balan (Begum Jaan) — the list is as endless as the facets of the courtesan’s  lives and roles displayed by these actresses.

Vanita demonstrates that these women signify the nation’s past. They trace their heritage to the fourth-century Kamasutra (Utsav, 1984) to the times of the Mughals (Anarkali 1953) to Mumbai’s bar dancers (Chandni Bar 2001). They exist in small towns (Mandi, 1983, Anarkali of Aarah, 2017) and in large metros. They are and have been germane to the Indian society through the ages and as times have changed, so have they metamorphosed. They remain, however, the “first group of modern women in Hindi films…. working professionals living on their own or in matrilineal families. Like male protagonists, they travel widely and develop networks of friends and chosen kin. They have relations with men outside marriage and become single mothers”

And of course, they get to perform the best songs in the film!