Recommended Citation
Anita Ramasastry, Recent Developments - Cinematic Sex and Censorship in Indian Film, 33 HARV. INT'l. L. J. 205 (1992), https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-articles/750
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This Recent Development examines the increasing presence of cinematic rape in general-audience Indian films and discusses the potential cultural origins of the cinematic portrait of Indian women as chaste subordinates to men and as frequent subjects of violence. To account for this trend, this Recent Development outlines the legal guidelines governing Indian film censorship, and in particular the guidelines regulating sexuality. From this vantage point, the use of various suggestive cinematic techniques, including the regular portrayal of rape, may be seen as attempts by directors to circumvent government censure of kissing and other intimate relations on-screen. Finally, this Recent Development will identify other methods by which undesirable sexual stereotypes are expressed in Indian film and prospects for change through the reform of Indian censorship laws. India is the largest film producer in the world,