Within a generation?

Zindagi inShorts (Hindi, 2020)
Netflix

This is a collection of seven short stories, just nice for light viewing and those with a short attention span. It covers a myriad of topics, with women empowerment taking centre stage. In the first episode titled 'Pinni', a housewife with exceptional culinary expertise is only appreciated for her cooking skills but not for anything else. She is just viewed as a doormat - it is there to serve a purpose, but there is no need to go fancy about it. She strikes back when her husband got no time to remember her birthday.

'Sleeping partner' narrates how a woman's role is miniaturised in a family. She rebels by expressing her sexual freedom. See how she hits back when her lover starts blackmailing her. The story touches on marital rape. 'Sunnyside Upar' cajoles us to live out the only life given to us to its fullest via the experience of a young doctor in a cancer ward. Bad things happen to good people. Just deal with it. 'Nano so phobia' brings on the plight of a lonely elderly Farsi lady who has had once too many times cried wolf to be taken seriously. 'Chhaju ke Dahi Bhalle' shows how culturally close people from Lahore and Amritsar are. Through a dating app, a Muslim girl links up with a Sikh boy. After the pleasantries, they decided to meet up at a popular eatery. After failing to meet up, they realised that they were on either side of the India-Pakistan border.

'Thappad' is a story of empowerment where an adolescent sister with her younger brother stands up against bullies. 'Swaha' is a comical rendition of an insecure husband and supposed two-timing or three-timing wife. 

It is all well and fine that more and more women are finding their places in societies. Rightly they prosper from the opportunities that were denied from them earlier due to changing societal mores. The problem is that the rebel yell for change may be happening much too rapid than it can be handled by society. It seems that the morphing of female assertations is too drastic for their counterpart and the rest of the family unit. Like a single hard slap on the face before they can realise what hit them, things have morphed within a single generation. From the demure social norms abiding mums, they have metamorphosised to groundbreaking boardroom-chairing giant figures waiting to change the world. 

Herein lies the friction. Biologically, both sexes have their respective roles in societies. They are meant to complement each other, not compete against one another. The union of the male and female forces are interdependent. The energies of Siva and Parvathi are best when working in unison. The unabated individual force would only lead to self-destruction.

Let us look at the family unit. It has become acceptable these days that it is perfectly normal for a family unit to be led by a single parent. This does not, however, concur with the findings of many social researchers. They have linked poor students' academic achievements, high incidences of delinquencies, substance abuses, teenage pregnancies and its ensuing problems to single parenthood. A proper father figure and motherly touch seem essential in wholesome parenting.

The dominant role of the male in the family system has eroded. The traditional role of a strong protector and provider has somehow evolved. They are expected to appear strong and confident only on the outside for a picture-perfect display for the public. Within the four walls, they are expected to be emotionally dependent and easily be wrapped around the strings of their apron. But then, apron neither denotes feminine nor docility. When a male does not embrace this arrangement, he is deemed to exhibit masculine toxicity. That is dealt with by cancelling!

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Amazons rule, ok?

Killing Eve (Mini-Series, 2018 - present)

If you imagine a world where women are in positions of power. And they make life-altering decisions in a cruel world fighting injustices. The villains are not males as we expect, but ladies themselves perform highly sophisticated and well-executed crimes. Males are just there to fill up the quotas. They are just weak characters who can be quickly wrapped around the fingers. They are the male equivalent of bimbos. They are unnecessary. Life goes on with or without them. Sex? They are at the ladies' disposal. The females hold tight the rein that controls their sexuality. Who needs men when all they provide are wild oats that sadly, the female gender has to bear the brunt of the after-effects? Women can give sex with emotional support, minus the physical baggage. Who needs men, anyway?

The miniseries is the one you are looking for. All leading roles are by women, including the directors. Men are merely supporting actors, filling up the gaps, as the story progressed somewhat haphazardly. It appears that filmmakers have no real intentions to tie up the loose ends of the story but rather ride on its popularity as long the interest of its viewers lingers.

An envelope-pushing civil servant, Eve Polastri, suddenly becomes an international high flying assassin catcher when she discovers that she may be connected to a Russian hired assassin at a celestial level. They hate each other's gut but refuse to pull the trigger against each other. 

It is a meeting of female 'James Bond' and 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.