Saand Ki Aankh: A double Dadi Blockbuster
I have been fidgety the whole way from the movie hall to home; my fingers absolutely itching to jot down this piece.
Saand Ki Aankh raised some questions and answered some, sparked some fires and doused some, made certain points and created new perspectives. Now before you say this is too much thought into a movie, just indulge me for a moment, yeah?
In the recent decade its been seen that there's a significant rise in the number of female children studying and scoring better than boys in schools, at competitive exams and so on. Why, though?
Saand Ki Aankh answers this complex question with a simple thought. There is a scene where the boys of the Tomar family are offered to learn shooting for better job opportunities. "Dr. Sahab" offers them mangoes as rewards for every shot that hits the "bull's eye" a.k.a., "Saand ki Aankh". The boys then reply that its a lame reward because they could simply go ahead and steal some on their own. The same reward, when offered to the girls in a similar situation, is met with enthusiasm and elation. Nothing is ever given to them, especially not a chance to "earn" something. In this rural setting where the girls are raised to work in the fields, tend to their male relatives, complete household chores, somehow gain primary education and the boys to play and gallivant around the village (because they'll be inheriting property and businesses anyway), its a chance, an opportunity to gain some respect, call something one's own.
Prakashi and Chandru dadis fight tooth and nail to make sure the girls from their family get to go out, have a job, lead a respectable life where they can make something of themselves. "Taj Mahal Baht Khoobsoorat hai, par kabhi dekha nahi. Hawai jahaz mein baithke bada maza aata hai, par kabhi baithe nahi". (Taj Mahal is very beautiful, but I've never seen it. They say sitting in an airplane is fun, but I've never sat in one). They want it all for their daughters, for their granddaughters and why not? When have their fathers or husbands or sons for that matter ever acknowledged them, their work and their due diligence to them?
This movie more than a fight against masochism and the patriarchal chains of doom has focused on the sheer drive, wit and strength of the women who were ready to literally fight the world and everything that they knew to make a path for their children. To ensure that even when they'd continue to face hardships, their progeny wouldn't.
Respect is something every person wants for themselves. Especially Chandro and Prakashi, who knew their own strength, who wanted more for their kids, who were smart enough to know their own worth and who just wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
The movie commences with great comical scenes and I especially enjoy the ones where the Dadis take charge and raise their voices against bullying, eve-teasing and eventually even take on the Sarpanch (who happens to be their brother-in-law) in a panchayat meeting to ensure their daughters can go to the National Shooting Camp. Taapsee and Bhumi were beautiful in their transitions from motherly tenderness to protective beasts to childish glee.
I believed them, every... second... of the movie. I supported them through their journey and I felt their wins...every ...single...time.
These featured women are in reality the "dadis" of Seema Tomar, the first woman to ever represent India in Track shooting internationally.
This isn't about the feministic approach to anything. No, we aren't even close to "equal opportunities". This is about ground realities and truths that many of us aren't even aware of and most of us tend to ignore. This makes me wonder though if 60-year-old women from a village far into the depths of Northen India can see through the facade of the olden rules with hardly any validation... what exactly has been stopping us?
Saand Ki Aankh raised some questions and answered some, sparked some fires and doused some, made certain points and created new perspectives. Now before you say this is too much thought into a movie, just indulge me for a moment, yeah?
In the recent decade its been seen that there's a significant rise in the number of female children studying and scoring better than boys in schools, at competitive exams and so on. Why, though?
Saand Ki Aankh answers this complex question with a simple thought. There is a scene where the boys of the Tomar family are offered to learn shooting for better job opportunities. "Dr. Sahab" offers them mangoes as rewards for every shot that hits the "bull's eye" a.k.a., "Saand ki Aankh". The boys then reply that its a lame reward because they could simply go ahead and steal some on their own. The same reward, when offered to the girls in a similar situation, is met with enthusiasm and elation. Nothing is ever given to them, especially not a chance to "earn" something. In this rural setting where the girls are raised to work in the fields, tend to their male relatives, complete household chores, somehow gain primary education and the boys to play and gallivant around the village (because they'll be inheriting property and businesses anyway), its a chance, an opportunity to gain some respect, call something one's own.
Prakashi and Chandru dadis fight tooth and nail to make sure the girls from their family get to go out, have a job, lead a respectable life where they can make something of themselves. "Taj Mahal Baht Khoobsoorat hai, par kabhi dekha nahi. Hawai jahaz mein baithke bada maza aata hai, par kabhi baithe nahi". (Taj Mahal is very beautiful, but I've never seen it. They say sitting in an airplane is fun, but I've never sat in one). They want it all for their daughters, for their granddaughters and why not? When have their fathers or husbands or sons for that matter ever acknowledged them, their work and their due diligence to them?
This movie more than a fight against masochism and the patriarchal chains of doom has focused on the sheer drive, wit and strength of the women who were ready to literally fight the world and everything that they knew to make a path for their children. To ensure that even when they'd continue to face hardships, their progeny wouldn't.
Respect is something every person wants for themselves. Especially Chandro and Prakashi, who knew their own strength, who wanted more for their kids, who were smart enough to know their own worth and who just wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
The movie commences with great comical scenes and I especially enjoy the ones where the Dadis take charge and raise their voices against bullying, eve-teasing and eventually even take on the Sarpanch (who happens to be their brother-in-law) in a panchayat meeting to ensure their daughters can go to the National Shooting Camp. Taapsee and Bhumi were beautiful in their transitions from motherly tenderness to protective beasts to childish glee.
I believed them, every... second... of the movie. I supported them through their journey and I felt their wins...every ...single...time.These featured women are in reality the "dadis" of Seema Tomar, the first woman to ever represent India in Track shooting internationally.
This isn't about the feministic approach to anything. No, we aren't even close to "equal opportunities". This is about ground realities and truths that many of us aren't even aware of and most of us tend to ignore. This makes me wonder though if 60-year-old women from a village far into the depths of Northen India can see through the facade of the olden rules with hardly any validation... what exactly has been stopping us?
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