In Devi-elopment: Deepanjana Pal writes on Durgas in cinema
A lot of ‘strong’ roles tend to be crafted almost as male characters, then played by women. A few streaming shows are finally changing this.
The gap between reel and real is rarely as pronounced as it is with Durga Puja.
The Bengalis’ favourite festival is held in sweat-drenched October. In defiance of logic, we dress up in shiny new clothes and head out to partake in the pleasures of pandal-hopping, knowing full well that, in seconds, the weather and sheer volume of people will reduce us each to a human smear.
We persist, displaying a determination that is arguably rooted less in religious ardour and more in a devotion that has been passed down generations — to mutton chops, fish fry, chicken rolls and phuchkas.
None of this is particularly cinematic, but Durga Puja has been lovingly romanticised in Indian films. Thought-provoking dramas from Satyajit Ray’s Devi (1960; about a young woman who is put on a pedestal, as an incarnation of a goddess, by her father-in-law) to Rituparno Ghosh’s Utsab (2000; a slice-of-life drama built around a family reunion) use the festival to explore complex emotional undertones.
One of the most striking uses of the traditional Durga idol was in Joi Baba Felunath (1979), in which Ray filmed the sculpted form of the goddess using chiaroscuro to beautiful effect.
In mainstream Hindi cinema, Durga Puja usually evokes unexpected courage in characters, as in the climax of Kahaani (2012), with its dramatic reveal of Vidya as an avenging goddess who channels the ferocity of the mythical Durga.
Love stories such as Devdas (2002), Parineeta (2005) and, more recently, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023) use Puja to show characters at their swoon-worthiest.
At the heart of our fascination with Durga is how distinctively she defines femininity. Usually, the mantle of motherhood confines a woman to domesticity, but not her. She is mother, as Gen Z understands the term. Her idol shows her with children and also as a warrior who wields weapons associated with the most powerful of gods. It’s a charming detail in the iconography that the weapons, which are a prominent part of a deity’s appearance when worshipped solo, become miniatures in Durga’s 10 hands, as though reduced to accoutrements. Durga herself is the real power, and so the body of the goddess towers over all else.
The womanliness that distinguishes Durga is thought-provoking too, particularly given mainstream entertainment’s tussles with femininity. In movies, “strong” women are still forced into an unmistakably masculine code. Whether it’s the trio of Crew (2024; about flight attendants caught in a smuggling ring) or the angry young woman of Jigra (2024; a woman determined to save her brother, who is imprisoned abroad), women protagonists define boldness and strength in masculine terms. They are male characters played by women, rather than characters informed by feminine experiences.
The streaming world seems to be doing better in this respect. Recently, we’ve seen the Panday women — actor Ananya Panday and her cousin, influencer Alanna Panday — in projects that examine the lives of contemporary women.
After the unwatchable series Call Me Bae (2024; a riches-to-rags tale about a ditzy heiress), Ananya delivers a stellar performance as Nella in Vikramaditya Motwane’s CTRL (2024). This is a film about an influencer who discovers the sinister side of the internet when she signs up for a service that deletes all traces of her unfaithful ex-boyfriend from her digital past. There are gaps in CTRL’s narrative logic — what woman would download an app that wants her camera on 24x7? — but the storytelling is effective. Crucially, Nella isn’t someone who could shapeshift into a Neil.
The allegedly unscripted show The Tribe is unmistakably rooted in its female characters too. Alanna and her girl gang of four content creators are on a mission to find fame and establish themselves in Los Angeles. The series follows the women over two months, documenting their petty conflicts and silliness. But also lurking in there are moments of surprising introspection, as when the two Muslim women in the group, Alaviaa Jaaferi and Alfia Jafry, talk about their relationships with their families and with Islam.
There are particular challenges to being an ambitious young woman in the age of the internet. And while Nella and The Tribe may not be modern-day Durgas, they are certainly fighting demons. That alone feels like victory.
(To reach Deepanjana Pal with feedback, write to @dpanjana on Instagram)
