Bollywood Film Essay

The development of technology has caused various changes in the different aspects of the society. One of the most observable modifications is in terms of the source of entertainment for most people. Nowadays, majority of the people are interested in watching movies. They tend to get the satisfaction out of looking at actors and actresses play various roles. Motion pictures also portray different themes that could be focused on romance, actions, horror, science fiction, and others. The clamor for movies also paved the way for the success and popularity of numerous thespians such as those in Bollywood. Bollywood usually make movies that feature the concept of Scopophilia, which literally means the â€Å"love of watching. † This term is also synonymous with voyeurism that pertains to the experience of sexual gratification by means of observing other people in secret. Most of the time, the object of such kind of desire is someone who is undressed or engaged in a sexual activity. The main idea in the concept of scopophilia is that the one who is looking or peeping does not interact with the person being observed. In the same manner that movie-viewing also adheres to such practice because the audience watches the activities of the people on the screen, who are unaware that they are being observed. Most of the time, filmmakers would use erotic scenes in order to satisfy the sense of scopophilia within a person. However, they could get around it by featuring a chaste woman in the plot of the story. In this sense, the filmmakers are actually creating a balance between a woman who easily engages in sexual activity and another female who represents the conservative value of being chaste. This is greatly observable in Shri 420, wherein it shows two women that were linked with the main character Raj, Vidya the virtuous woman and Maya the sultry temptress. The film shows erotic scenes especially those involving Maya. Nevertheless, they were able to get away with it because of the argument that these scenes are important in order to show the difference of Maya from Vidya. As such, erotic scenes were perceived to have an important purpose in the plot of the story to be able to distinguish the kinds of women that exist. This also symbolizes the difference of the good and the bad that is shown in the movie, wherein Raj was with Vidya when he was still living a morally upright life but later on tempted by Maya when he was already engaged in illegal activities. The discussions above show that scopophilia is actually the main idea behind the very nature of movie-watching. Filmmakers usually use erotic scenes in order to satisfy this kind of desire within a person. Nevertheless, erotic scenes also have an important part in the movie as it tends to distinguish the upright life from the unethical one by using women as examples.