DefinePK

Research Objective

This study illustrates the representation of performing women as the cultural or societal Other in India before and after independence, focusing on the disciplining of the female body and shifts in ideologies regarding its representation on stage and in film. It examines how social identities are formed and negotiated through bodily movement, and how performing women are included or excluded from the social fabric. The study interrogates the cultural politics associated with their representation and the discursive constructions of their bodies, exploring whether female protagonists resist or reinforce dominant gender conceptions and if their subjectivity is portrayed as transgressive or subversive.

Methodology

The study employs a feminist perspective to examine plays and films that interrogate the shifting identities of performing women during and after colonial rule. It analyzes Rabindranath Tagore's play Natir Puja, Tripurari Sharma's play A Tale from the Year 1857: Azizun Nisa, and Kamal Amrohi's film Pakeezah. The methodology involves tracing the historical status of performing women in pre-colonial and colonial India, discussing their association with the body in Western and Eastern cultures, and examining how performance styles are coded with social identities and bodily movements as signifiers of resistance.

Methodology Flowchart

                        graph TD;
    A[Literature Review: Feminist Theory, Indian Theatre, Indian Film] --> B[Analysis of Plays: Natir Puja, A Tale from the Year 1857: Azizun Nisa];
    B --> C[Analysis of Film: Pakeezah];
    C --> D[Historical Contextualization: Pre-colonial to Post-independence India];
    D --> E[Examination of Representation of Performing Women];
    E --> F[Identification of Exclusionary Practices and Gendered Ideologies];
    F --> G[Interpretation of Female Subjectivity and Agency];
    G --> H[Synthesis of Findings and Conclusion];                    

Discussion

The paper argues that performing women have always been subject to exclusionary practices and biased representations, even in pre-colonial times, contrary to some studies. The association of women with the body, seen as a site of repression and possession, is central to understanding their marginalization. The study highlights how colonial policies and social reform movements further impacted the status of performing women, leading to the decline of traditional courtesan culture and the transformation of salons into brothels. The analysis of A Tale from the Year 1857: Azizun Nisa reveals a courtesan portrayed as a freedom fighter, subverting traditional gender roles. Pakeezah explores the desire for purity and respectability within a patriarchal framework, ultimately achieving a form of acceptance through marriage, albeit within a constructed narrative.

Key Findings

Performing women in India, such as courtesans and dancers, have historically been vilified and marginalized, occupying a liminal social status. Despite enjoying periods of high status (e.g., devadasis in the pre-colonial era), they were often simultaneously desired and denounced, glorified and erased. Colonial and nationalist discourses contributed to their debasement. Plays and films like A Tale from the Year 1857: Azizun Nisa and Pakeezah challenge stereotypical representations by portraying these women as figures of resistance, agency, and complex subjectivity, rather than mere seductresses or objects of the male gaze. Post-independence, classical performing arts and mainstream cinema became more respectable for women, partly due to the exclusion of hereditary, "disreputable" performers.

Conclusion

The study concludes that performing women in Indian theatre and film continue to confront challenges in patriarchal cultures. While dramatists like Tagore and Sharma have attempted to represent them as rebels against the patriarchal system, stereotypical images persist. The post-independence era saw a shift towards greater respectability for female performers in India, particularly in classical arts and mainstream cinema, often achieved by excluding hereditary performers. However, the underlying conflicts faced by female performers in patriarchal societies remain.

Fact Check

1857: The Indian Mutiny, a significant event in Indian history, is referenced as the setting for Tripurari Sharma's play A Tale from the Year 1857: Azizun Nisa*.
* 1947: The year of India's independence is a key marker for discussing the shifts in the representation and status of performing women.
1972: The film Pakeezah*, directed by Kamal Amrohi, was released in this year, after more than a decade of production.

Mind Map