“She Said No”: The Representation of Sexual Violence in the Bollywood Movie Pink

Abstract

Sexual abuse or molestation is a serious concern in Indian society as a substantial number of women experience some form of sexual harassment in their day-to-day life. It refers to an intrusive action inflicted upon the victim without their consent. This includes the use of abusive language, and physical violence like slapping and choking, as well as threats, manipulation, teasing, gas-lighting and other forceful acts. These concerns are often depicted and normalised in popular culture through TV dramas, movies, and web series. This paper analyses the portrayal of such acts of sexual harassment and violence against women in the Bollywood movie Pink, which serves as a realistic representation of such cases in India. All these ideas about sexual and physical abuse have been well represented in Pink. The main characters are women from an urban background, their location influencing their lifestyle as well as their independent and bold decision-making capacity as portrayed in the movie.  The concept of the male gaze and objectification of the female body in the movie can be viewed through the lens of British film scholar Laura Mulvey’s seminal essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”. Today’s Media often depicts women as objects of desire and their roles and portrayal are shaped in connection to the male fantasies. Additionally, the theory of the female gaze contradicts the prevailing male-centric perspective by describing females as active subjects rather than passive objects, where the victims gather courage and fight against the molesters and the predominantly patriarchal society as well. These victims gain victory at the movie's end, though they have to undergo many serious setbacks. This movie is a clear portrayal of the actual situation of the real-life victims of sexual abuse who struggle to get justice from the perpetrators.