This piece was written as part of a weekly song-based e-mail series the author wrote along with an ex-beau. Good writing shall not go to waste just because a boy decided so, and therefore, here it is.
Mohana Bhogaraju & LV Revanth – Manohari
This e-mail is inspired by the Temptress, the Vamp, the Maneater and the Siren; the Femme Fatale. A sharp, sexy woman fully in control of the reigns of her beauty, wit, and sexuality is the most glorious and terrifying images my mind has ever conceived of. Feminine rage, devoid of any crude, brute force, poses far more of a threat than any Schwarzenegger-type ever could. It is no wonder that, for centuries, any woman that went beyond the usual domestic borders and owned her sexuality was seen as devious: a witch, a mystifying, hypnotic entity. The cowardly man felt his dick lengthen, his brain distracted, and his undeserved position of power threatened – and so the condemnation of this Femme Fatale begins; right from labeling (the names I use in the beginning) to literal Witch-Trials.
In this email, though, I refuse to concern myself with men and what they think of women. There is enough of that in the world. (READ VIRGINIA WOOLF). This email is all about women. Women are beautiful, they’re sexy, and they’re hot. A woman that knows all of this about herself is unstoppable. She can set sail thousands of ships (Helen of Troy), sing men unto their death (Sirens), and leave a trail of extraordinary destruction when wronged by her Greek Hero-Husband (Medea).
In this vein, what are the promiscuous, provocative, scantily-clad women in Indian ‘item-songs’ if not Temptresses of the highest order? I say this with nothing but sincere adoration. These seductive, shrewd women have the mystical ability to charm their ways past fortresses, bring down entire kingdoms and cause the downfall of dynasties. And they do this all without a hint of crude violence- my ideal type of woman. Every woman has this power. The critical moment is when we can reclaim our sexuality and the vocabulary used to describe, and invariably control it.
This song, along with Oo Antava from the movie ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ are special for that reason for me. They are depictions of these same temptresses and sirens I speak of, but in popular Telugu media, that I grew up watching and listening to. Manohari, and its music video are about these temptresses attempting to deviate the protagonist from his mission.
Oo Antava is similar. It has all the makings of a typical ‘item-song’, even with the video. However, once you pay attention to the lyrics (which I hadn’t until very recently), you realise that the entire song is a mockery of the ‘male mentality’. The gist of the lyrics is that – regardless of the length of the skirt, the colour of the skin, the shape of the woman, etc. ‘Andhina Dhraakshe theepi meeku, Mee maga buddhe vankara buddhi’. I leave it to you to the gather the meaning of the Telugu lyrics.
I disagree with a lot of popular articles saying that this song was a mere gimmick and just token feminism simply because the “lyrics are antithetical to the video”. The video, as I’ve mentioned before has all the makings of a typical ‘item-song’. But once you view it with the knowledge of the Femme Fatale – both her own self-knowledge of her power as well as our archetype of her as the cause of the downfall of all these pathetic drunk men around her, coupled with the lyrics, I fail to see how it is a mere token. Samantha in this song knows that she has all the men around her wrapped around her finger. It is she who is in power. She has reclaimed her sexuality, she plays into the stereotype that these men want her tied to, but, this time, with new knowledge and power. She is ridiculing these men, and the fact that they still swarm around her, in their grotesquely drunk and pitiable states, completey unaware of the mockery that is being made of them, man… I’m here for it. Their absolute ignorance of how obnoxious and dense they’re being (which is so characteristic of the average Indian man – born entitled (Hi, Dad.)) in this video is to me, a reflection of so many social situations.
Think of this: there’s this fat old man, insufferable as always, man-splaining to a girl her own profession, while the girl, obviously used to this, sits and nods, too tired to correct his outdated (and mostly non-existent) knowledge about this topic; she thinks to herself, ‘let this man-child have his fun’, and entertains him like a bored mother does her toddler when he’s speaking gibberish.
While it is true that so often I don’t speak back to my dad/uncles/other men of the same breed because of politeness, a lot of the times it is also because it is so very fun watching them make buffoons out of themselves. Yes, do go on about that WhatsApp video you watched about Ikigai. Yes, yes, it is a Swedish concept. Oh really? The Indian anthem was voted the most melodious in the world? Wow. That’s great. Weren’t you part of the composing team? No? Oh, I must’ve gotten confused; after all, you are such an accomplished man. Yes, do tell me about that award you were given for sitting in on that meeting about the inclusion of women in the judiciary. How cute. How very, very cute.
Yalright, yuokay, I guess I coloured out of the lines a little today. In any case, [redacted]. The poetic license to be weepy and sad-sentimental has been revoked for a while I heard. [Redacted] there’s always reasons to smile, and [redacted].
– Bharati Challa