Thanks for pointing out that while it made good viewing, the after-taste is to reinforce the perennial bias in Indian society against the 'lower class' - they thieve, they kill, they should be kept off-balance with constant threat of being fired. The other part that seems to sell so well internationally nowadays is that India is a lawless state - the only person concerned about morality or decency is the 'foreign educated and living abroad' person; anybody living in India is not only immune to it, but perpetuates the 'take the law in your hands' mindset.
Yes, the movie is well made. But I am disappointed that nobody, neither Meeta here, nor other reviewers elsewhere, have even thought about the total impropriety of the imbalance of power - a maid in a house, her entire livelyhood at the whim of a man, having to fend off the approaches of that same man...? 30 years ago, or 10 years ago, this would not have been remarked on. But in today's world to treat this as a romantic story when it could well be one of abuse and oppression, is being tone deaf and color blind. And this is set in India, where the latter is more likely, by far, than the former. How many cases do you know of the maid being harassed, even raped, at home, compared to how many are respectful romances?
Thanks for pointing out that while it made good viewing, the after-taste is to reinforce the perennial bias in Indian society against the 'lower class' - they thieve, they kill, they should be kept off-balance with constant threat of being fired. The other part that seems to sell so well internationally nowadays is that India is a lawless state - the only person concerned about morality or decency is the 'foreign educated and living abroad' person; anybody living in India is not only immune to it, but perpetuates the 'take the law in your hands' mindset.
Yes, the movie is well made. But I am disappointed that nobody, neither Meeta here, nor other reviewers elsewhere, have even thought about the total impropriety of the imbalance of power - a maid in a house, her entire livelyhood at the whim of a man, having to fend off the approaches of that same man...? 30 years ago, or 10 years ago, this would not have been remarked on. But in today's world to treat this as a romantic story when it could well be one of abuse and oppression, is being tone deaf and color blind. And this is set in India, where the latter is more likely, by far, than the former. How many cases do you know of the maid being harassed, even raped, at home, compared to how many are respectful romances?