The Hindu Business Line : The Chingaris of Bollywood

Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor won her first Oscar (Best Actress) for Butterfield 8, the screen adaptation of a John O'Hara novel, where she played a prostitute.

Critics panned both the film and Taylor's performance. Shirley Mclaine, with her elfin charm, was a more appealing hooker in Irma La Douce. Since then, several Hollywood stars have played such roles, but with varied success.

So is the case in Bollywood. There are hundreds of films that have kotha scenes and call girls played by top actresses, who consider such a role the ultimate challenge.

In the good old films, prostitutes were often portrayed as victims of circumstances, forced into the flesh trade by vested interests. They were seldom shown in revealing clothes or soliciting passers-by.

Vyjayantimala played a harlot in 'Sadhana'

Naturally, the role attracted even actresses with conservative family background. Vyjayantimala from the South played a harlot in B.R. Chopra's Sadhana, where the theme song Aurat ne janam diya mardo ko... had some hard hitting message on how men are responsible for the pathetic plight of women.

The same star played a similar role as Chandramukhi, the courtesan who takes care of Devdas in the Bimal Roy classic, after his Paro marries someone else.

This film portrayed Chandramukhi as a well-defined, sympathetic character. No wonder then that Vyjayantimala refused to accept the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress award for her performance.

Her contention was that the role deserved at least the Joint Best Actress award.

Who can forget Waheeda Rehman's portrayal of a prostitute in the immortal classic, Pyaasa, where she shelters the rejected lover whose poetry is not appreciated by society.

The film was a Guru Dutt masterpiece, embellished with unforgettable music.

Amar Prem, with Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore, had a similar storyline. The hero, who does not get along with his wife, finds comfort in the loving arms of the heroine.

The portrayal of the `fallen woman' was rather stereotyped, and lacked realism.

As a journalist who worked in Mumbai (then Bombay) for several years and visited the `red-light' areas on assignments, I could not find any similarities between the on-screen prostitutes and their more unfortunate real-life sisters.

Standing outside their small, dingy houses on Falkland Road, one of the main red-light areas in the city, women of all age-groups, dressed in garish clothes, would call out and gesture towards customers, even fighting over potential clients.

However, B.R. Isharra's film Chetna was an exception. Its heroine Rehana Sultana's bold costumes, pouted lips and suggestive gestures were more true to life than the usual piety-filled fallen women.

Today's leading actresses are equally keen to play the role of a prostitute, now termed sex worker. Though the portrayal is still stereotyped, both the costumes and dialogue are more appropriate and matter-of-fact.

Kareena Kapoor in Chameli is a classic example, and the film won her much acclaim. Tabu, in Chandini Bar, won rave reviews for her performance as a dancer in a Mumbai bar.

This prompted many others to play such `bold' roles, but without much conviction. Manisha Koirala played a hooker in Market; Neha Dhupia's Julie revolved around a sex worker, while Sushmita Sen plays a sex worker in Kalpana Lajmi's recently released Chingari.

Despite advances in film-making techniques, there is hardly any preparation for such difficult roles. In fact, some of the efforts in this direction are quite laughable. Yukta Mookhey, who plays a hooker in Memsaheb, explained in an interview that one month before shooting commenced, she started to dress and talk like a sex worker.

This sounds bizarre, considering the fact that sex workers dress and speak like any other women.

Sudhir Mishra, who directed Chameli, explains that prostitutes also have their vulnerable points, which the stars have to understand, and this entails a lot of homework. He fell short of offering a comment on whether Bollywood stars do such homework.

Sporting a different kind of hairstyle and wearing revealing clothes is fine... and more easily done than capturing and conveying the emotional upheavals such women undergo.