Helmet, Janhit Mein Jaari, Rakul Preet Singh’s Next: Bollywood Takes A Step Towards Condom Education
After years of treating this subject as a taboo, Bollywood is finally accepting the concept of using condoms as an important message through their upcoming films
Till the ’90s, Indian cinema was majorly dominated by family films and showing intimate moments on screen was considered against Indian culture. Even romantic films used vague concepts like flowers meeting or birds snogging to depict intimate moments. There were some steps taken throughout by the filmmakers to break this norm on multiple occasions, like one of the longest kissing scenes between Karisma Kapoor and Aamir Khan in Raja Hindustani. But It wasn’t until the 2000s that Bollywood and the audience opened up to accepting intimacy as an integral part of storytelling.
And as people got comfortable with it, several doors started opening up for more stories. Stories that dealt with subjects that were earlier considered taboo. Attempting a film like Girlfriend, dealing with a lesbian relationship, with Amrita Arora and Isha Koppikar, was a bold move in 2004. Then Onir came into the picture and showed how important is it to accept homosexuality, through his films like I Am.
Not just homosexuality, but films like Phir Milenge starring Shilpa Shetty, Salman Khan and Abhishek Bachchan and Onir’s My Brother Nikhil, tried to start a conversation around AIDS and the treatment of HIV positive patients in India.
Then came the 2010s and the era of Ayushmann Khurrana, who single handedly made talking about these taboo and uncomfortable subjects normal, through his choices of films. Starting from his first film itself, Vicky Donor, he brought out the subject of sperm donation, then with Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, he brought in light the problem of erectile dysfunction. The actor became a brand of cinema in himself in just a few years.
And it seems like the success of the Ayushmann-kind of cinema has kind of encouraged our filmmakers to push the boundaries. Their latest subject of fascination seems to be condoms and to educate and make people aware of its necessity in today’s times, especially in our country. Here are the three films that are touching on this subject:
Helmet
This Aparshakti Khurana and Pranutan Bahl starrer is all wrapped up and awaiting release. Talking about the subject of the film, Aparshakti had previously clarified that the aim of the film is to ensure that condoms become a part of every adult’s normal life and not something to be asked in shame and secret at the medical store. He had mentioned that through the film, they want to educate that purchasing condom or talking about it shouldn’t make anyone uncomfortable or be seen as a taboo, rather it should be a part of a normal grocery list.
Rakul Preet Singh’s next with RSVP
Recently it was announced that Rakul is collaborating with Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP movies for a new project which will see the actress essay the role of a condom tester. The film is touted to be a social family entertainer and will be directed by Tejas Deokar. In a statement, Tejas had mentioned that their film aims at destigmatising the use of condoms. For the uninformed, a condom tester is a quality control executive hired by condom brands to test the quality of their products before they hit the market.
Janhit Mein Jaari
Raaj Shandilya’s next with Nushrratt Bharuccha and Pavail Gulati and directed by Omung Kumar, is the latest film to join this list of films dealing with the subject of condoms and its usage. In the film, Nushrratt plays the role of a condom sales manager, and in a recent interview Raaj had described her character as a well educated and progressive woman. He had mentioned that in the film, Nushrratt jumps between selling condoms in times of medical stress and also running promotions in different regions. It will also focus on the effect that her job has on her personal life.
Seems like Bollywood is ready to take a step forward and deal with uncomfortable topics in a fun way. What is left to be seen is how the audience reacts to it.
Image Source: Instagram/nushrrattbharuccha/aparshakti_khurana/rakulpreet/ayushmannk, spotboye archives
Image Source: Instagram/nushrrattbharuccha/aparshakti_khurana/rakulpreet/ayushmannk, spotboye archives
