CINEMA WITH A SOCIAL MESSAGE: With Specific Reference to Indian Cinema

In addition to its entertainment aspect, cinema is a powerful, informative medium that could enlighten people on different subjects. Cinema has an incredible ability to influence public opinions and shape their mindsets and behaviors. Many studies have proven that cinema could be an effective tool to make awareness and educate people on different social issues. Cinema often inspires people and motivates them to bring critical social changes by changing their attitudes on social taboos.

Recently, Hindi cinema has opted out of its typical mix genre films and has been able to bring some unusual and realistic themes to the reel. Some of the recent films produced in the Hindi cinema industry have addressed social taboos and burning issues of the society/country, such as open defecation, menstruation, mental health, gender discrimination, etc. These films are the perfect blend of realistic and commercial cinema and opened up a mirror to blind traditions and beliefs of the society.

Toilet Ek Prem Katha is a movie based on open defecation, which has been a severe societal and health issue in India for ages. This film holds up a mirror to the traditional Indian society and mocks the age-old tradition of open defecation. The movie opens people’s eyes to the profound reality and demonstrates how some people still do defecation in open fields.

Even though the Indian government declared India as open defecation-free in 2019 October, the recent statistics show the matter is not yet solved completely. According to the World Health Organization, open defecation causes the spread of nasty diseases, malnutrition, and the deaths of children under age 05. The movie depicts the need to provide good sanitization, especially for women and children. Studies show that open defecation lessens the quality of life of women as it affects their privacy and dignity. Moreover, Indian women face serious security issues in open defecation as they become victimized in rapes and sexual abuse. The movie emphasizes that “if not a Taj Mahal a man can at least build a toilet for his woman.”

In 2014, the Indian government initiated a project named “Swatch Bharati Abhidhan” to make people aware of using toilets and solid waste management. However, some superstitious villagers are still stuck on deep-rooted beliefs. The film holds up a mirror to this traditional society. Based on a compelling true story, this film portrays the severe conflict between blind culture and modernization. The protagonists in the movie explain the need to break social taboos when necessary and harmful to humans.

Another stigma openly discussed in mainstream Hindi cinema is menstruation. Menstruation hygiene is a severe health matter ignored not only in India but in many countries. Padman is a movie inspired by the social activist Arunachalam Muruganantham who created low-cost sanitary pads to change the Indian women’s un-hygienic practices during the menstrual circle. The film displays how women are afraid and ashamed in talking about menstruation. With the hope of bringing up a new conversation in society on women’s menstruation hygiene, this film openly discusses taboos around menstruation. Padman is an inspiring movie that spreads a powerful social message to the community. The film demands a social change by encouraging women to use sanitary pads during their menstrual circle. This film won Indian National Award in 2018 for the Best Film on Social Issues.

Similarly, mental health is often a neglected topic in many societies. Mental health is one’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. According to mental health specialists, good mental health is essential in every walk of life. But people are not concerned about mental health and are often unaware of how to deal with it. Some of the recent films like Dear Zindagi, Taare Zameen Par, Chhichhore have discussed this theme in the spotlight.

These films talk about mental health issues such as depression and dyslexia and demonstrate anyone is vulnerable to developing mental health issues. The films show the struggle of people/children when they cannot keep their psychological and emotional well-being. These films make awareness of the factors contributing to mental health issues such as trauma, abuse, biological reasons, etc. The truthful portrayal of society’s response to mental health in these films is heart-wrenching. It clearly shows the reality of society as it is entirely unaware of the way of helping those who are affected mentally. The movies explain the importance of accepting mental health issues as a fundamental issue of society. Further, these films emphasize the need for medical help for mental health issues.

Gender stereotyping is a prevalent issue in many societies across the globe. The Hindi language film Pink attempted to highlight the abuse and judgmental mindsets about women in traditional society. The film depicts the hypocrisy of the patriarchal society on independent women and their everyday challenges. This film won the 66^th Indian National Award for the Best Film on Social Issues.

Further, the recent Hindi cinema has addressed several social taboos and issues such as infertility, surrogacy, cast discrimination, drug abuse, suicides, corruption, child & human trafficking, child marriage, etc. These films have a significant impact on people and influence them to bring a new change in society. Cinema is a very effective medium for making awareness of different social issues, eliminating blind traditions, and constructing new perceptions about social taboos. Thus, filmmakers in the most prominent cinema industries in the world are often trying to produce films with great social messages.

Charitha Marcus
Lecturer (probationary) – Mass Communication
Dept. of Sinhala & Mass Communication