I don’t exactly know what is the possible number of ways in which a person can define this word, tharki, but I’ll give it a try.
- Men who stand by the local bus stop, neighborhood grocery shops and try to interact forcefully with every girl, or, even mature, married ladies with their cute little 2 or 3 year olds for that matter.
- The spooky guy from your street who basically emerges out of nowhere to every other place you go.
- A man who touched you inappropriately in public and left like nothing ever happened.
- Or an elderly man from your own family who constantly keeps an *eye* on you.
I’ve been in each one of these situations and I know my friends have too. I also know this is just a pinch of that huge amount of filth that exists in our society and the other girls just like me, have even been through worse.
What I found common among all these men was the fact that they actually believe I would retaliate positively to their gross activities. Why? I don’t know, maybe because I find a pair of jeans and T comfortable to put on unlike my other female co-humans from remote regions. Yes, that makes me look modern and vulnerable to these people.
So am I trying to say that looking modern is an invitation to those perverts that I’m asking for it? No, definitely not. But it is what THEY believe. I tried to think more about this issue that why would a person hold my attire as being equivalent to an open invitation. Is it actually their fault?
I guess no, because the majority of these men are school/college dropouts whose lives are nothing but all about ‘hanging out’ in the neighborhood addas, whose heroes and role models are none other than Sallu bhai dancing to Munni Badnaam Hui and Arjun Kapoor dancing to Hua Chokra Jawaan Re.
Let’s accept it people, there exists only two extreme categories of women in Bollywood. Either it has to be a sati-savitrii draped in her saree or duppata who adheres to every rule or regulation set by her family, or a spoilt brat who regularly hangs out with cool boys, drinks and dances in pubs, wears miniskirts and flashes out her cleavage to her male protagonist. And these local tharkis believe this to be the ultimate reality.
If a girl is shy and dressed up in a traditional outfit, local goons will try to harass her and expect her to keep her mouth shut because this is what a typical timid girl is expected to dress like. If it’s a girl dressed up in a pair of jeans or skirt, they’ll automatically assume her to be the next Poonam Pandey, who has dressed up the way she has because she wants it. Trust me, such guys instantly go crazy the moment they spot a girl walking out of a liquor store and their eyes twinkle like “Aaj to maal haath laga”.
Why? Because they’ve seen it in movies that if a girl drinks and dresses up in a particular manner, she’s the one who’s willing to do anything and everything with men. They’ve never seen it in the movies that there exists one more realistic category in the middle of these two extreme ones. It is the one where a girl can dress up modern and aspire to be a successful millionaire all by herself, or not be interested in boys and romance at all and drink at the same time!
Bollywood industry is not that responsible when it comes to leaving a positive social impact on its audience. And trust me on this, they are much more capable of shaping mindsets than any other social activists or nukkad-naatak performers. Movies have that power to target specific groups of people that all the other forms of campaigns and education cannot. It’s high time they realize their responsibilities and act more wisely.
It’s not practical to include graphics where the female lead sunbathes in her bikini because, just accept it! Indian audience isn’t just that mature to handle this! Being such a powerful source of disseminating ideas in the general public and acting so lousy about it is just disappointing.
