Jayeshbhai Jordaar — Fighting a Nation, Plagued With Female Foeticide

Jayeshbhai Jordaar is a movie of one man fighting patriarchal norms of female foeticide. The social dramedy stars Shalini Pandey, Ranveer Singh Boman Irani, Ratna Pathak Shah, and Jia Vaidya.

We all know all over India female foeticide is very common practice. We all also know the reasons, too. These heinous killings of the girl child, while in the womb, are addressed mainly on two grounds.

One of them is the family preferences. Having a male child means they are future breadwinners of the family and succeed the family lineage. The abortion of a female fetus is most common in the areas where patriarchal norms have been strictly followed.

The second reason as we all know is the financial difficulties. A huge amount of money these days are spent on a daughter’s marriage. Families sometimes have to take loans that are paid off, often by the next immediate generation.

Instead of providing good education and a better future for a daughter, it is our Indian society’s preconceived notion that a daughter is a financial burden, especially at the time of marriage, that fuels such drastic criminal acts.

Sadly, our society deliberately forgot to realize that when the fetus of a girl child is destroyed, a woman of the future is sacrificed.

Age-old ideologies ruin the future

The movie Jayeshbhai Jordaar, clearly teaches that the present generation invites the sufferings on its own and also sows the seeds of suffering for the future generation.

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In Jayeshbhai Jordaar, director Divyang Thakkar explores the reason of foeticide and comes up with ideas on how to tackle each situation that comes around the theme of female foeticide.

The story has its share of comedy and thrill, but the director states very clearly that women are always considered as child making machines to the audience.

When a man must stand up

Jayesh (Ranveer Singh) the hero is the kind of man who doesn’t know what feminism is all about, but is determined to face the consequences. His character is someone who lives in a remote area of Gujarat and is forced to succumb to the atavistic mindset of his parents.

Jayesh’s fearsome father Pruthvish (Boman Irani) and forlorn mother Jasoda (Ratna Pathak Shah) has been following the traditions of their village in Gujarat. They want a grandson to carry forward the name of their clan, and don’t think twice before aborting a XX chromosome that comes in the way of their desire.

Pruthvish, is a typical father that anyone would get scared of. In some scenes, he puts up his anger when he fears that his son is trying to escape from patriarchal norms of the society.

Jia Vaidya is the eldest daughter of Jayesh, tries to help her parents as she gets worried about losing her unborn sister. She is portrayed as today’s internet connected child.

Prthuvish is shown as a cruel character who holds the women responsible for giving birth to girl-children.

When Jayesh tries to escape with his wife Mudra (Shalini Pandey) who is pregnant with their second daughter, he decides to find a shelter where there is safety for women and a village that has no such crimes like female foeticide.

The movie is an emotional investment

Watching the movie gives a feeling like, arranging a story built on series of skits on women empowerment, that hooks the audience to such a dreadful situation that only Jayesh can solve.

The movie has strong emotions that make you laugh, at the same time make you ponder whether these things really happen in our country, like really in our India? There is curiosity as well as humour in the dialogues.

The scene where Jayesh’s sister gets the chance to slap her insufferable husband when he is unconscious is one example where the director brings the blend of humour and message of women empowerment.

Women are not child bearing machines

However, the young man gets carried away when he tries to connect Gujarat’s today with Haryana’s past, in terms of the impact of female infanticide. The hilarious pappi (kiss) scene, where Jayesh underlines the importance of seeing women as more than just child bearing machines, is one such example.

Jayesh turns out to be tough, his character is not an easy one; his heroism is hidden beneath his social conditioning and fear of his father’s position.

But Ranveer brings out Jayesh’s insecurities and courage without disrupting the tone of the film, and once again becomes the character of women empowerment. He shows how one could be distinguished from the rest of the men in such dreadful atmosphere.

It is the kind of film that won’t make you bored in the living room, but will keep all young women awake. And it might get the young men and their families to stop committing female foeticide when Jayeshbhai comes to the living room.

Image Source: Cinema still from Jayeshbhai Jordaar Movie Trailer via Canva Pro

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