I don’t know if the missionary position in sex is all that charming. A man lies on top of the female form, practically crushing her with his weight, and expects her to enjoy it. Frankly it is wrong physics. It is wrong sociology as well. Man on top is no longer all that prevalent or acceptable, at least not in societies where women have been given a say in the matter. As an example, in the US, there will be more female than male college enrolments next year. 22 percent of the women draw higher salaries than their male partners as against 7 percent just a few years ago. With these kind of statistics we can possibly conclude that the feminist revolution in the West has reached a turning point, and women need no longer remain in a subordinate position. They have a long way to go, of course, but the route looks shorter now.
In India, the route still tends to stretch to infinity. At least in Bollywood it does. ‘Strong’ women in our Hindi films avenge rape and violence with more violence or an evangelical zeal to convert the violator. So either we have cute little Cinderellas, going along with the male agenda, as in 3 Idiots, or we have harridans as in scores of B films. Very rarely do we have a woman who is BOSS. That is why Ishqiya is worth watching. From the word go, we know that Vidya Balan is a woman on top. On top of the issues that confront her. She knows how to string along the men at every step. Ishqiya makes one believe in change, and have faith in the future of our film industry, that it will learn to move in step with the rest of this country. Women in India are no longer willing to lie down and be stroked by their men. And Ishqiya shows that reality marvellously.
