Women in refugee camps: reel representation of marginality in the extremes

Abstract

Popular Hindi cinema in India has come a long way in portraying women. From the 1910s, when male actors used to play heroine characters, to the 1950s, when female actors started playing lead roles, women’s depiction has undergone various forms of experimentation. One such aspect constantly discussed in cinema, literature, and other art forms are their depiction of the extremes and their take on the marginalities. This paper attempts to analyse the representation of women in refugee camps in popular Hindi cinema. There are works available focussing on the depiction of women in cinema content-wise. However, the cinematographic portrayal explicitly referring to refugee camps is not widely explored. This paper attempts to fill these existing gaps. It also discusses the current political landscape of India vis-à-vis popular Hindi cinema. The cinematographic representation of women exemplifies their nurturing and caring nature. The screen time shrinks when the focus shifts to their inner conflicts and emotions.