Sex Sells or Selling Sex : Indian Rape Problem – Bollywood “Item Songs” to Blame
An item number or an item song, in Indian cinema, is a musical performance that has little to do with the film in which it appears, but is presented to showcase beautiful dancing women in revealing clothes, to lend support to the marketability of the film. The term is commonly used in connection with Hindi, Tamil and Telugu cinema, to describe a catchy, upbeat, often sexually provocative dance sequence for a song in a movie.
This is not just a crime against women.. It’s a crime against society.. With so much being said about how women need to dress appropriately or behave appropriately..
Indian Veteran Janata Dal-United leader Shivanand Tiwari has blamed the Bollywood items songs in the Indian made films for the rise in crime such as rape against women in recent times.“Item songs in today’s films are extremely titillating,” he said in Patna on Monday. “Who will not get carried away after watching them?”
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He stated that the projection of women as an object of desire and the double meaning dialogues in the films provoked men to commit crimes such as rape.Concerted efforts should be made by all in society to check such tendencies.
The 70-year-old leader, who is the national spokesman of JD-U, said that one had heard of mythological tales about the dances of the apsaras (celestial beauties) who were sent on earth to interrupt the meditation of the sages. “I think their dances must have been something like today’sitem songs in films,” he stated.Tiwari said that women were being blatantly projected as a commodity in films and advertisements in the post-liberalisation era which was casting a bad impression on the minds of the youngsters.He stated that the projection of women as an object of desire and the double meaning dialogues in the films provoked men to commit crimes such as rape.Concerted efforts should be made by all in society to check such tendencies.“It is a very serious matter.” he added.
Selling Sex in India the legal way.While girls in India looks mostly like the dancers shown here in the background, Bollywood tries to sell the “sexy red dressed” main dancer to the mass audiences of the country.In many item songs the girl in the red dress will be surrounded by thousands of “sexually hungry Indian men” drinking and dancing to see who gets to get the girl first. In some cases the dance sequences suggests “all men” may get the girl (drenched in alcohol to make her taste better) at the same time!
Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) a Bollywood actress had this to say on twitter :
It’s so scary that an independent woman in her own country cannot take a bus without the fear of being attacked.. This is not just a crime against women.. It’s a crime against society.. With so much being said about how women need to dress appropriately or behave appropriately.. I find this whole dialogue absurd.. A woman is not raped because She’s out at night or wearing a short dress or drinking.. She’s raped cause SOMEONE bloody RAPED HER!! And there is no excuse or explanation for that!! Small men who feel powerful by taking on a young girl minding her own business?! Living her beautiful life?! Why Kind of a democracy r we living in? Where a girl can’t be all she is wants tobe just out of fear if Man!! Is this India Shining?? Is this even India? Where is the fear of the law? Of the Govt? It’s shameful!
