Changing roles
With reference to “You have come a long way, baby” by Maithili Rao (April 10), Bollywood has really come a long way with respect to the roles played by women in the films. Today, the directors dare to give roles to women which they would not have dreamt about 20 years back. But, such kind of films are only a few in number and is limited to lifestyle and sexual preferences of a woman. There is a wide range of topics which is still left untouched. Films can be based on women who fight all odds to become outstanding personalities, thus sending positive messages to womenfolk of our country.
Deepa Nagaraj,Bengaluru
The article was a refreshing take on the emerging New Woman concept heralding in Bollywood film industry. The industry has been ruled by the stereotyped concept of woman being the ‘angel in the house'. But new script writers and directors have brought a change in the content of the films. Though all the films that they make on women may not strike gold at the box-office, they get critical acclamation. The day is not far when women will get to play different roles that will redefine their position in society.
Oindrila Thakur,Kolkata
Unequal war
Harsh Mander is right when he says that the “politician-bureaucrat combine” continues to act as masters over the people and that the fundamental paradigms of power structure have not altered much. On corruption, the citizens are still engaged in an unequal war with this unholy combine. Despite the stress laid in the preamble to the Right to Information Act, in the actual administration of its provisions, widespread transgressions, both in letter and spirit, have been clearly in evidence through false pleas of absence of information and supply of irrelevant, incomplete, evasive and misleading answers. The Appellate Authority, more often than not endorses the decision of the subordinate official, while appealing to the Central Commission is fraught with cumbersome procedures such as submission of several sets of documents and also delayed disposal.
C. Divakaran , Thiruvananthapuram
