Name: KANISHKA PATRA

Department:
ECONOMICS
Roll No.: ECON24
SEMESTER 2
SOCIOLOGY
ASSIGNMENT

Topic:
How does popular
culture influence the
intimate spaces of
human relationships?
An intimate relationship, by definition, is supposed to be a very
private sphere, in which feelings and emotions exist, seemingly
without being affected by any external factors. But in reality,
relationships are far from having a world of their own which is
removed from other aspects of human life. Our intimate spaces
are subconsciously affected by the things we see and hear
around us, and how we perceive them.
India has traditionally been a land of conservative ideas with
strict moral codes for people to adhere to and customs to
follow. In the 19th century India, there were some long-
established patterns of social behavior. These existing social
norms began to be undermined and a marked change in the
attitudes of people were seen, with the influx of western ideas
into the Indian society. Some are of the opinion that western
romantic literature had considerable influence on the finer
feelings of western educated Bengalis, especially when it came
to their intimate relationships. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
wrote that every college student in Bengal knew the balcony
scene in Romeo and Juliet by heart. Western literature had
caused the emergence of yearning for romantic love, which
could not be satisfied within the framework of child marriage
and extended family which existed at the time.
Politics does not usually affect the personal relationships of
people, but the atmosphere of colonial India instigated some
interesting reactions. The novel Anandamath told a story of two
patriots who lived as ascetics and fought for the liberation of
their country. Their vow of celibacy was not broken until their
country had been freed. This story inspired ordinary people and
early revolutionaries like Brahmabandhab.
Hindi cinema is deeply intertwined with the social
transformation that took place in post-colonial India, and a
close look at some of the popular films of the 50s and 60s
reveals the impact it had on our society and our relationships.
In most of the films made just after independence, womens
roles were marginal. Women characters were often one-
dimensional and with little or no substance, while male
characters dominated the plot. Hindi films largely ignored the
changes that had taken place in womens lives since
independence. The fact that more and more women were
becoming part of the workforce and impacted the public and
private sphere, seemed lost on the filmmakers. And when films
did put the limelight on liberated women, they were treated
with scorn.
In this kind of social scene, B.R. Chopras Gumrah (1963) was
unusual, as the central character was a woman. Also, the
central theme of the film was a married womans relationship
with her former lover. The films prologue had an episode from
the epic Ramayana. During their exile in the forest Sita asks her
brother-in-law Laxman, how far she may stray from home.
Laxman responds by drawing a line (the Laxman rekha)
around her and the house. This line symbolizes the limits
society had put upon women, signifying that they shouldnt
stray away from their domestic boundaries. These boundaries
and limits had been upheld by Hindi cinema until being
challenged by films like Gumrah. The Laxman rekha has been
contested by Gumrah, by depicting the relationship between
Meena and her former lover Rajendra. Happily married to
Ashok, Meenas life is thrown into disarray when Rajendra
returns. She slowly drifts into a sexual relationship with him. In
the end she is forced to come to terms with her feelings of
guilt, desire and duty and has to make a choice between Ashok
and Rajendra. She chooses to stay with her husband, thus
protecting the Laxman rekha which had been drawn at the
beginning of the film.
Rajkapoors Sangam (1964) deals with a different kind of love
triangle, this time between three childhood friends. Gopal, who
is in love with Radha, sacrifices her so that his friend Sunder,
who also loves her, to woo her. Radha loves Gopal, but under
complicated circumstances marries Sunder. Sunder is so self-
obsessed that he never notices Gopals and Radhas feelings for
each other, until he finds an old love letter to Radha from
Gopal. In the films climax, the three face off and Gopal kills
himself after confessing his love.
The underlying narrative here is that love requires some sort of
sacrifice, repressing the individual to achieve a higher goal-
nurturing motherless children in Gumrah or sacrificing ones
love for friendship in Sangam.
Both films stress that marriage is a duty, thus implying that it
can exist without love. The films also show love can exist
outside marriage, something that was considered taboo in
those times. They also highlight something that had been non-
existent in other films upto that time- a womans own desire. In
both the films the woman remains with her husband thus
protecting the institution of marriage, but not because of their
own conscience, but rather because of fear of social disgrace.
The Laxman rekha was being severely tested. The constant
troubles within the institution of monogamy belied its unstable
nature.
Guru Dutts Pyaasa (1957) is another film in which a married
womans ex-lover re-enters her life. This time though, Meena,
the married woman, hasnt married for love or to achieve a
higher goal. Her actions are driven by pragmatism, and she
married a wealthy publisher, instead of Vijay, her former lover,
for financial security. Her character represents the materialistic
and hypocritical world which Vijay rejects in the end, having
become disillusioned with it.
The character of Gulabo, a prostitute, provides a foil to that of
Meena. Though considered an outcast by the society, she is a
kind-hearted person who stands by Vijay in his time of need
and helps to get his poems published. In the end they walk
away into a mist, into an unspecified place, which is an ending
common to many 50s Hindi films. The film projects Gulabo, a
prostitute but with a golden heart, as the lead characters true
and deserving partner, something unthinkable in the society of
those times.
All these films are considered as classics today, inspiring many
other similar films and their popularity and status reflects the
kind of impact they had on the society. In conclusion, it can be
said that popular culture and human relationships have a two-
way relationship- people write about and make films by
observing the social behaviours prevalent during their times
and some pieces of popular culture inspire people to shape
their lives accordingly.