Aamir Khan's Dangal is on its way to earning over Rs 500
crore at the Chinese box-office,
but it has angered the ladies in China. Feminists have come out in protest of
the film saying that it reeks of patriarchy and is filled with male chauvinism.
On the popular Chinese website Douban.com, hundreds of
people submitted low ratings and bad reviews, according to Chinese media
reports.
One review read, "The father's values make me vomit,
he forces his daughters to live a certain type of life with his dream, with
money and becoming a champion. You think the movie is about breaking gender
stereotypes, but actually it's knee- deep in prejudice."
Another said, "The movie reeks of patriarchy and
male chauvinism. The daughters didn't have any freedom to choose and were
raised ferociously by their father to be world champions."
Image Source: youtube/zeemusiccompany
Dangal was touted as a progressive film in China because
it showed young women struggling against patriarchal ideas on their journey to
becoming medal-winning wrestlers.
But some aspects of the film sparked a fierce online
debate on whether the film could be seen as a feminist story or not.
People who said it wasn't a pro-woman film, said that
Aamir's character didn't give his daughters a choice at all. On the contrary he
forced them to take up wrestling. He made them cut their hair short and denied
them their favourite food when they were training.
Ultimately, the debate over the film had turned into a
discussion on Chinese feminism and whether it had taken a wrong turn.
What do you think folks? Does Aamir Khan's Dangal reek of
patriarchy and male chauvinism?
Thumbnail Image Source: twitter/aamir_khan