Bollywood's Cross Connections! article

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In the sixties controversial Guide the wife is neglected by her ambitious archeologist husband researching caves. For her to walk out on her impotent husband to live openly with her admirer she had to be Rosie, not Radha or Rehana. Both in RK Narayan’s book and in the film a shadow looms over the heroine’s background. Her religious identity is vague and undefined.

Hindi cinema has for years projected the catholic community as a stereotype. All the characters irrespective of their status or style speak the same dialect-Bombaiya Hindi. If rich their heir homes have Victorian furniture like Michelle Mcnally in Black and if poor there are large sofas and dinning table and sometimes a secret desire to own a piano like the family in Khamoshi.

Almost always they are portrayed as God fearing and even if they are not on the screen their every second gesture is marked by a sign of cross.Without exception the men are loud and boorish, quite often he is a fisherman. Then he dresses in lungis like Premnath in Bobby. They appear bullies but they have a heart of gold. Some drink to create a racket like Pran in Majboor singing ‘˜Michael daru pee ke danga karta hai...' while others to have a blast like Amrish Puri in Doli Saja ke Rakhna.
The women dress in short skirts and plunging neck lines be it Bobby or Julie and wear a cross around their necks prominently hanging over the bosom. The working woman usually a bootlegger (Khuddar), is foul mouthed and slightly callous till reformed by the hero.In Saagar Dimple Kapadia didn't need reforming as she played an honest, hard working bar owner. Scriptwriters had a penchant for such characters because the ambience provided many opportunities for dramatic songs and scenes.

The middle class or rather the educated catholic girl was usually a stenographer in an office like Helen in Gumnaam or Shabana Azmi in Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai. She was someone the boss assumed he can take for granted until he is put in place. The scene when the boss makes a pass at Shabana and when she turns him down is an immortal scene in both gender and communal discrimination. As she leaves the frame he says, ‘˜You are fired.'Shabana turns back to look into his eye and ask, ‘˜Do you really believe that you have fired me?'

In the olden days right up to the 80s she was also the indispensable club dancer, an integral image in post independence cinema. From Sheila Ramani and Cuckoo in black & white films to Helen, Bindu or Padma Khanna they provided the glamour quotient in China Town, Teesri Manzil or Johnny Mera Naam and many others. She was the eternal seducer and paradoxically, also the easily seduced!

Unfairly so but the Catholic girl was always portrayed as someone easily accessible. It is indeed a pity that a film like Julie that had the potential to raise significant issues got restricted to elaborating the social problems concerning premarital sex.

In the sixties controversial Guide the wife is neglected by her ambitious archeologist husband researching caves. For her to walk out on her impotent husband to live openly with her admirer she had to be Rosie, not Radha or Rehana. Both in RK Narayan's book and in the film a shadow looms over the heroine's background. Her religious identity is vague and undefined. Rosie does not wear a cross around her neck and does not adorn her forehead with bindi until much later when she is ready to rebel.

That dark night when she invades the cave dressed as the native girl and screams, "Marco main jeena chahti hoon..."she is so chilling that her most sympathetic audience for a moment becomes judgemental of her.

My favourite portrayal of a Catholic is Aparna Sen's is Ms Stonenham in 36 Chowringhee Lane. She is reminiscent of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Mrs D'sa in Anari and the matron in Anand both essayed by Lalita Pawar except that while the Catholic women portrayed by Mukherjee were cheerful and strong, Aparna's poetry teacher is bereft of love and manipulated by students she trusts. Stoneham is an inspiration for a generation of students but at the end of the day, alone and sad.

Interestingly while the women catholic characters always delivered a social message, the heroes had it much easier. They sang and danced and lived their love stories. Their role was to provide entertainment. Manmohan Desai's Anthony Gonsalves immortalized by Amitabh Bachchan in Amar Akbar Anthony is a testimony to goodness in humanity. A Hindu boy is adopted by a priest and raised to be a good Christian. He more or less follows the Ten Commandments attends the weekly mass and whenever up to mischief is quick to go for confession.

The audience loved their heroes and as long as they were entertained they didn't care if the characters or the festivals were exaggerated. There was never any outcry from the community. In the last decade however the community has become vocal about their projection. In 1990 director Aditya Chopra had to delete a scene in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge where Shah Rukh Khan raises his little finger inside a church to explain he wants to visit the wash room.

A few years later Sanjay Leela Bhansali was pulled up for a scene in Khamoshi- The Musical where Salman and Manisha turn the priest in to a mediator for their romance. Thank God he won the argument or we would have lost one of the most romantic moments on celluloid.

Over the years the stereotypes have reduced and the audience no longer associates the community to just club dancers, bootleggers and stenographers. If the seventies Sanjeev Kumar and Shabana Azmi starrer Devta was a sensitive portrayal of a rich business man caught in the criminal world so was the father son conflict in Aakhri Raasta and in both these films it is incidental that the characters are Catholic. There is no over emphasis on the religion or the lifestyle. What matters is the mettle of the character or rather the message of the film.

It was liberating to watch Preity Zinta and Jaya Bachchan play a Catholic family in Kal Ho Na Ho without any trappings. There was no resorting to any clichés what so ever. Jaya wore western costumes but she was equally comfortable in saree when the occasion demanded. .

Times have changed and so has cinema for the better. Today it is no longer important to identify a character by his community. The world is changing. These are sensitive issues and what happens in life is reflected on screen.