On August 5, the streaming platform Netflix released the film Boyfriend, an Indian-language black comedy drama written and directed by Jasmeet K. Reen.
In its opening weekend, it had the highest global opening for an Indian non-English film, with audiences spending more than 10 million hours watching it, according to a statement released by Netflix to the BBC. The film “is currently trending in the top 10 in 16 countries in the Americas, Africa and Asia, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Kenya and Trinidad and Tobago,” he added.
What is the appeal of the film? Its protagonists are women, a mother-daughter duo who carry the film from start to finish. The main theme is domestic violence and how the two women through deliberate and godly actions manage to emerge victorious. And there’s comedy. Both the actors, Shefali Shah and Alia Bhatt are competent, popular and liked by the audience.
The film portrays the life of a young Muslim couple, Badru and Hamza, who married for love, living in a slum in Mumbai. Hamza works as a railway ticket collector, drinks and beats his stay-at-home wife. Shamshu, Badru’s mother, lives next door, having raised her own daughter. She works at odd jobs helped by Zulfi, a young man in the settlement. Zulfi, seeing the violence in the couple’s house, reports it to the police. There is a back and forth as Badru acknowledges the violence and then denies it. It is quiet for a while. She becomes pregnant. A few months later during a fight Hamza throws her down the stairs and she loses the baby.
Recovering, Badru plans revenge. In a series of tragi-comic incidents involving Hamza’s workplace, the police, and his neighbors, in the end, he is tied to the railroad tracks in anticipation of being hit by an oncoming train. Badru changes his mind, releases him. He threatens her and just then, in an act of divine intervention, Humza is hit by a train. Badru learns that her mother also took extreme measures to get rid of her husband, helped by the local butcher.
The film has been praised, as its viewership suggests, but some who work on violence against women and domestic violence have been critical of it, suggesting that the treatment trivializes a serious issue. But the point of a black/dark comedy is to make light of topics that are generally considered taboo, especially if they are difficult or painful to discuss.
Domestic violence is when one partner physically, verbally, emotionally and sexually abuses their intimate partner by exerting power and control over them. It is a serious issue in India, and globally. According to BMC Women’s Health, a longitudinal research study showed that between 2001-2018 most cases of domestic violence in India were filed under ‘cruelty by the husband or his relatives’, with the reported rate of this crime increasing with 53% over 18 years.
This would suggest that domestic violence is no laughing matter. But its treatment can be. “Comedy can play an important role in challenging people to address critical social issues,” says Lauren Feldman, associate professor at Rutgers’ School of Communication and Information. She adds that people often mistakenly assume that comedy — because it’s funny and entertaining — is inappropriate for communicating about serious issues, or that it can serve as a distraction from important issues.
“However, our research shows that it is exactly that BECAUSE comedy is funny and entertaining because it is able to engage and motivate people around challenging issues. Comedy engages people and creates a positive emotional connection, which, in turn, can inspire engagement and action,” she says.
There has been engagement and action on issues of domestic violence in India for several decades. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) was passed with the hope of bringing relief to millions of women. However, as with many laws, there were gaps in implementation including adequate funding, training of state officials and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), delays in passing orders, and a lack of clear guidance to stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities.
Boyfriend, however, while showing Hamza’s violent tendencies, it fails to understand why he drinks and what makes him violent. Is violence ingrained in men? Is it part of their masculinity? Maybe and maybe not.
Masculinity, for boys and men, is a set of attributes, behaviors and roles socially constructed and influenced by cultural and biological factors. Psychologists Pellegrini & Bartini suggest that in early childhood, violence and aggression are used to express emotions and concerns. Over time, aggression in men shifts to strengthening power over another, especially when masculinity is threatened. Researchers Feder, Levant, and Dean have found that discouraging emotional expression and encouraging dominance and aggression can increase the potential for boys to be violent in acts such as bullying, assault, and/or physical and verbal aggression.
New sociologies of masculinity have emerged, presenting gender as a product of relationships and behaviors rather than a fixed set of identities and attributes. Led by sociologist Raewyn Connell, it describes multiple masculinities shaped by class, race, culture, sexuality and other factors, often in competition with each other as to which can claim to be the most authentic. Connell and others argue that common masculine ideals such as social respectability, physical strength, and sexual power become problematic when they set unattainable standards. Brief failure can make boys and men insecure and anxious, which can lead them to use force to feel and be seen as dominant and in control.
Men’s violence stems from men’s social and political environments, the characteristics of which set them up for internal conflicts over social expectations and men’s rights.
In the debate and dialogue about domestic violence, the push for women’s empowerment has been key to resistance to violence. But if empowerment is the autonomy of individuals (men and women) to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined manner and to consciously access the choices available to them, then men are as disadvantaged as women. Transcending their gender roles as masculine and feminine has been equally difficult for both sexes.
Sometimes working to raise boys’ and men’s awareness of masculinity issues has been seen as a departure from the emphasis on women’s empowerment. It shouldn’t be this. Without addressing how men are disempowered by society’s expectations, there can be no change. And that can’t be good for women either.
Get from Boyfriend it’s a dark one. Do men have to die so that women can live in peace? Is it true that men cannot change? Will women only be empowered if men are not around? In portraying the reality of domestic violence, do we neglect to understand the cause of men’s violence? The 134-minute film could have explored this.
(Article written by Anita Anand, a development and communications consultant)
