Are films like Sultan, Dangal reinforcing the same stereotypes they are trying to break?

Both films are, undoubtedly, great pieces of story-telling

KARACHI: Over the past few years, Bollywood has seen an influx of women-centric films. Be it Vidya Balan’s 2011 comedy drama The Dirty Picture or Kareena Kapoor Khan’s similar but somewhat less entertaining Heroine, it seems like the industry has finally realised how even female leads can reign supreme at the box office.

Of the more recent lot of films, Sultan and Dangal – both epic sports dramas – not only won fans and critics but even managed to touch upon female empowerment in one way or another. However, it must be noted that, in doing so, they unassumingly ended up romanticising other related social issues which are more, if not equally, important.

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Dangal, for one, shows Aamir Khan as a devoted father who shuns the notion that only a male heir can fulfill his dreams of winning a gold medal in wrestling. Instead, he starts to trust and train his daughters, guiding them to a successful wrestling career – a sport most women wouldn’t even dream of playing.

But upon closer inspection, it can be argued that the film – which is already breaking all box office records – promotes blind obedience to one’s parents. Could Aamir’s character be justifying parents who impose their beliefs and dreams on to their children and their domineering attitudes?



Sultan, on the other hand, revolves primarily around Salman Khan but in the process, highlights the social misogyny by making Anushka Sharma’s character, Aarfa, voluntarily sacrifice her own wrestling career for his sake. It’s Aarfa’s childhood dream to win gold for India at the Olympics but when she finally makes the cut, she chooses to back out because she is pregnant. Sultan – ecstatic over the news – completely overlooks the great sacrifice Aarfa makes for the larger interest of their marriage.

What’s worse is perhaps the way the entire dilemma is showcased in the film. It unfolds in too obvious a manner; all that was needed was for Aarfa to look at a dancing Sultan to make the biggest decision of her life.  And while this is probably how most women in her position would react, films like Sultan that bank of strong and accomplished female characters should not bow down to popular sentiment, especially when they have the power to change it.



Both Dangal and Sultan are, undoubtedly, great pieces of story-telling. But film-makers also need to be more responsible and conscious of what they are hinting at on screen and more importantly, how they present it. Sometimes, we end up reinforcing the very stereotypes that we’re trying to break.

The characters in the films might have touched the hearts of audiences worldwide but my question to you all is: Would you really like to be Aarfa or one of the girls in Dangal?

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