Lata Mani and Dil Chahta Hai

Just a day after reading a chapter from  " Contentious Traditions" by "Lata Mani", I watched the particular portions of Dil Chahta Hai having the portions of Aamir Khan and Preity Zinta wherein I wanted to see the part of Aamir realising his love for Preity and not confessing it as she is with another guy. Another day one can debate whether he actually would have confessed if she would have been single as I think he would not have as it was her marriage that became a litmus test which triggered him and led him to dramatise the climax of the movie.

The book "Contentious Traditions" dwells upon the practice of abolition of Sati and the arguments given by different stakeholders from Raja Rammohan Roy, Pundits to Colonial Power to debate whether Sati should be abolished or not. She after presenting the arguments given by these three parties, states that women was the site upon which the issue of abolition of Sati was debated upon. 

This line sank into my heart after watching the portion of Aamir and Preity in Dil Chahta Hai.

It looks so similar as if mirroring and proving her point of women being the site upon which the debate is done.

Dil Chahta Hai is definitely a cult movie as we call it, also a "coming of age" movie. The first directorial debute of Farhan Akhtar and filled with such fine casting, camera shots, actors and sophistication present in every scene. But, as the scenes between the two actors continues, her being helpless to take a single important decision which effects her life , of choosing the person she would be getting married to, her image of being helpless increases. In the very end of movie, Aamir comes and confesses his love in front of everyone and wins her. She is hanging between her fiancee and Aamir. She does not choose anyone explicitly rather her choice of partner depends upon the situation that who is more vocal. When her fiancee is more vocal in deciding they would go to India and get married, she abides him, when in the climax, Aamir is more vocal and assertive about his love for her ,she goes with him. 

It is unlearning of movies which we saw in such a oh-so-romantic way happens which perhaps, reading a new argument about as strong topic as abolition of Sati does. 

Lata Mani discusses the absence of agency regarding Sati. How horror of burning did not cause worry to Colonial people, how ascetic widowhood was preferred as a second option after argument for abolition of Sati by Raja Rammohan Royand in between this, the person for whom all this deliberation was being done is absent.

The movie fortunately does have strong women character and this is not negate the fine things about movie but only confined to how a new understanding of the issue about which we had a fixed understanding, abolition of Sati ends up intermingling with unlearning the particular portions of a movie we all keep close to her hearts.