My girlfriend has seen quite a few Indian movies and videos, and in almost all of them she reports there are scenes where an actor or actress is drenched by rain showers (often occuring during love scenes), or the actors/actresses are in or around water in some fashion. She seems to think there’s some kind of significance to this. Is it some kind of sexual symbolism? Is it just a film making device common in India? Or is it just selective perception on her part?
Not-so-WAG: cleanliness, rebirth, purity. In Hinduism, bathing in the Ganges denotes ritual purification.
Had to read “A Passage to India” my senior year in high school & had a teacher who was very into symbolism–a lot of the water imagery in that book is laden with the connotation of rebirth.
I’ve read that it’s just a way to get around the strict censorship on sexual touching and revealing clothing. By getting everyone wet you can get away with showing much more without being accused of putting people in scimpy costumes.
Take this with a large grain for salt, I’m off to look for cites.
Basically what Telemark says. It makes the women look sexier without them having to reveal flesh, which is a no-no in mainstream, for the masses, hindi movies. The masses don’t really care about the booklover angle.
Just so you can put it in perspective, smooching on film is still a major no-no in Indian films.
Besides, not all movies/videos do this. Perhaps your girl’s sample size is small.
Thanks - I was aware that kissing is still largely taboo in Indian movies. However, from what you said the use of water does make sense. Can’t show nudity or kissing - how can we have our actors/actresses exude sexiness? “Water!”
Now - what’s the deal with the elaborate musical/dance sequences in many Indian movies? Is this something that is a carry over from traditional Indian drama?