Opinion | Lakdi Ki Kaati: Loss of Childhood in Hindi Cinema

The three of them looked up, waiting fearfully for the inevitable explosion that would occur within seconds. Pinkie somehow managed to keep a straight face while the little Mini giggled. And they heard it. DK Malhotra winced when his Pomeranian started barking upstairs. Indu Malhotra screamed and chased her puppy down the stairs of her duplex apartment in Delhi, wondering which of her husband and her two daughters had brought her puppy into the house without permission. She demanded to know.

Children have the right to a happy childhood. But were they all as lucky as Mini and Pinky in Masoom (1983)? Walk through some of the dark alleyways depicted in Bollywood where children were robbed of their innocence.

In Boot Polish (1954), the destitute Bol and his sister Bel are forced to beg on the streets and on Bombay’s local trains by their mean aunt Kamla. “Boot Polish” is probably one of her earliest works depicting the beggar mafia infesting various cities. Bol and Bell did not cry over poverty because this was the economic normal in the environment in which they were born. Bol discovers that shining shoes earns him 1 annas (6 1/4 paisa), whereas begging earns only 1 paisa per donor, and enthusiastically pursues his entrepreneurial plans. is being established. But then he has to raise 1.50 rupees for boot polish and a brush, and goes into overdrive to beg one last time to get the last rupees he needs to make up the 1.50 rupees. I borrowed 2 Annas from a company to raise funds. Smuggler. For Bol and Bell, hunger and domestic violence were gentle economics teachers.

In rural India, cults and customs provide easy excuses to lure young girls into prostitution. Giddh (1984) was about the custom in a south Indian village of giving adolescent girls over to the “service” of a god called Yellamma and making them “devadasis” (servants of God). . Otherwise, the girls’ parents will incur the wrath of Goddess Yerama. In reality, these girls were forced to become vassals of the feudal headquarters. The old and wealthy Desai can’t wait to take Chervi’s virginity within a day of coming of age, and young Lakshmi had been pre-registered by the wealthy Patil even before she reached puberty. Fear of Ieramma’s curse and extreme poverty left the villagers with few options. The villagers’ “escape” (if you can call it that) was provided by Virupaksha, a smart-pants pimp from Bombay. Under the pretext of rescuing girls from this devadasi custom, he procured girls from the village and sold them to brothels in the city. Lakshmi manages to escape from Patil’s clutches…but she meets Virupaksha on her way to Bombay. The red taillights of the Bombay-bound bus reveal the fate that awaits Lakshmi.

Salaam Bombay! (1988) could be said to be a story about what happened to people like Lakshmi after they arrived in Bombay. Salaam Bombay depicts the journey of a 16-year-old virgin named Solasar, who is taken to a brothel at the infamous red light on Falkland Road and held captive until she is sold to her first customer for a high price. Salaam Bombay! This film depicts the dark underworld of Bombay’s slums, where child abuse, child labor, and child exploitation are rampant, and minors can quickly turn into serious criminals. In Bootpolish, police detained Mr. Bol at an orphanage. But that was in 1954.

The world has changed rapidly. By 1988, the juvenile facility in which 13-year-old Chaipau of Bombay Salam was housed, far from facilitating the reintegration of juvenile delinquents into the mainstream, was encouraging him (and other boys like him) to “graduate” to crime. ” It was just to help. He kills drug dealer Bubba. Abhay, 15, who starred in Chandni Bhar (2001), was another example. Abhay comes from a low-income family and his mother works in a dance bar to earn a living. Abhay falls into his bad company and is arrested for extortion and sent to jail. However, there he is sexually abused by two other prisoners. Once released from the house, he shoots and kills two boys in cold blood, seeking revenge. Corruption is eroding the foundations of these institutions that are supposed to guide and mentor misguided youth. Organized corruption is the new organized crime. In Manorama Six Feet Under (2007), Irrigation Minister PP Rathore had a desire for sex…but with a difference. He was a perverted serial child molester.

It is inaccurate to think that only the economically weak or rural children are sexually victimized. Children from urban areas and affluent families may be equally susceptible. There are always smiling, overtly friendly guys who will do anything for perverted pleasure. Amidst the happy chaos and brawls of a typical Punjabi monsoon wedding (2001), it is revealed that Tej Puri had molested Riya, a member of her family, when she was still a teenager. Became. Just like her character Highway (2014), Veera was abused by her family’s uncle during her childhood, leaving her with lifelong trauma.

Childhood is a fundamental right. The moments of laughter and music of ‘Sa Re Ke Sa Re’ are the most valuable for every child.

Balaji Vittal is a National Award-winning and MAMI Award-winning author of Bollywood books, a columnist, a Bollywood commentator, and a speaker. He can be reached on Twitter at @vittalbalaji and his website is www.balajivittal.com.