The story of Seeta and Suzy. Review on Changing Face of Cinegoer

In Bollywood, there are two types of heroines - the Seetas and the Suzys.

In the 1960s, Seetas used to wear sarees or salwar kameez, put big red bindis, tie up their hair with just one curl on the cheek and smile prettily. Notable Seetas were Meena Kumari (the leader of the pack), Nargis, Waheeda Rehman, Nanda, Nutan and Madhubala.

Seetas were noted for their beautiful faces. They would sing perfect, melodious songs in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar about their 'eternal love'. They were often named Anita, Janki, Devi and Sunita.

It was blasphemous to talk about their bodies. Suffice to say that they did not possess bodies, only divine faces which would light up at the sight of the hero. Some Seetas were spoilt brats to begin with (Asha Parekh or Saira Banu) but only till they met the hero. After some skirmishes, love happened and they changed into docile Seetas while our hero looked on victoriously with an 'I told you so' smirk on his face.

Seeta would wait patiently in the sidelines with an ever-suffering, patient air while the hero took his time to marry her. He had many a serious business to settle like getting his ailing mother operated on or getting a sister married before he would take the plunge with his Seeta and of course, that is where the movie ended. But do not, for a moment think that he did not love Seeta ardently. He would adore Seeta and remain faithful to her even though the Suzys of the world would be out of their breath seducing him.

Notable Suzys included Helen (the leader of this pack), Shashikala and Bindu. Suzy would wear body fitting attire, would have long, loose hair and cheeky, mischievous eyes. This variety would have names like Mona, Lily, Monica and of course, Suzy. The Suzys would very unsuccessfully try to lure the hero in their traps. They would sing seductive songs in Asha Bhosle?s voice, dance jigs and pout while our hero would not look amused. Instead, he would give them a withering glance and walk on and away to his Seeta who would be standing in a corner with tears in her eyes, waiting for him.

Then the times changed (in the 70s) and guess who was bumped off ? Suzy, of course. Enter Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi and then in the 80s and 90s, Madhuri and Sridevi. These Seetas were more versatile. These ladies could cry, laugh, love, seduce, dance, you name it. So Seeta bani Suzy and vice versa.

So while in one scene, we had Madhuri gyrating to a ?Dhak dhak?, in another, she was fighting like a Sati Savitri for her husband. Ditto for Sridevi. She gave the most seductive performance of Bollywood in ?Kate nahin katte? in Mr. India. A few scenes later, she was feeding a bunch of hungry orphans who were the hero's wards with tears in her eyes. So the audience thought that it's ?Goodbye Suzy.?

But wait. Enter 2003. And what do you think happened ? Suzy is back, folks ! And she is here to stay this time. She came back in the form of Mallika Sherawat, Bipasha Basu, Neha Dhupia and heaven knows how many more. They drop clothes with abandon, smile slowly and seductively and sing huskily about desires. They don?t have a life apart from the hero and his bed. They do not have a face, just heaving bodies. At their best, they smile victoriously if they get one man in their bed. At their worst, they plan murders or justify prostitution.

And what about Seeta ? She is here too and not suffering anymore, thank you very much. Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee rule as Seetas and are patronized by the Yash Chopras and Farhan Akhtars. They wear long skirts and summer frocks and look as fresh as the spring. If the hero treats them like dumb dolls, they tell him to get lost. They have minds of their own and pursue careers. If the hero tells this Seeta to give up their career for them, she flings his engagement ring back at him and walks off. Way to go, girls !

P.S. I don?t know to which category do Kareena and Esha belong. I don?t think they know either. They are still jumping from one category to the other in random confusion.

P.S. Tabu is in a category of her own. She follows no trend. Brave girl !

P.S. This is in no way criticism of any of the film actresses whose names have been mentioned in this review since actresses get roles which reflect the trends of society in general. And these ladies do roles which they can as a way to earn livelihood. I respect their decisions to do roles which they can perform to the best of their abilities.