Subtle Subversions: Exploring Women’s Agency and Patriarchal Negotiations in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Cinema Through a Postcolonial Feminist Lens – Implications for Gender Equality in Contemporary Indian Media (SDG 5)

Abstract

This paper discusses how the agency of women and patriarchal negotiation processes
have been represented in the films of Hrishikesh Mukherjee based on postcolonial
feminist approach. It explores how the middle cinema that Mukherjee produced
indirectly criticizes gender norms in postcolonial India and leads to the discussion of
Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) that emphasizes gender equality. This paper
will analyze these representations and how they apply to modern filmmaking. The
mixed approach was adopted; qualitative textual analysis of three films, Abhimaan,
Anuradha and Guddi along with quantitative content analysis of 50 scenes of each film
was adopted. Also, 200 viewers were surveyed to determine the perception of gender
equality in these stories. The results show that the female characters are represented
as change agents in patriarchal limitations where 68 percent of scenes reveal female
agency. The themes of subtle resistance and hybrid identity are outlined with the help
of qualitative analysis. The research recommends that the current media could use
the stories of Mukherjee to inspire gender equality through reinforcing the voice of
women and incorporating gender sensitive viewpoints in the film study and creation.