Even though it’s just April, Phool from Laapataa Ladies and Bella Baxter’s divergent paths to feminism and eventual convergence is a masterwork of cinematic storytelling.
My grandma was an excellent chef. Even though her knees hurt, I can still picture her sitting next to the gas burner making her unique mohanthal mithais for Diwali. We used to hang together all the time. She would regale me with tales from her past, and I would massage her plump arms with delight as I listened. She would often remember how, when she was younger, her father would comb through her hair, unraveling each unkempt strand by strand. Every morning he would head out for work, and every evening he would come back with a picture of her favorite chaat.
When she married my grandfather, there was still a taboo against women entering public places that were seen as fundamentally masculine. It was uncool for a woman to be in a chaat store at that time. She ended her little evening ritual of having her new spouse bring her chaat because she was too nervous to ask.
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After her marriage, my grandma gave up more than just chaat. She suppressed her love for spicy food, particularly baingan ka bharta because my grandfather didn’t share her tastes. When she had completed her story and turned back to the present, I shrugged and said, “Toh aap apne liye bana leti.” “Akele apne liye kya banati,” she said with a smile and a small laugh. It wasn’t until I saw Laapataa Ladies last month that I understood what she was saying. The 2001 film, directed by Kiran Rao, tells the story of the mishaps that befall Phool and Jaya, two young brides who become stranded on the same train.
The pandemonium that follows sets off an unforeseen chain of events that takes them on a quest to understand the world and their role in it. In a clip from the film, which will be available on Netflix on April 26, Phool’s mother-in-law remarks idly, “I can’t remember what my favorite foods are.” “Do women cook for themselves?” she asks before returning to her work. I remember telling my grandmother, “Toh apne liye bana leti,” one moment as I was seated in the dark of the theater and the next. My distorted voice came to me from the past, and with it came the realization that I had done the same things my grandma had done.
Even though I had always enjoyed potatoes, I observed in our first year of marriage that my husband disliked them and I stopped preparing them altogether. It seemed more practical to prepare something we could both eat rather than cooking two different dishes, even though he never asked me to. I only give in to my love of potatoes now that I’ve been married for eight years—when I go back to my hometown, I eat an excessive amount of samosas.
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My domestic worker’s husband physically abused her a few months ago. Her scalp required five stitches to close. She manages the household, cooks, cleans, and looks after their two children. She is the family’s primary provider of income. I told her not to let him back into the house, but a few days later, he returned, apologizing and getting her a new sari. She was sorry for him. A few days prior, he got intoxicated, thrashed her once more, scared the children, and ruined the house. Manju Mai, an elderly woman who manages a tea shop at the station in Laapataa Ladies, experiences similar mistreatment from her husband.
One day, she retaliates and pushes him out of the house. My domestic worker couldn’t clobber her husband but she hasn’t let him enter the house again. She told me that it was my assurance of help that strengthened her resolve. In Poor Things, Godwin (Bella’s father figure) doesn’t stop her from going with Duncan even though he is aware that he has nefarious intentions. He gives Bella the freedom to make her own choices and learn from her experiences. When I narrate the incident of my domestic worker, most people wonder why she gave him a second chance. It’s easy to make decisions for others when we are at an advantage and the repercussions aren’t ours to face. Maybe my domestic worker will give her husband third, fourth, and fifth shots at redemption. As a woman in a position of privilege, all I can do is offer support no matter what she chooses.
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Reject Items and Laapataa Women represent the two extremes of the feminist movement. However, they do not elevate guys who show concern, such as Deepak and Max, to a higher status than they do. Surgery is where Bella finds her calm. Phool holds Deepak’s hand and lets go of her ghoonghat. These are two remarkable and worthy women.
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