Man in the household has a moral right and

responsibility ,a duty to admonish, chastise

and punish the women for their own benefit

202

61% women in the state accept at least one reason as justification for wife beating

47% justified if the wife neglected the family

3% justified wife’s natal family does not give give the expected money or other items

39%justified if wife showed disrespect to inlaws

38%justified if wife goes out without telling

her husband

25%wife does not cook food properly

22%if wife is unfaithfull to husband

Overall about half or more woman in all

population subgroups in the state justified

wife-beating for at least one reason.

The emergence of the nationalist movement

and left ideology .

Religious and caste –based communities

succeeded in initiating a process of

democratization and modernization , though

this also meant moving into emerging

patriarchal, capitalistic economy reorganizing

themselves to fit into the changing times

The fisherman out in the sea and of course

the security and well being of the entire

fishing community are dependent on the

Araya woman’s chastity and fidelity.(folk

tradition)

The film create a moral space against the

archetypal backdrop of the vast sea

Sweeps the woman as a distinct category

out of the frame

The typical image of the woman as someone

who is destined to suffer the slings and

arrows of outrageous time with tolerance ,

dignity and grace

Woman’s body is inscribed with the ideology

of silent and graceful suffering.

THE Masculinity issue

in relation to the

‘laughing movies’of

1990s

it is important to

remember that they

exist side by side with

a host of very

successful movies of

M M S

Even where you

acknowlege the

unmistakable social

presence of a woman

as police officer,

administrator , lawyer ,

journalist , they have to

be exposed for what

they are ultimately-

MERE WOMAN

After the longstanding

reign of the old time

heroines such as

Sheela,Sarada and

Jayabharati

Malayalm cinema has

seen a lot of female

actors come and go.

The males stay , witness

the career of Mammootty

and Mohanlal

But the females are an

ephemeral category

No one knows how or

why ?Manju Warrier

made a difference within

the short span of her

career

Passive acceptance to

her strenght and

vibrant charm

Even the strongest woman has nothing much to do in the essentially male world of action movies.

And today the woman who has forced this realisation on us lives in pure domesticity and self-effacing life

Today our films heroines have a certain openness and dynamism that is quite afreshing for eg:swapnakkodu song-ishtamalleda

Transformation to ‘Istamaneda’,once the relationship builds up woman relapses to the old stereotypes about a faithful wife and loving mother.

Therfore,the contemporary shift has more to do with the fast –changing conventions of film music and dance than with subtle transformations taking place with gender relations in Kerala

Neeli in neelakkuyil

Sheela as karuthamma

Female beauty that obtain in our popular cinema down the ages have their historical roots in the formative period

O Chandu Menon’s Indulekha (heroines beauty)

Significantly

participated in the

construction of what

we call a public sphere

Advent of film music

marks democratisation

of our society