From spectacle to subtlety: gender, violence, and female subjectivity in contemporary Hindi cinema

Rauniyar, Chandni and Afzal, P. Muhammed (2025) From spectacle to subtlety: gender, violence, and female subjectivity in contemporary Hindi cinema. South Asian Review. pp. 1-20. ISSN 0275-9527

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Abstract

Concomitant with the mainstreaming of gender politics in India in recent decades, there is an increased scholarly attention on the representation of gendered violence in popular Hindi cinema, often highlighting how contemporary narratives engage with new forms of female subjectivity. Drawing on scholarship on gendered violence in popular Hindi cinema, this paper identifies the emergence of a new female subjectivity through a detailed analysis of three recent Hindi films: Pink (2016), Thappad (2020), and Guilty (2020). It explores a distinct cinematic thread that reorients the discourse on gendered violence by shifting the focus from the spectacle of violence to the nuanced construction of female subjectivity, shaped by emergent notions of affirmative sexuality, female desire, and freedom. Situating these narratives within the evolving feminist sensibilities and transforming cinematic conventions in contemporary India, we examine how these films critique dominant notions of violence, safety, and reputation – concerns that gained prominence post-liberalization – while negotiating latent tensions around gender and sexuality. In doing so, we argue that these films create a critical space where female subjectivities and feminist sensibilities are articulated, contested, and reconfigured.

Item Type:	Article
Authors:	Rauniyar, Chandni and Afzal, P. Muhammed
Document Language:	Language English
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Emergent, feminist sensibilities, gendered violence, Hindi cinema, subjectivity
Subjects:	Social sciences Social sciences > Sociology & anthropology > Social interaction Public Health
Divisions:	Azim Premji University - Bengaluru > School of Arts and Sciences
Full Text Status:	None
URI:	http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/6889
Publisher URL:	https://doi.org/10.1080/02759527.2025.2602252

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