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The contrast between these two - Zeenat Aman and Neetu Singh Kapoor was stark, so apparent in all its glory on KWK!
Koffee with Karan season 8 has proved that the show isn’t vain anymore rather it has opened the floodgates to a barrage of issues that our society has been battling with.
The septuagenarians make some candid remarks about the film industry back in the 70s, and one cannot miss the overt sexism that reeked off from their conversations.
Zeenat Amaan portrayed the woman we all aspire to be today while Neetu Kapoor remained the one that we often see in our homes or in our society at large.
The reference here is the latest episode featuring Neetu (Singh) Kapoor and Zeenat Aman where the former is being trolled for her anti-feminist stance. Her behaviour and answers lead to a common notion highlighted by actress Ratna Pathak Shah’s remark in an interview that most women are gatekeepers of patriarchy. She goes on to give examples of women who encourage patriarchy in the smallest of ways-the wife waiting for her husband to finish his meal, waiting for his approval for something she aspires to do etc.
The latest KWK episode shows the senior Kapoor boasting of her torrid relationship with the late Rishi Kapoor who has been claimed to be a womanizer and a hard core male chauvinist. She seems to be living in her own bubble wherein she sees a man’s possessive behavior as love neglecting how toxic it could get over time. Not to forget here that she mentions how until cancer hit the late star he never exhibited love or affection towards his wife or his children… as if the disease came in to bring them together into a one blissful, complete family that Mrs Kapoor always dreamt of.
Her inherent love for a patriarchal society is clear when she mentions how she’s been constantly training house-helps to teach Raha, Ranbir-Alia’s daughter to utter “Papa” even before “Mamma”! Besides, she prides in the fact how her son has made her super proud of his achievements even though we know what his recent accomplishment is based on-yet again his acceptance to portray such a character in a film that shams the whole concept of love, marriage and parenthood is a story for another day.
She remains surprisingly happy in her self created bubble of lies, deceit and a strong sense of brooding patriarchy that has left its mark even on the lives of her son and daughter-in-law.
Interestingly one sees the resurgence of Neetu Kapoor now more often once her husband is no longer around – a testament to how much he controlled her life. One cannot forget the onscreen appearances they made together when either she wasn’t allowed to talk much or was snubbed when she spilled some beans about their relationship.
Her acceptance of being controlled by a strict mother initially then an overtly strict boyfriend in Rishi Kapoor set the tone for her life. Besides, the fact that she gave in to it despite being at the top of her game back then shows the frailty of women in general. It leaves you confused – whether to feel pity for her or angry at her for encouraging such misogyny of the Kapoor clan for years. Though her reiteration of her affection for Shashi Kapoor gives us a picture of him being different from the rest of the Kapoor clan – how well read, well traveled he was which eventually justifies his production of women led films like Junoon, Kalyug and 36 Chowringee Lane.
While Zeenat Amaan minces no words about the harsh patriarchy and the male domination at the same that time that Neetu Kapoor paints a rosy picture of the Kapoor clan claiming the surname to the best crown she could’ve ever been bestowed upon.
Besides all this any discerning audience would’ve noted Neetu Kapoor’s condescending expressions to Zeenat Amaan’s conversations revolving around her upbringing of her sons into male-feminists as we all know where this need of hers come from.
Zeenat’s conspicuous presence on social media has uncovered a massive chunk of both her professional and personal life, which goes onto show how futile it is to be the reigning queen of the film industry when her personal life was always in quagmire which no one aspired to be part of. Her disturbed past with actor Sanjay Khan goes on to make her the woman or the mother she is today.
While Neetu Kapoor shone as the supposedly “ideal” girlfriend turned wife, mother and mother in law, Zeenat Amaan used the Koffee couch to break out of the decades-old perception of her as the glam doll and and the actor willing “to do it all” on screen. She shone as the badass woman that she is, the rebel, the woman ahead of the curve in so many wonderful ways.
It would have been sheer poetic justice to see both the ladies take down the bad boys in bell bottoms like how Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor did in Season 3 of the show. But we do know and understand who would have perhaps stomped his feet the strongest…Rishi Kapoor?!
Nonetheless this episode surely clarified how one woman had it all but had to succumb to the brandishing sword of Tipu Sultan, or the one who believed in leading a Khullam Khulla life while she believes to have won small battles. But the question remains whether it was real or purely Khel Khel Mein.
A dire penchant for words, can summarize my life as “My pen bleeds my life”! read more...
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