Rajesh Khanna says to Amitabh Bachchan in the film ‘Anand’, “Babu moshay! Life should be big, not long” Perhaps Gulzar might have written this dialogue for Smita Patil only. Nowadays people start their career at the age of 31, Smita left this world. On December 13, 1986, that is, exactly 37 years ago, the queen of parallel cinema vanished like a fragrance in the air. In the 21st century, it is common for women to raise their voice and for women, but in the 70-80s of the last century, doing so seemed like a dream. Actresses like Smita Patil made this dream come true. He created a revolution through the characters he played.
In the era when Smita Patil came, a major qualification to become an actress in Bollywood was fair skin. Smita was the first to shatter this misconception. He brought such color to his work that people forgot the color of his skin. It was he who opened the doors of Bollywood for actors like Priyanka Chopra, Konkona Sen Sharma and Bipasha Basu. She was the queen of parallel cinema. On one side were Naseeruddin Shah-Om Puri, on the other side were Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. The characters played by her lit the torch of women’s consciousness. It is not that she has established her influence only in parallel cinema, she was equally active in commercial cinema also. Worked with the stars of that era Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna.
In the 80s, when other actors were known for their trademark moves, hairstyle, dance steps or fashion, Smita was known for her work. Her strong characters laid the foundation for conscious feminism in the conservative society. When women were used only for decoration in films, Smita played many strong feminist characters. For example, her character Bindu played in ‘Manthan’, who leads the local women’s moment. Similarly, her character of Sonbai in ‘Mirch Masala’. Smita Patil standing in front of Naseeruddin Shah with a sickle is a slap on the cheeks of brute men. Recently ‘Animal’ came. In this, Ranbir Kapoor’s character had an animalistic mentality. He hurts his wife by pulling her bra from behind. Imagine, if Sonbai had been here, what would she have done? Smita’s characters in ‘Bhumika’ and ‘Chakra’ also raise the trumpet of women’s autonomy and independence.
It is not that Smita’s roles were only feminist, she was an example in real life too. She received National Awards for ‘Bhumika’ and ‘Chakra’, she donated the money for women empowerment. From time to time she also used to talk about the role of women in films and women’s upliftment. One of his interviews also goes viral every day. You watch the interview and think that Smita was proving to be a real feminist by defying fake feminism in the 80s.
