4 Aparna Sen Movies That You Must Watch

Aparna Sen Movies are known for making their mark as feminist-centric and inclusive with a focus on gender stereotypes. Aparna Sen was ahead of her times and also created work that resonated the same. She has been a responsible director who makes the audience question societal gender stereotypes. 

In an interview with Firstpost, she communicated her stance on women characters in cinemas. 

"I have never shown women in a derogatory light. I have always highlighted their problems or treated them as normal characters without denigrating them in any way. I also think education needs to be responsible and show children films about women in more serious dignified roles where they are maybe the breadearner, not just item numbers. If for instance at school level they are exposed to a film like Mahanagar, it would be a completely different perception of women.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with item numbers. "Beedi jalailey" is a lovely number, which I like very much but if that is all that is the measure of their exposure, then what kind of perception do they have of women? Unfortunately our children are only exposed to Bollywood or copies of Bollywood. But it’s not only Bollywood – it’s ads, it’s the entire media. On television you don’t have shows like Rajni anymore."

Suggested Reading: How Women Have Been Given Way More Agency In Films By Aparna Sen

Let us have a look at the representation of women in some of the most celebrated Aparna Sen Movies. 

Aparna Sen Movies That Might Move You 

Sati

Sati takes us through the life of Uma. Uma was a young woman who was mute. She was a Manglik as per her horoscope. A Manglik woman is said to bring about the death of her husband. Since this was set in 1800 when Sati was prevalent, this would also mean that Uma would be burnt on the pyre with her husband. Uma came from a small village and being a Manglik meant that no one would be willing to marry her, marriage being the primary livelihood of women in those days. 

Uma was married off to a tree to erase her Manglik horoscope. She was raped by the local schoolmaster and was ostracised by the village for carrying a child as a consequence. She spent her days by her husband, the tree, where lightning struck one day and proved fatal to Uma. Sati's portrayal of the damsel in distress sheds light on disability and gender stereotypes.

Mr. and Mrs. Iyer 

This movie is led by Aparna Sen's own daughter Konkona Sen and actor Rahul Bose. Mrs. Iyer meets Raja Chowdhury on a bus while traveling with her child. Mrs. Iyer gets to know Raja is a Muslim man and blames him for offering her, a Brahmin woman water.

Shortly after Hindu extremists board their bus and start targeting Muslim folk. To save themselves a passenger revealed the religious identity of an elderly Muslim couple on the bus. The couple got dragged out of the bus. Seeing this Mrs. Iyer was determined to protect Raja and introduced him as her husband and the father of her child when questioned by the Hindu extremists. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer sheds light on religious discrimination that exists in society to date. 

15 Park Avenue 

15 Park Avenue tells us the story of Mithali, a schizophrenic young woman. Mithali accepted a challenging assignment as a journalist to prove her worth. She was out on an assignment to report on post-election violence. A gang of goons raped her. Mithali was in love with a young man at the time who refused to accept her after the incident. This triggered her dormant schizophrenia. 

Mithali would imagine herself as a young woman happily married with children. Aparna uses Kunal and Anjali in the movie to express that what's real and unreal is framed by people in positions of power. 15 Park Avenue, released in 2006 leads a conversation around mental health which was not a norm at the time. 

Goynar Baksho

Goynar Baksho released in 2013 is a comedy-horror film. The movie revolves around the changing positions of women in society. Aparna Sen uses an endearing ghost to carefully weave three generations of women and portray their roles in society. The movie moves from encasing a woman as a hoarder to a helper to a philanthropist. Goynar Baksho sheds light on the gold-digging archetype of women and subverts that very narrative.