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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Maa Behen and the sleeveless blouse—a lazy symbol to stage a real conflict

Suresh Triveni’s Netflix film wants viewers to believe that a sleeveless blouse attracts judgement in an urban neighbourhood today. Have we all time-travelled to the 1970s?

Suresh Triveni’s Netflix film Maa Behen should be renamed as ‘Maa Behen aur Sleeveless Blouse’. The sleeveless blouse donned by Madhuri Dixit’s Rekha draws so much attention, it’s almost a supporting actor.

The moment she steps outside her house in Mathura’s Adarsh Colony (perfect name, though), the residents look at one exposed shoulder, and they waste no time in giving her character certificates. According to colony aunties and uncles in the film, the blouse doesn’t just reveal skin, it reveals Rekha’s character too. Even her own daughters, Jaya (Tripti Dimri) and Sushma (Dharna Durga), resent her for wearing it. 

The problem is not that the film depicts conservatism toward women. Indian society remains deeply invested in policing women’s bodies, particularly those of older women,........

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