Bollywood films have been trendsetters for Gen Next since ages. Our clothes, our thinking, our dreams, our goals, our fascinations, fantasies, to an extent even our relationships are deeply influenced by Hindi Cinema. "Meri chatri ke neeche aaja" or "lal dupatte vaali tera naam to bata" echo more like remarks by road side romeos than hindi songs. A fable every girl truly believes in since childhood is "ek din tera rajkumar aayega" just like it happens in romantic films.
An average Indian lives reel life in real life many times, consciously or unconsciously.
All is well as long as movies inspire soft side of human behaviour like dreams, passions or the choices we make but when cinema inspires the wrong, it is dangerous. There have been numerous examples where robberies, murders, kidnappings have been inspired from films, several cases where young couples have eloped not knowing repercussions of their acts.
I keep Daawa-E-Ishq in the latter category - a movie that would inspire the wrong!!!
Misuse of section 498A of IPC has been a cause of worry for lawmakers since last decade and a half or rather ever since the law came into enactment. The law was passed in 1983 to save women from mental or physical harassment by husband and his relatives particularly on account of dowry. Soon after its enactment, news of its misuse and women using the section to get back at their husbands in case of a failed marriage started emerging. Lawyers understood the loopholes in the law and it soon became a blackmail and extortion tool, as observed by several high courts and even Supreme Court.
Daawat-E-Ishq begins with the fact that though dowry was prohibited in India in 1961, till today many women are sacrificed at the altar of dowry. The Director chooses not to mention that as per law both giving and taking of dowry is a crime, perhaps in a bid to brand only takers as criminals. Though the film has instances where dowry is being willingly given to the tune of even 1 Crore for an IAS groom, I think like the society, the filmmaker also thinks groom buying is no crime but groom selling is!
Anyways, to cut the story short, the film is about a girl and her father who is trying to find a perfect match for her. Demand of dowry mars every conversation and exasperated by the same, girl decides to teach a lesson to dowry seekers by implicating a rich guy in a false dowry case and extracting huge amount as settlement. She of course has a dream of studying abroad (which later would have been made possible by husband perhaps) and sees this settlement amount as a way to fulfil her dreams. Irony happens when the boy she eventually decides to dupe is an honest man, full of love, against dowry (not his parents though) who goes to the extent of giving her the amount she is supposed to pay as dowry to his parents. Despite all the love and good will, she continues with her plan, threatens the boy with a false dowry case and runs away with 80 lacs of his money. Typical bollywood ending hits the scripts and girl returns the money, with boy forgiving her saying - if wicked men can demand dowry, what's wrong if a woman misuses a law!!!
As shared by Habib Faisa, director of Daawat E Ishq in interviews, the film is inspired by news that hit the headlines, of a woman who married 11 times, implicated each husband in a false dowry case and extracted huge money as settlement. Faisal, perhaps just read the headlines! In reality, this woman destroyed lives of 11 men and their families, put them behind bars for no fault and presently owns a 2 crore bungalow in Bangalore (as per media reports.) She never returned money to any of the groom and went scot free.
Habib ignores all these facts and that's why in my view has got it completely wrong. Forgetting two wrongs never make a right; he legitimises misuse of a law that has taken lives of several thousand people in India. 80 lacs might be a petty amount for his rich hero, but many men duped by these vicious women have ended their lives. In last 15 years, more than 25 lac people (more than 5 lac women) have been thrown behind bars on mere statement of a woman under 498A. Lawyers, women cell officials, police - everyone accepts most of these cases are trumped up cases where issue is something else but it's wrapped under a dowry case. Many men, whose families suffer for years in these cases have hanged themselves, tired of threats and demands for huge settlement. It's a pretty serious issue to make fun of.
I wish the filmmaker had done some research before making a film on a sensitive topic like this. The film fails to do justice to anything - either the issue of dowry or issue of misuse of 498A. In fact there are sequences that expose complete lack of knowledge of the filmmaker. He shows how Parineeti Chopra(the bride) records demand of dowry. In reality, no proof is really needed to register a case of 498A. Prima facie, anything a girl says is taken as truth. Then he shows how she tries to run away with the settlement amount. Well, women who misuse 498A and extort money don't run. Grooms families plead mercy to escape humiliation of a false case and pay any amount demanded. Situation is so worse that there are various types of formatted 498A complaints available in courts. All of them look the same except names. Extortion or in decent lingo - settlement amount ranges anything from 5 lacs to 5 crores depending upon the financial condition of the groom. Can this extortion be justified by any reason? In my opinion - No. But in Director's opinion perhaps yes which worries me.
When lawmakers are finding it extremely tough to battle misuse of 498A, here's a film that's legitimizes misuse of a Law!
Bollywood reaches every nook and corner of the country and so would Daawat-E-Ishq. The film would inspire more women to misuse the law and make a quick buck (If you have any doubt that no woman would want to break her home for money, I request you to visit a court nearby. Fight over food or even snoring by husband has led to dowry cases!) Not only does the film projects 498A as a money making machine, it suggests there is no need to even get married! Do a fake marriage and extort money! Ridiculous!
Misuse of 498A has hit institution of marriage already. Boys are scared to get married as any altercation can lead to a false dowry case. Daawat-E-Ishq will only add fuel to fire.
Cinema inspires real life - no one can deny that. The debate between who inspired who is perpetual - least that filmmakers can do, is think before they project larger than life images on celluloid lest they inspire the unstable minds!
(Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj is a Journalist and a documentary filmmaker. She is currently documenting misuse of section 498A of IPC through her documentary film 'Martyrs of Marriage.' She can be reached at [email protected])
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