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Since the release of Alam Ara in 1931, women have held an important position in Hindi cinema. Some of the epoch-making performances helped build public opinion against the exploitation of women. There were many who triumphed merely due to their beauty while several others made it big because of rare class. A few were successful in combining both.

Beginning with Sulochana (Ruby Myers) (1907-83), the visage that changed the face of Indian cinema. Till then, working in films was considered socially disreputable and the role of a woman was assigned to young, thin men. So when the petite, brown-eyed Sulochana started acting, her luminosity shone through in those black and white films. When her home company Imperial launched Alam Ara, it was Zubeida who was chosen to play the heroine due to her command over Hindi. Sulochana learnt the language and made a comeback with Madhuri.

Devika Rani (1907-94) was one of the most glamorous stars that Indian cinema has seen. Devika Rani’s beauty justifiably passed into lore. Acchut Kanya made her the prima donna of films.

Nadira (1910-96) tossed the myth of the docile heroine into air. Fencing with villains atop running trains, swinging from chandeliers and doing stunts without resorting to stuntmen, she earned the epithet ‘Fearless Nadia’.

That face, that voice and those tantrums, Suraiya was the definitive diva of the 1950s.

Besides her voice, her performances, especially in Sohrab Modi’s Mirza Ghalib, created history.

In almost all her films Nargis created a woman who could be desired and deified. The charisma of Nargis’ screen image lay in that it oscillated between the simple and the chic with equal ease. In Mother India, Nargis brought alive the agony of an impoverished mother. She glorifies the strength of a mother in a monologue to Goddess Lakshmi, saying ‘Maa banker dekho, tumhare paon bhi dagmagga jayenge’.

Histrionics reached their peak with Meena Kumari. As the beautiful chhoti bahu of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, her life was pathetic. She had everything except love. She was in mess both in reel and real life.

A large moon-shaped face, partially covered by strands of hair, glistening cheeks, limpid eyes coupled with a crooked smile - Madhubala had a face to die for. She effortlessly blended substance and form. In K. Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam, Madhubala brought to life a form of beauty and artistic acumen that cannot be found fault with.

When the prince caresses the face with a feather it makes him forget everything: family, royalty, hierarchy and protocol.

Gifted with effervescence, Geeta Bali crossed path with a classic and decided to produce and act in Rano - a cinematic expression of Rajinder Singh Bedi’s novel on
widow remarriage - Ek Chaddar Maili Si.

While Vyjayanthimala shot to fame with Sadhana, Devdas and Madhumati, the best roles gravitated towards Nutan. As Kalyani in Bandini, she appears as a quiet woman with passion raging inside her. When she murders her former lover’s neurotic wife, Nutan’s face smoothly transmutes the workings of her mind.Waheeda Rehman’s classic beauty appealed all. Her voice, muted yet emphatic, was an index to her personality. In Guide, whether she was breaking the metaphorical pot of societal constraints during ‘Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai’ or running precariously over a ledge in keeping with her dangerous new desires, Waheeda performs quite convincingly. She dances like a dream and her eyes capture her joy. In her portrayals, Waheeda dug deep into her characters.Sadhana define the 1950s with her lovely face. The success of Love in Simla made her youth icon giving her an edge over her contemporaries like Asha Parekh and Saira Banu. Jaya Bhaduri (Bachchan) carved niche for herself with performances in films like Koshish, Parichay and Abhimaan. As a wife whose popularity exceeds that of her songster husband, Abhimaan’s story paralleled Jaya’s life. Her eyes, kajal-rimmed pools of hurt and hope made her a compelling view.

Sharmila Tagore’s twin turn as two different prostitutes in Amar Prem (1972) and Mausam (1975) defined the transition in the portrayal of the fallen woman. The realistic whore of Mausam who spew obscenities has become renowned but Sharmila conveyed more pathos as the moist-eyed, silent courtesan of Amar Prem.

Rekha’s flowering as an actress post Ghar and Khubsoorat climaxed in a national award for Umrao Jaan. As a tragic courtesan she gave a performance of consummate artistry, adopting a much-admired huskiness and despondency of tone. Rekha communicated much with a delicately raised eyebrow.

Zeenat Aman epitomised the cultural zeitgeist of the 1970s. Zeenat redefined the role of a heroine. She was the drugged-out flower child of Hare Rama Hare Krishna. The best work of Zeenat remains the sullen Janice blowing away her youth as she seeks a payback for her stolen childhood.

All those who have been following Dimple Kapadia’s career from Bobby, Lekin and Rudali will assert that she is more talented than glamorous.

Smita Patil generated a body of work that went on to be a part of film festivals all over the world. She is most remembered for her roles in films like Subah, Mirch Masala and Arth. In Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth, though Shabana as the wronged wife walked away with all the sympathy, Smita as the neurotic ‘other woman’ had a tougher role.

While Manisha Koirala charmed the audience in films like Khamoshi; the musical and Akele Hum Akele Tum, Karisma Kapoor teamed up with Govinda and David Dhawan to see her career graph registering a wing. She moved to meaningful cinema in films like Fiza and Zubeida.

The popularity Maduri Dixit achieved was phenomenal. When in the 1990s, cinema had no significance place for a heroine in the plot, Madhuri managed to tilt the balance. She bowled the world over with her manifestation of the new Indian woman. She portrays the independent intelligent, modern woman.

Kajol’s roles speak volumes about the thought that goes into her selection of films. Films like Dushman, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge saw her giving her best.

Preity Zinta represents the face of the Gen X. Her performances in films like Veer-Zaara, Salaam Namaste won over the youth and he became a style diva.

Aishwarya Rai is the personification of beauty at its celestial best. This former beauty queen’s performance in films like Devdas,
Taal, Hum Dil De Chukke Sanam stole many a heart.

Performance -oriented roles is what sets Tabu, Rani Mukherji and Vidya Balan apart from their contemporaries. With high-powered roles in films like Maachis Black & Parineeta, they have made an impact as quality actresses who are ahead of the majority who are either trapped in the rut willfully or are incapable of finding a way out due to their mediocrity.

The steady erosion of the value of the dollar against the world’s major currencies is a reflection of the direction in which the world economy is moving. The falling dollar seems to be the prelude to the end of
US hegemony. The rising economies in Asia and the increasing economic clout of China and
India, combined with the Japanese economy, put American economic clout to a severe test.

A Brazilian supermodel, on an assignment in the
US recently, allegedly refused to be paid in dollars and insisted on euros. This appropriately highlights the dollar’s plunging value and its potential consequences. Thus, where economists fail, a model’s decision conveys a lot.

The dollar has dropped against all 16 of the most actively traded currencies this year. It has lost 10 per cent against the euro, 6.9 per cent against the pound and 5.2 per cent against the yen. It reached its lowest value vis-à-vis the Canadian dollar since 1950, when the fixed exchange rate ended, and hit a 23-year low against the Australian dollar. The US dollar has weakened 8 per cent against a basket of currencies from major trading partners since January 2006.

In several capitals, especially in the Middle East, where the US has acrimonious relations with some, the weakening of the dollar is news for rejoicing. For example, the US standoff in Iran over the latter’s nuclear program makes Iran to ally with another oil producing country, Venezuela, to project the dollar’s fall, as a prelude to the end of US dominance in the world.

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez paid a visit to his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a show of the strength of their friendship, bound by opposition to
Washington. Though the firebrand duo did not succeed in pushing OPEC away from trading in the slumping greenback during the OPEC summit in Riyadh, because of opposition from the host Saudi Arabia, it did demonstrate the potential for stirring up problems for the
US and its allies in the future.

As the dollar weakens, oil prices have reached a record high of $100 a barrel. If US President Bush does not refrain from a military strike on
Iran over the nuclear issue, the prices of oil could double to $200, thereby plunging the world economy in disarray. Following the fall of the dollar and the success of the euro, the Latin America nations are also considering a common currency.

During the OPEC summit in Riyadh last week, both Iran and Venezuela proposed that OPEC begins pricing its oil in a basket of currencies, rather than just the dollar, and wanted the summit to specifically express concern over the dollars slide in its final statement.

Though Saudi Arabia, an US ally, blocked the initiative by Iran and Venezuela, the very fact that finance ministers of the OPEC nations have been asked to study the issue of the falling dollar is itself significant.

The sizable US current account deficit and five years of record trade deficits also put considerable downward pressure on the dollar. But US officials are not worried about the shrinking currency. In fact, they are quite pleased. A falling dollar means U S products and services are more competitive in, global markets and, indeed, that is the case.

However, European manufacturers complain loudly about US attempts to devalue their way into renewed competitiveness. Dollar is the world’s reserve currency and the readiness to hold dollars is a vote of confidence in the stability of the currency.

There is fear that those investors, who worry about risking huge losses by holding dollars that will one day be devalued, will start divesting their dollar holdings, an act that could .be both an act of economic war and a self-fulfilling prophecy. The recent Chinese suggestion that the country should diversify its reserves rattled markets.

The truism, however, is that there are no alternative safe havens in the world economy at present as the euro is not yet such an option. The US should manage its own economy better and contribute to global economic stability.

SCIENCE & SUPERSTITION: A matter of belief

Ekta Kapoor’s blind faith in the letter ‘K’ for the titles of her serials is one example of how tinsel people are guided by astrology. The other is that of the Bachchan family getting Aishwarya to marry a tree and so on before she could finally tie the knot with Abhishek. A star changing the spelling of his screen name is another example. Consulting astrologers to begin the muhurat of a film, or time the release of another film, or even to choose the casting for the film is yet another phobia those from the tinsel town suffer from.

Against this backdrop, when a noted director chooses to make a film that could raise a debate between reason and belief should have proved a starting point to establish the credibility of science against the speculative worth of superstition. Superstition is not backed by proof other than your astrologer/numerologist/ tantrik guru’s word for it. Will Bhool Bhulaiya set a trend that decries superstition and holds up science?

“I am extremely excited about this film project. From a filmic perspective, I feel we have done a wonderful job of drawing audiences interested in seeing how the film opens the floodgates to a whole new dimension of thought and rationale about the human condition and psyche. The film brings into question society’s perceptions of faith, superstition, science and reasoning,” Akshay Kumar recently said in an interview. Bhool Bhulaiya is sure to spark controversy as it argues that there is no such thing as spirit possession, but rather that this is a manifestation of schizophrenia within the human psyche. But does the film really live up to this challenging promise?

On the contrary, at the penultimate moment, Priyadarshan shies away from decrying the power of faith, religious rituals and superstitious beliefs and to uphold the validity and importance of a scientific temper. Ironically, he actually celebrates Hindu astrology, rituals and tantra by raising it to a global platform with the tantric scholar invited to present papers at international seminars. Through Bhool Bhulaiya, Priyadarshan tries to unite science and superstition in one of the unhappiest and incredible marriages of celluloid ideology till date. The film makes a reference to parapsychology that has no scientific proof, yet to prove its veracity.

If one traces the role superstition has played within Indian cinema, it has been more to perpetuate belief in superstition, in ghosts, in astrological Ant predictions, than to reinforce the value of science in everyday life. Gehrayee (1980), directed jointly by Aruna and Vikas Desai, dealt with the subject of Uma, a young girl, (Padmini Kolhapure) who is suddenly ‘possessed’ by the ’spirit’ of a dead woman. Despite objections from a rational father (Sreeram Lagu), her brother Nandu (Anant Nag) is desperate to surrender to any cure, including the occult, to treat his sister’s malady. The film totally backs the occult and nullifies the reason that science prides in.

Article 5l-A (h) of the Indian Constitution states that “it shall be the duty of every citizen… to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.” Sadly, this is never taken into account by the Central Board of Film Certification, while clearing a film for its national release. No one blinks an eye when Indian cinema keeps harping on the triumph of superstition, ghosts, astrological predictions against the credibility and rationale that science offers.

The current popularity of vastu shastra has little to do with learning from indigenous traditions of architecture for contemporary needs. It has far more to do with various superstitions about the influence of various directions and how buildings are built in relation to these. Public life in urban India has witnessed an enlargement of the space accorded to obscurantism in recent times.

Proponents of obscurantism and superstition are aggressive about those who try to propagate a scientific temper, and even to those who simply wish to popularize science.
The best film till date to have strongly critiqued the predominance of astrological predictions over reality is Ankahee (1984), a film directed by Amol Palekar. Basically, it begins with a famous astrologer father’s (Sreeram Lagu) conflict with his only son (Amol Palekar) over the girl (Devika Mukherjee) he wants to marry. The father is against the marriage because his authoritative predictions tell him that the son will get married twice because his first wife will die within nine months, probably at child-birth. Much against the wishes of his girlfriend, the son agrees to marry the slightly mentally retarded daughter (Deepti Naval) of his father’s childhood friend with the faith that when this girl dies, he will be free to marry his girlfriend, a scientist who scoffs at all these astrological predictions. But the bride regains normality when she gets married and the girlfriend is unwilling to continue the relationship with a married man. The husband rapes his wife one night in desperation to make her pregnant. Does she die? No, she does not. Instead, the scientist girlfriend jumps to her death from a multi-storied building. She leaves a note saying that she died to prove that astrology has no claim over a person’s life or death and that with her self-willed death, she asserted her right to die as, how and when she wanted to. It was an understated and moving film with a brilliant musical score composed along semi-classical lines. Unfortunately, it flopped miserably at the box office.

One real-life example of how superstition has little value in real life goes like this. In February 2004, two important films, namely, Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Swapner Din produced by Jhamu Sugandh and Anjan Das’ Ebong Srikanta produced by Deepak Bajaj, began shooting to coincide with Shivratri. Swapner Din has not been released yet while Ebong Srikanta was a miserable flop.