Maa Behen scrutinizes what Bandar doesn’t bother to examine: Inherent bias against women | Opinion-entertainment News
It’s an interesting week at the movies, particularly when viewed through the lens of gender politics. The two most striking of the lot are Suresh Triveni’s Netflix comedy Maa Behen and Anurag Kashyap’s crime thriller Bandar. While the former exhibits the patriarchal gaze on women — only to turn it on its head by the end — the latter leaves you longing and hoping for one final swing, which will make its women as three-dimensional and evocative as its men. Maa Behen revolves around Rekha (Madhuri Dixit), a widow, and her daughters Jaya (Triptii Dimri) and Sushma (Dharna Durga), harbouring troubled relationships because they hold each other accountable for the increasing burden of patriarchy placed on their shoulders — particularly the peeping bare-skinned shoulders of the mothership, who refuses to conform to sleeved blouses because “humein garmi lagta hai.” It’s no surprise that adman Suresh Triveni borrows the names of his central characters from the popular Nirma advertisement, which showcases its women and their bleached saris to be as spotlessly clear and dew-like pristine as …
