Femme Fatale: Representasi Antagonis Wanita Dalam Filem Bollywood Arahan Vikram Bhatt

Femme Fatale: Representation of Female Antagonists in Bollywood Films Directed by Vikram Bhatt

Abstract

Kewujudan figura femme fatale telah lama dikenal pasti dalam cabang ilmu seperti karya sastera, mitos dan lukisan sejak kurun ke-19. Namun kemunculannya dalam filem hanya bermula pada sekitar 1940-an iaitu dalam filem-filem klasik noir Hollywood. Watak ini kerap dipaparkan dengan membawa imej penggoda yang mampu melakukan apa saja untuk mencapai keinginannya. Feminis filem bangkit melontarkan kritikan tentang sinema yang bersifat patriarki apabila ianya didominasi oleh lelaki, manakala wanita hanyalah sebagai objek tumpuan “male gaze.” Kekerapan munculnya femme fatale dalam filem-filem Hollywood turut menarik perhatian industri filem Bollywood apabila femme fatale mula menghiasi filem-filem mereka pada lewat tahun 1990-an. Vikram Bhatt merupakan antara pengarah Bollywood yang menjadikan femme fatale dan genre thriller sebagai satu kombinasi dalam filem-filem beliau berpaksikan budaya masyarakat di India. Artikel ini membincangkan isu-isu patriarki dan penentangan feminis terhadap sistem sosial masyarakat di India seterusnya melihat bagaimana filem dijadikan sebagai satu medium mengukuhkan ideologi patriarki dalam masyarakat di India. Bentuk-bentuk representasi wanita sebagai femme fatale dalam lima buah filem arahan Vikram Bhatt dianalisis untuk memperlihatkan bahawa kebijaksanaan wanita dalam memanipulasi lelaki hanyalah sebagai penarik naratif dan kemudian watak ini akan dibunuh pada pertengahan atau di pengakhiran cerita. Paparan wanita sebagai simbol seksual adalah sesuatu yang digemari oleh penonton berdasarkan kutipan beberapa buah filem, namun di pengakhiran cerita, ia haruslah meletakkan kembali lelaki dan wanita itu dalam corak perhubungan politik seksual yang ideal dalam sistem patriarki.

Abstract:

The existence of the femme fatale figure has long been identified in fields such as literature, mythology, and painting since the 19th century. However, its emergence in films only began around the 1940s, specifically in classic Hollywood noir films. This character is often portrayed as a seductive image capable of doing anything to achieve her desires. Feminist film critics have raised criticisms of cinema as a patriarchal medium, dominated by men, with women merely serving as objects of the “male gaze.” The frequent appearance of the femme fatale in Hollywood films also caught the attention of the Bollywood film industry when they started incorporating femme fatale characters in their films in the late 1990s. Vikram Bhatt is among the Bollywood directors who have combined the femme fatale archetype and the thriller genre in his films, drawing from the cultural context of Indian society. This article discusses patriarchal issues and feminist resistance against the social system in Indian society, while examining how films serve as a medium to reinforce patriarchal ideology in India. The forms of representation of women as femme fatales in five films directed by Vikram Bhatt are analyzed to demonstrate that the manipulation of men by women is merely a narrative device, as these characters are ultimately killed off in the middle or at the end of the story. The portrayal of women as sexual symbols is something favored by the audience, as evidenced by quotes from several films. However, in the conclusion of the story, it must reestablish the ideal patterns of sexual and political relationships within the patriarchal system, placing men and women back in their respective roles.​