ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing ArtsISSN (Online): 2582-7472
VIRTUOSITY OF RAJA RAVI VARMA AND SHYAM BENEGAL’S BHUMIKA – A VISUAL RELATION Rishabh Kumar 1 1 Assistant
Professor, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Gandhinagar, (Gujarat),
India 2 Assistant
Professor, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Raebareli, (Uttar Pradesh),
India
1. INTRODUCTION Raja Ravi Varma the renowned Indian artist used the
European academic art movement in India with real Indian mythical sensibility
to address societal significance aesthetically in his classical paintings. He
started the Indian Modern Art Movement at the beginning of the nineteenth
century. One of the best painters in Indian art history, Ravi Varma was an
Indian painter and artist who was born in Kilimnoor
to an aristocratic Travancore family. He is renowned for his incredible
paintings, many of which are inspired by classic Indian epics like the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana. In many ways, Indian culture, religion, and
tradition are greatly influenced by the two great epics, the Ramayana, and the
Mahabharata. Sengupta
(2011) contends that these
epic tales are transmitted to future generations not through books but rather
through the traditions and cultural milieux in which one is born. He adds that
neither of the two epics is regarded as the inspired word of God. But just as
the Bible and Greek mythology must historically represent Westerners, these
tremendous traditions function as pure denotations for Hindus. One of the few
painters, Ravi Varma, was able to successfully combine Indian culture with
academic painting methods. He is regarded as one of the most well-known Indian
artists in part because of this. With
his flawless oleograph and lithograph methods, Varma is also credited with
popularising Indian style and household posters throughout the world. His
depictions of Hindu deities eventually inspired many people from lower classes
to worship these deities. These people were frequently prohibited from
accessing temples during that time, so they brought these reasonably priced
prints of gods into their homes to worship. All people adored the beauty of
South Indian women, which Varma's paintings emphasised. By portraying ladies
with their emotions and wearing modest interpretations of Indian clothing, most
notably the saree and its embellishments, he unmistakably caught the melancholy
of Indian culture. With around sixteen different
Indian languages, including English, and across its States and Union
Territories, India is the largest film producer in the world. Let's first grasp
the history of cinema in India and examine the forerunners of cinema before we
attempt to analyse the movie in question. Modern Indian Theatre began when a
theatre was built in Belgachia, a region in north
Kolkata, during the time that cinema first appeared in India, about 1825. At
the time, it was under British colonial rule Deshpandé et al. (1993). One of the first Bengali dramas created and performed at this time was
Buro Shalikher Ghaare Roa (1860) by Michael
Madhusudan Dutt. At the same time, Girish Chandra's
performance of Dinabandhu Mitra's play Nil Darpan
(1858–1859) at the national theatre in Kolkata sparked both praise and
criticism for portraying the misery and tragedy of indigo growing in rural
Bengal and playing a significant role in the indigo uprising. Despite being
ruthlessly put down, the indigo farmers' uprising had a profound effect on the
government, which created the Indigo Commission in 1860. Yarrow
(2001). The Lumière brothers' short
films, which had their premiere on December 28, 1895, in Paris, were a
breakthrough in the use of projected images for both entertainment and
communication, giving rise to a new kind of media known as cinematographic
motion pictures. Though there had been earlier cinematic successes and
showings, neither their calibre nor their momentum matched the Cinématographe Lumière's ascent
to fame Gokulsing and Dissanayake (2004). Soon after, film production companies popped up all over the world.
During the first ten years of the motion picture industry, film went from being
a novelty to becoming a well-established mass entertainment industry. The
original motion pictures had no sound and were in black and white and lasted
less than a minute Khanna (2003). The first professionally produced feature film, Raja
Harishchandra was released in 1913. The film was created by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (1870–1944), known as the
"Father of Indian Cinema" Bose
(2008). Phalke watched the English movie "Life of Christ," which
inspired him to start visualising images of Indian gods and goddesses. He was
obsessed by the desire to see Indian imagery on the big screen in a wholly
Swadeshi endeavour. The British government, which was dominating India at the time of World War II, used cinema as a medium to spread war propaganda for a brief period in 1939. They established a film advisory council in Mumbai and ordered a few movies, including Khwaja Ahmed Abbas' Dharti Ke Lal (soils of the Son) Srivastava (2017). Neecha Nagar (The Lower City) won the "Best Human Document" prize at the 1948 Cannes Film Festival, while Doctor Kotnis ki Amar Kahani and Dharti Ke Lal were also well-liked movies. The majority of Indian films made in 1947 represented hope, romance, great aspiration, values, freedom, and the victory of the liberation fight Agarwal (2014). New social issues were attempted in movies like Samaj ko Badal dalo (Change the society) by Vijay Bhatt, Sindoor (about widow remarriage) by Kishore Sahu, Shaheed (The Martyr) by Ramesh Saigal, Hum Bhi Insaan Hai (We are also humans) by Phani Majumdar, and many others. The modern Indian cinema industry started to take shape about 1947. During this time, the movie industry had a tremendous and unprecedented development. Famous filmmakers like Satyajit Ray and Bimal Roy made movies about the daily difficulties and survival of the lower caste Singh and Pandey (2020). Films with social messages started to take centre stage while historical and mythological subjects started to fade away. Prostitution, dowry, polygamy, and other social problems that were prevalent at the time were topics covered in these movies. Most movies had mastered the melodrama style by this point. At this point, music was a necessary element of the typical Indian movie Dwyer and Patel (2002). Characters appear in movies dressed appropriately and surrounded by the suitable environment. However, there is a clear mystery at the heart of the historical ensemble concept since it might not be possible to carefully replicate earlier styles, shapes, and textures. (2002) Street The audience's comprehension that the movie is historically accurate doesn't depend on any particular knowledge of the past; rather, it comes from recognising obvious clues and visual depictions of things that are thought to be plausible. The most shocking examples of this peculiarity are renderings of famous historical persons wearing clothes, when it is crucial to include certain crucial signals to convince the audience that it is the life and seasons of this particular character that are being shown Edensor (2016). The ethos and ideologies of every civilization at any given moment have always been reflected in cinema. The personalities became the most important medium, but other elements such as clothing, music, and opulent objects were also used to emphasise this reflection. The characters' worldview, way of thinking, concerns, or prejudices were the same as those of the general public Hayward (2002). Through clothing elements that can serve as symbols, film costumes create their implications. As a result, the costumes seen in the movie can also be viewed in a semiotic context. The Semiotician's job in the Saussurean method is to look past the specific elements of clothing, such as tone, texture, surface, lines, and motifs. Semiotics can be used to anything that should be perceived as suggesting anything, in general, to everything that has importance within a society. In fact, one can use semiotic analysis to any dramatic art and trade, including dancing, make-up, clothing, and scene planning, even within the context of theatrical expressions. Semiotics examines everything that denotes a distinct meaning from what we typically refer to as clothing signs. Signs in costumes can be seen as colours, symbols, graphics, fabrics, and types of clothing and adornments Berger et al. (1972). The quirky or new wave-inspired films made in India in a
variety of genres have received praise and recognition on a national and
international level. Shyam Benegal
is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker who was
born in Hyderabad on December 14, 1934. He is among other notable directors. He
is frequently hailed as the father of parallel cinema and is regarded as one of
the greatest directors of the post-1970s era. He has won numerous honours,
including a Filmfare Award, a Nandi Award, and 18 National Film Awards. He
received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's top
honour in the art of cinema, in 2005. He received the Padma Shri, the
fourth-highest civilian honour bestowed by the Indian government, in 1976, and
the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour, in 1991 for his services
to the arts. In 1962, he produced Gher
Betha Ganga (Ganges at the Doorstep), his first Gujarati documentary movie.
Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), and Bhumika
(1977), Benegal's first four full-length movies,
established him as a pioneer of the era's new wave film trend. The Muslim women
Trilogy is made up of Benegal's films Mammo (1994), Sardari
Begum (1996), and Zubeidaa (2001), all of
which were nominated for National Film Awards for Best Feature Film. The
National Film Award for Best Feature Film went to Benegal
for seven times. He was also awarded the V. Shantaram
Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Shyam Benegal’s 1977 Indian Hindi film Bhumika is one of his works. Smita Patil, Amol Palekar, Anant Nag, Naseeruddin Shah, and Amrish Puri are the movie's stars. While all of Bhumika's formal elements, including sound, music, off-screen space, and poetic monologues, cannot be discussed in this research, two key elements—costume and non-diegetic shots—are isolated for consideration. Additionally demonstrating a similar methodology to Varma's work the intellectual underpinning of this goal, namely the reconciliation of the individual and society, is also presented in the women-focused film Bhumika. As a result, the term "Life" describes how non-diegetic montages act as clues and traces from a world or civilization that does not fall under the creative purview of the diegesis. The autobiography of Marathi and
Hindi film legend Hansa Wadkar from the 1940s served
as the inspiration for Bhumika. According to author Hansa, the book's title,
loosely translated as "Listen, and I'll Tell," was taken from his
1959 mega-hit musical film Sangte Aika Wadkar (2014). As stated in her biography, she began appearing in live musical
productions as a young actress in order to primarily
support her mother and grandmother. This scenario is transformed into a
human-interest drama in the film, which follows a traditional courtesan as she
struggles to understand modern mass culture and develop her own unique
identity. The introductory story has Usha, the
movie star, fleeing her husband and eventually finding refuge in the
restrictive limits of Kale's estate's feudal landlord, first with her male
co-star Rajan. Her husband and the police show up to
save her from Kale. Now that she is free, she refuses the support from her
husband, her now-married, adult daughter, whose modernism breaks with the
matrilineal tradition, and her ex-lover Rajan,
apparently in favour of the freedom that she yearned for Vasudev (1986). 2. UNCONVENTIONAL
PROTAGONIST Women seeking to become independent through various social
relationships, failing, and then “going away” have been discussed frequently.
The films of the time, including Indian cinema, commonly included a common and
well-known cliché. The feminist critic Susie Tharu's
criticism of Usha's counterpart Sulabha in Jabbar
Patel's Umbartha (The Threshold, 1981), who
was also portrayed by Smita Patil, is eloquent
evidence of the stereotype in Bhumika: “The film establishes her as the central
character as well as the problem (the disruption, the enigma) the film will
explore and resolve... it is clear that to search herself is, for a woman She
will fail, but she can do so in a heroic and wonderful way in her endeavour”. (Third
World Women's Cinema, Economic and Political Weekly, Bombay, 17 May
1986). The early modernist painter Raja Ravi Varma, on the other hand, favoured
Indian men and women in his works by using a range of media. The definitions of
"artist" and "Indian artist" have undergone a significant
change because to Raja Ravi Varma, the first and only Indian artist from
British India (1848-1906). Due to a number of creative
and more fundamentally societal aspects, he is recognised as one of the
greatest painters in Indian art history. First of all,
his works are recognised as some of the best examples of the fusion of wholly
Indian sensibilities with European technology. His
paintings preserved the tradition and elegance of Indian art while
incorporating the most current European academic art techniques of the era.
Second, he is renowned for selling oleographs of his paintings at a fair price
to the general public as approachable popular art. A
near relative of the Travancore royal family in the Indian state of Kerala,
Varma emerged as a synthesis of tradition and modernity, a pioneer of
modernism. Eventually, this led to the creation of an entirely new genre of
mythological oil paintings Neumayer et al. (2003). 3. BHUMIKA (THE ROLE) In addition to being a common
household idol, Ravi Varma's depiction of Gods and Goddesses also flourished in
mythological film and television. His storytelling was too prevalent to be
avoided even in mainstream social cinema. In films like Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Ram Teri Ganga Maili, the film directors have been motivated by the
Raja's legacy of the wet saris he painted on his ladies in numerous paintings.
Women are personified in Raja Ravi Varma's paintings as described by Nirupama Dutt, including Meena
Kumari in Guru Dutt’s Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam,
and the courtesan Smita in Shyam
Benegal’s Bhumika. 3.1. THE WIFE AND LOVER The film Bhumika builds its enigmatic lead character with a heavy undertone of nostalgia through a series of sepia flashbacks showing Usha's upbringing in the Konkan, a western region of India. These flashbacks show Bhumika's contacts with Dalve, who will become her husband in return for helping her struggling family. This is without a doubt Bhumika's most attractive quality. Usha is depicted in the black and white photo wearing traditional Indian clothing for females, including a long skirt that reaches her ankles and a top with puffy sleeves Jain (2003). In other memories, her husband is portrayed as a crafty opportunist who takes over of her professional life. Amol Palekar, who plays Dalve, can be seen wearing a kurta and a topi on his head and baggy pyjamas. Figure 1
Arjuna travels to Dwaraka to be with Lord Krishna while he is in the middle
of a self-imposed exile for breaking the terms of the agreement over spending
time with Draupadi and his four siblings. Arjuna was eager to wed Subhadra when
he initially fell in love with the Lord's stunning sister. Arjuna kidnaps
Subhadra and then weds her after pretending to be a recluse. Subhadra is seen
in the picture beaming, wearing a red sari with a gold border, and being
delightfully chubby. Her nose ring sparkles seductively, and her hair is covered
with beautiful diamond adornments. She is eschewing Arjun's attempts to push
her into his path. Before turning attention to the background and realising
what is being recounted in the background as well in stunning and deeply
textured works, it is approvingly regarded to be a classic oleograph of Raja
Ravi Varma. 3.2. THE COURT DANCER WITH ELEGENCE Figure 2
Vasantasena is one of the most well-known characters in Indian
classical theatre. This unique story of love, grief, and desire features
accurate depictions of the characters from Sudraka’s Mrichchakatika. The playwright departs from the traditional
methods used by Indian dramatists. She does not fit the stereotypes of what it
means to be a mother, a wife, or a daughter. She is a unique paradox. She is
both a coveted commodity and a self-sufficient person who values each individual's right to self-determination. She has
economic influence, which is significantly different from the traditional roles
that women had at the time in theatre. Despite this, she lacks social rights
because she is a courtesan. Ironically, she does not have access to the perks
enjoyed by married women who lack any sense of independence, despite
the fact that she is not dependent on money. However, Vasantasena is an admirable figure since she defies society
without a fight. When it comes to partnerships, Vasantasena makes the decisions and assumes the initiative.
The classic Sanskrit drama nayika are frequently observed to be devoted to
their loves or husbands to the point of religion. The person who is often
regarded as the leader is the nayaka. Sudraka's Vasantasena can tell the difference between adoration and
love. She understands the difference between true love and politeness in the
workplace. She epitomises desire, wit, and every other trait that a modern city
lady aspires to possess. She is a unique person with a unique personality. Not
just because of her physical attraction to him, she loves Charudatta
for his goodness and sincerity. She showed compassion and charity by freeing Madanika so that she might marry Sarvilaka,
and bravery by persevering in the face of a formidable foe like Samsthanak. She doesn't lack maternal instincts, is
disloyal, or is submissive. As a result, Vasantasena
is a spherical character. In Bhumika, this process of
rewriting history in order to create a tragic
narrative idiom is presented in black and white. Smita
Patil's female lead character has the opportunity to
explore the wonders of an indigenous popular culture thanks to the plot in
particular. The way Usha edits the images of her partners, and her clothing
beautifully conveys her suffering. As a result, the character's portrayal
through the clothing helps to show how the woman's conscience compels her to
respect social norms while also torturing the woman locked in the role of wife
to be required to play the conventional role as required by Indian society. One
of the key influences on Marathi and Gujarati theatrical costumes has been
identified as Raja Ravi Varma, the well-known female impersonators of the early
20th century. During the movie's opening song, Smita
Patil performs on stage while wearing a stunning sari, numerous layers of
makeup, and a nose ring. The dancing performance comes to a finish, and Usha
promptly changes into her everyday attire. It is highly likely that after the
scene, someone will notice that the woman is an actress, the wife of a man who
is far older than she is, and the mother of a teenage girl. The scenario from 25 years
earlier where an eight or ten-year-old girl is trying to save the chicken from
her own mother and no one else is then flashed back in the narrative. Following
that, the story keeps emphasising Usha's romantic interest in Anant Nag. Given
the girl's close bond with the chicken and the mother stealing it to prepare
food for the visitors, it seems like a bizarre sight. This episode makes
references to Usha's constant efforts to protect herself from other people in
the film. She fights with everyone who cares for them or is otherwise involved
in their lives in this endeavour Bhattacharjee and Thomas (2013). One could say that when we were making the movie, we saw the two
genres of "fringe ruralist realism" and
"creating the fictions of a collective "past" as complementary
methods for addressing the same issue: achieving an authentically indigenous
feel for a viewership that wouldn't want to engage with the dominant
mass-entertainment modes of India's film industry. As a result of how it
broadened the range of issues in New Indian Cinema and subsequently allowed for
a longer interaction with the mainstream cultural vernacular itself, this is
without a doubt the area where Bhumika has had the most impact. Michelle Barrett explains how representational methods are given equal weight in the process of cultural production in a clear and understandable manner. She addresses, for instance, how diverse modes of representation are impacted by genres, standards, the presence of conventional forms of communication, and other factors. We are now introduced to the disturbing and contentious "realistic" reality. Though it may be imperfect, Bhoomika's shape is simple to fit inside a broadly realist framework. However, despite all of this work, it is a complete failure. The most ardent advocate of realism, Lukacs, claims that genuine great realism shows society and people as a whole, rather than emphasising only one or the other of their characteristics. This standard shows how artistic movements that are either extraverted or solely introspective deteriorate and distort reality in similar ways. Thus, three-dimensionality, an all-inclusive characteristic that is endowed with diverse human interactions and characters from real life, is defined as realism. 3.3. THE BEAUTY WITH COURAGE
Despite what his critics claim,
Raja Ravi Varma's female characters are challenging to woo. His art and their
allure continue. From our puja rooms to the Ramlila grounds, from the large
screen to the little screen, from ad labels to holiday greeting cards, they can
be seen everywhere Thakurta and Thakurta (1986). Through the use of carefully chosen settings
and costumes, shot compositions, and specialised methods utilised primarily to
drive the plot, such as paintings emoting expressions of various ladies, the
division between Usha's private and public lives is skilfully conveyed. The
filmmaker, for instance, employs the picture of Smita
scrutinising herself in the mirror precisely seven times as a tool to either
reflect on her past or find inspiration for her future actions. Benegal wants to demonstrate how Smita's
response and decision to leave the house after the conflict are results of her
inner strength and progress, therefore the mirror look is crucial at this particular time. She is acting in such a risky way because
that is who she is, and the only way she can recognise and comprehend her
predicament is by staring in the mirror. The employment of comparable visuals throughout the rest of the movie implies that it was intentional. This uses similar imagery to the artwork "Lady with the Mirror" by Raja Ravi Verma. In a flashback, Smita is back in front of the mirror after her marriage to Amol, but this time before she accuses him of using her mother and grandmother as justification for convincing her to keep making movies Sachdeva (2019). She leaves her home and is subsequently observed gazing at her image in a hotel room mirror. Benegal transitions to some of her movie clips from this image. Looking in the mirror has a new significance at this time as she considers her acting roles in various movies where the most orthodox traditions of the Indian social elite are venerated as the best qualities a woman can have Dasgupta and Datta (2018). She is reminded once more of the tension and contrast between her deeds in real life and the characters she portrays in movies after seeing a reflection of herself. Smita and co-star Rajan argue in another scene. After seeing herself, she attacks him once more in the mirror. Even when she is emotionally attached to Naseeruddin Shah and feels like killing herself, she swallows the pills while facing the mirror. Here, Benegal’s choice to take the pills is amply shown to be a brave deed; as a result, her effort necessitates further thought on her side. Benegal uses this strategy once again toward the end of the film. Smita saw Amol and the cops pulling up to the house of the landlord Amrish. She is aware that eventually she will have to depart from the family. She approaches the dressing table and pulls a chair up to the mirror. She gives herself another once-over before beginning to remove all the jewellery Amrish had given her. This deliberate act serves as a symbol of her total rejection of him. The relationship between the individual and society is distorted as a result of this deliberate usage of a specific type of imagery, which appears seven times in the movie. Benegal’s mirror sequences initially appear to be an expression of self-reflection from a variety of life viewpoints Rajadhyaksha and Willemen (2014). 4. THE PORTRAYAL One of the founders of modern Indian painting is Raja Ravi Verma. His works on Indian subjects were produced using western techniques, and he typically portrayed beautiful women with seductive characteristics. Since they are both creations of modern India, both artists have made significant contributions to the drive for art revival. In order to investigate the significance of gender in connection to painted space, Raja Ravi Verma's case and Shyam Benegal's portrayal of a lady in his film Bhumika have been contrasted. The female characters played by Smita Patil, and Raja Ravi Varma are likened to Usha, who was portrayed by Smita Patil in Bhumika, in their respective places. Both the setting of the artist's painting and the character in the film adopt a gender-inclined strategy that incorporates concepts of the masculine and feminine. Some eminent art critics claim that locations' relevance is mostly reliant on theoretical perception. Self-reflection, or the capacity to occasionally subject one's own opinions to a process of critical questioning, is a prerequisite for any critical action. Benegal, however, ignores the crucial aspect that self-reflection takes place within the confines of a social environment, a world that shrinks more and more throughout the course of the film. Benegal uses the news pieces just to move the movie's chronologically, to only provide the backdrop to the narrative in the foreground, rather than relating Hansa's experiences to the social environment and setting of the time. In many ways, Hansa's life story depends on how Smita and Amrish Puri are portrayed. Benegal seeks to criticise Amrish, a wealthy landowner who is also a brahmin, in this passage because of his caste background. Corm Kaplan presents this idea fairly powerfully in her book, Culture and Feminism: In that envisaged society, all other social structural connections disintegrate and disappear, leaving us with the simple drama of sexual difference as the only scenario that matters. Mass market romance frequently portrays sexual diversity as inherent and unchangeable, pairing an equally “given” universal masculinity with a constant, transhistorical femininity. 5. ANALYSIS Ravi Varma is
widely renowned for his paintings of seductively looking at the viewer,
lovelorn women. His sketchbooks are filled with various examples of women in
everyday circumstances, so it is clear that he
experimented with the subject, but relatively few of these sketches seem to
have developed into final works. Some of the paintings aren't strictly
portraits because it's unknown who commissioned them, no identifiable ladies
are depicted in them, and they instead show people in situations rather than
just as individuals. In his academic paintings, Ravi Varma attempts to move
beyond the prevailing paradigms of anthropological portraiture or studio
portraits of the time in order to explore the subjective
potential of the Indian woman in her own world. This characterization is
explored with great empathy and sensitivity and sheds light on the idealised
female self in the turn of the century Dinkar (2014). Usha regularly seen dancing in Bhumika while wearing a red
brocade top over a light olive-green sari with a golden border draped in
Marathi style. Her hairstyle, which resembles an apsara, a celestial courtesan
known for seducing Indra and his courtesans in legend, is a flower-adorned bun
with heavy jewellery on the neck and waist. By observing a number
of specific cues, the audience can interpret Bhumika's messages. The
time of day can be deduced by Usha's arrival in several sequences clad in a
white nightgown. There are references to the characters' emotional makeup,
social standing, and career background in the movie's attire. Bhumika uses
clothing among other things to illustrate the concepts of Usha's many stages in
life. Usha is dressed in a silk sari and blouse at the height of her successful
acting career, along with a mangalsutra around her neck,
representing the good money she has accumulated from her profession, while they
argue about Keshav's dependence on Usha's income. We can categorically
establish links between attire and emotional state in the scene where Usha is
shown leaving the house wearing a plain cotton sari with a floral-printed
blouse and returning wearing a maroon-colored sari
with a red bindi on her forehead, representing
a married woman in Hindu culture. This is taking into account
the emotional forlornness and desperate attitudes of Usha. Varma's artwork has flourished for more than a century in addition to enduring. His painting “Bharatiya nari” had a profound effect on theatre, film, television, and popular art, such as posters and calendars (Nirupama Dutt, Women in Raja Ravi Verma Mould). Another instance of an emotional state and status change that is indicated through the usage of clothing is Usha moving in with Vinayak Kale, a wealthy businessman played by Amrish Puri. She is welcomed at his home by the mother, his first wife, and the boy while wearing a fitted sleeveless blouse and a beige silk sari. Then she gave a red sari and a few accessories to wear inside the house so that she would look like a decent housewife. She is seen toward the end of the film wearing a green cotton sari and finding comfort in her alone. Hindu society forbids non-widowed women from dressing in all-white attire, hence Usha's frequent donning of cotton saris during her relationship with Vinayak Kale further emphasises her appreciation for tradition and custom. Thus, Usha's saris from this film have come to stand for her aspirations. In her sari at the beginning of the film, Usha is not wearing any dark colours. For instance, according to Brockett, the brocade she is wearing in the opening scene's light, crisp, and slightly glossy surface expresses femininity and brittleness. As the film came to a finish, she mostly wore saris in dark hues. "Materials with thick threads...have a homespun quality associated with the working class," claims Brockett. Usha's frequent donning of cotton saris during her engagement with Vinayak Kale also serves as a representation of her love for tradition and custom because the Hindu culture forbids a woman who is not widowed from donning plain white attire. Usha's goal is thus represented by the saris she dons in this film. At the beginning of the film, Usha is dressed in a sari of a lighter hue. For instance, she is wearing brocade in the first scene, which according to Brockett conveys brittleness and femininity due to its light, crisp, and slightly glossy surface. At the conclusion of the film, she wore mostly dark-coloured saris. It represents a fraudster taking advantage of a respectable career or pretending to work in a different field. The movie's events indicate that Usha's first husband is always poor while acting and thinking like a wealthy guy. He wears slippers, a pair of basic slacks, a long shirt with the collar buttoned up, and a cap. Each of his costumes is a contradiction bundle that depicts his character, and as the film progresses, his physique shifts from the traditional middle-class Indian garments to Western trouser suits. Figure 4
6. CONCLUSION The way women are treated in patriarchal societies is exemplified by Bhumika. Relationships in this society are analysed from the perspective of men, much like Raja Ravi Varma's image with its reflections of several women. In the film Bhumika, Usha portrays a variety of characters, from the frightened wife of Davle to the romantic interest Rajan, the mistress of Sunil Verma, to the representation of a conventional Hindu wife to Vinayak Kale. His representations of Indian ladies earned such admiration that a stunning woman was usually said to appear as though she had just emerged from a Varma painting.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS None. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS None. REFERENCES Art Culture (2010, July 19). Shyam Benegal on his Love for Art. Hindustan Times. Berger, J., Blomberg, S., Fox, C., Dibb, M., and Hollis, R. (1972). Ways of Seeing. Penguin Books. Bhattacharjee, S., and Thomas, C. J. (2013). Society, Representation, and Textuality : The Critical Interface. SAGE Publications India. Bose, M. (2008). Bollywood : A History. Roli Books Private. Dasgupta, R. K., and Datta, S. (2018). 100 Essential Indian Films. Rowman & Littlefield. Deshpandé, R., Farley, J. U., and Webster Jr, F. E. (1993). Corporate Culture, Customer Orientation, and Innovativeness in Japanese Firms : A Quadrad Analysis. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 23-37. https://doi.org/10.2307/1252055. Dinkar, N. (2014). Private Lives and Interior Spaces : Raja Ravi Varma's Scholar Paintings. Art History, 37(3), 510-535. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8365.12085. Dutt, N. (2002). Women in Raja Ravi Varma Mold. Dwyer, R., and Patel, D. (2002). Cinema India : The Visual Culture of Hindi Film. Rutgers University Press. Edensor, T. (2016). National Identity, Popular Culture, and Everyday Life. Bloomsbury Publishing. Gokulsing, K. M., and Dissanayake, W. (2004). Indian Popular Cinema : A Narrative of Cultural Change. Stylus Publishing, LLC. Hayward, S. (2002). Cinema Studies : The Key Concepts. Routledge. Hudson, D. (2012 October 9). NYUAD Hosts Shyam Benegal Retrospective. New York University Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 14 September 2021. Kumar, R. S. (2003). Varma, (Raja) Ravi. Oxford Art Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t087983. Neumayer, A. A., Neumayer, E., Schelberger, C., Varma, R., & Schenker, H. (2003). Popular Indian Art : Raja Ravi Varma and the Printed Gods of India. Oxford University Press, USA. Rajadhyaksha, A., and Willemen, P. (2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Routledge. Sachdeva, V. (2019). Shyam Benegal’s India : Alternative Images. Taylor & Francis. Sengupta, A. (2011). Nation, Fantasy, and Mimicry : Elements of Political Resistance in Postcolonial Indian Cinema. Srivastava, M. (2017). Wide Angle : History of Indian Cinema. Notion Press. Street, S. (2001). Costume and Cinema : Dress Codes in Popular Film (Vol. 9). Wallflower Press. Thakurta, T. G., and Thakurta, T. G. (1986). Westernisation and Tradition in South Indian Painting in the Nineteenth Century : The Case of Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906). Studies in History, 2(2), 165–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/025764308600200203. The Tribune (2006 January 29). Shyam-e-ghazal. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021. Wadkar, H. (2014). You Ask, I Tell : An Autobiography. Zubaan. Yarrow, R. (2001). Indian Theatre : Theatre of Origin, Theatre of Freedom. Psychology Press.
[1]
The 1977 Indian movie Bhumika (Role)
was directed by Shyam Benegal.
Smita Patil, Amol Palekar, Anant Nag, Naseeruddin
Shah, and Amrish Puri are the movie's stars. The
movie, which centres on a person's search for identity and self-fulfillment,
is apparently based on the Marathi-language memoirs, Sangtye
Aika, of the well-known Marathi stage and screen
actress of the 1940s, Hansa Wadkar, who led a
flamboyant and unusual life. Two National Film Awards and the Filmfare Best
Movie Award were given to the movie. It received invitations to the Carthage
Film Festival in 1978, the Chicago Film Festival, where it won the Golden
Plaque in 1978, and the Festival of Images in Algeria in 1986.
© ShodhKosh 2022. All Rights Reserved. |