Portrayal of women in Shyam Benegal’s films: A critical analysis of Sardari Begum and Zubeida

Pages: 1020-1024
Dipti Salhuria (Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Sector-42, Chandigarh)

Shyam Benegal in his films tries to present both women as victims and women in charge of their own lives, capable of making their own decisions. The study presents the critical analysis of two films Sardari Begum and Zubeida. Both the movies reveal his concern with women’s issues, their subordination at the hands of a patriarchal society, their sexual exploitation as well as their desires and aspirations. His concern with marginalised minority women becomes evident, as the movies focus on Muslim women. Yet the female protagonists have an inner strength, a capacity to survive and fulfil their desires. There are similarities, in that the protagonists desire to achieve something which their patriarchal fathers do not want for them, in their sexual exploitation while they attempt to get their objectives. Shyam Benegal, in both the movies, is not attempting to portray the Hindi film industry’s conceptualisation of an ideal woman, nor does he attempt to judge those who may seem to have strayed from the ideal path of a pure and chaste woman.