You’d imagine that after constantly fighting for equal pay and substantial roles, actresses would get their due by now. But, it’s always one step forward and two steps back with Bollywood. And, Shamshera is the new flag-bearer of objectification when it comes to women. If you’ve watched the film, you know that Vaani Kapoor’s character had no considerable character arc – it’s only the clothes that change. Oh, and like that wasn’t enough, her name is Sona, in a film based on a quest for gold.
The only important task that the writers and the director could assign her was, to dance. She literally distracts people with her dance numbers so that Ranbir Kapoor can come in and do his ‘hero’ shiz on-screen. It’s like Shamshera has a plot and then there’s Vaani’s character with a parallel story – where all she gets to do is, cheer for Ranbir (for ego boost) or scream when he’s hurt. Basically, crows in the film were given more to do.
Twitter clearly has a lot to say about it, rightly so.
Of course, while portraying a woman as a shiny object, there had to be costumes that ‘did justice’. Which is why it seemed like Vaani Kapoor’s character was in a different timeline where she had access to Manish Malhotra’s lehengas. And when the plot had to show her as a part of the tribal community, they dressed her in chiffon shirts. Because, who cares about facts?
Just another Hindi film, casting a female lead for dance numbers and cheerleading the hero.