Visual and Performing Arts
“Behind her laughter…is fear!” Domestic abuse and transnational feminism in Bollywood remakes
Document Type
Article
Abstract
In this paper I argue that Agnisakshi, along with other Hindi remakes of Sleeping with the Enemy, constitute a cycle of domestic abuse films. Yaraana/ Friendship (David Dhawan,1995), Agnisakshi, and Daraar/ Crack (Abbas Mastan,1996) were released within a period of two years and were successful at the box office. Vinay Shukla’s Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe/ Someone Ask My Heart (2002) hit the theaters after a seven years gap. While all the remakes expand the storyline in slightly different ways, the centrality of the domestic abuse plot and the similarity to avenging women films indicates their critique of patriarchy. I discuss the transnational feminist potential of these films as understood as remakes and as constituting the domestic abuse cycle.
Publication Title
Jump Cut
Publication Date
Fall 2013
Keywords
Bollywood, remakes, film studies, domestic abuse, thrillers, domestic violence
Repository Citation
Siddiqui, Gohar, "“Behind her laughter…is fear!” Domestic abuse and transnational feminism in Bollywood remakes" (2013). Visual and Performing Arts. 25.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_visual_performing_arts/25
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
