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The
politics of representation Some issues around depiction of
Sex Work in the Hindi film industry in India
Poulomi
Pal
Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi
(India)
The paper would essentially be divided into three parts.
The first part would contextualize the issue of sex work
in the feminist discourse in India from a historical
perspective. The second part would give an introduction to
the politics of visual representation. The third part of
the paper would discuss some contestable issues in the two
films Umrao Jaan and Pakeezah selected for study. When we
talk about theorising the politics of sex work in India it
is important to be aware of the age-old positions, which
have always characterised the debates around sex work. The
debates usually are pitched either from a moral standpoint
or a public health standpoint as opposed to arguments
around right to work and human dignity.
In India too, the debates are inclined to take these
three stands. This part would critically study the state
policies with respect to the laws and the dynamics of
negotiations and sometimes confrontations with
organisations, which work with sex workers. Prostitution
is much more than just a legal issue. However
politico-legal apparatuses’ interventions and intrusions
have brought sex workers into much more immediate and
problematic proximity to the state regime than any other
population group. Therefore legal reform has become a
central issue in the prostitution debates. The past decade
has seen a massive politicization of sex workers
themselves.
Alongside there has been the mushrooming of agenda
driven NGOs who take up the cause of sex workers in the
wake of AIDS/HIV pandemic in India. Given this broad
context I would theoretically argue about the relevance of
the issue of sex work in the broad ambit of queer politics.
Queer politics has always aimed at questioning the hetero
sexual norm within the institution of marriage and
procreation, the struggle of sex workers aims to fight the
same. The second part of the paper would introduce the
concept of representation with special emphasis on films
as a medium. Considering the fact that Hindi films are one
of the most popular mode of entertainment and depict
‘social reality’ it would indeed be an interesting
exercise to read through some of the films which have
protagonists who are sex workers. In this context there
would be an introduction to films which have exclusively
dealt with this issue, namely, Pakeezah, Umrao Jaan,
Mandi, Bazaar and Chameli.
A broad outline of the films would be provided to get a
feel of the storyline. Two films which are classics in
this genre, Umrao Jaan and Pakeezah would be then selected
for the study. Set in the same context with both muslim
protagonists both the films are considered classics in
terms of representation and first of its kind. The third
and final section would actually carve out some of the
issues that come up. There are some stereotypical
depictions of the sex workers in most of the films. Some
are forced into it and others born in brothels. The
ambiguity around issues of consent, agency, virginity,
promiscuity and monetary transaction is immense in all.
One theme which is common in almost all the films quoted
above has been the issue of love expressed for only one
man and the protagonist wanting to run away and marry the
saviour. The institution of marriage is legitimised at all
ends. The paper would endeavour to express the
contradictions in the realm of ‘reality’ and ‘depiction’.
About Poulomi Pal
Poulomi Pal is a student researcher from New Delhi,
India. Currently she is enrolled as a PhD student with the
Center for Political Studies in the School of Social
Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her area of
specialization is gender and work. Her research has been
on two of the biggest women's organizations of India –
AIDWA (All India Democratic Women’s Association), a
political organization of women workers and SEWA (Self
Employed womens association), the biggest trade union of
women workers in India and the world. Her MPhil
Dissertation was titled "Women workers in the era of
globalization: a case study of SEWA and AIDWA". She
also works with Partners for Law in Development, an NGO
based in New Delhi.
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