The Male Gaze Redefined: Through Mother India and Other Classics of Indian Cinema

Shoma A. Chatterji

In this book, the author brings out the male perspective on women characters through the lens of male directors. The films the author has chosen to explore and analyse the male gaze are Mehboob Khan's Mother India, Ritwik Ghatak's Meghe Dhaka Tara, Satyajit Ray's Mahanagar, Vijay Anand's Guide, Gulzar's Aandhi, Shyam Benegal's Zubeidaa, Buddhadev Dasgupta's Andhi Gali, Mrinal Sen's Ek Din Pratidin and Nabyendu Chatterjee's Parasuramer Kuthar.

A study of the respective oeuvres of these directors shows clear defiance of the stereotype, which is not necessarily deliberate and conscious but is often traced back to the literary source the films are based on, to the ideology the directors believed in and to the directors' personal perspectives and perceptions about the stories, their unfolding and the positioning of the women within them.

This book will compel the reader to revisit the films and watch them from a new angle. Film buffs, scholars in Indian films and feminism and any curious readers interested in film studies – it is a book for all.