‘No is never taken as no’: Radhika Apte says Shah Rukh Khan’s old films romanticised stalking

Radhika Apte argued that Shah Rukh Khan's older films glorified stalking and even Raj Kapoor sexualized women in films through his male gaze.

Radhika Apte has pointed out a troubling pattern in the Bollywood romances she grew up watching, as well as those that came before them. She recently confessed that though she’s a “huge” fan of Shah Rukh Khan, revisiting his old films made her realise how they glorified stalking, which in turn, formed the idea of desire among impressionable young women of that time, including her.

In a recent interview with News18, Radhika said, “Being tied and our pallu being taken off were the dreams we used to get as teenagers. How scary is that. No offence… I’m a huge Shah Rukh fan, but when I revisited some of the old films I used to like, I was really taken aback. Because when a woman says no, it’s never taken as no. Chasing a woman was romance. That’s what we wanted at that time, and it was really shocking.”

The actor admitted that Bollywood has come a long way since then. “We’ve come a long way, but there’s also a long way to go, not only for women, but also men and society. That’s all ever-evolving,” she added.

Radhika Apte stars in Vikramaditya Motwane’s segment in Lust Stories 3, an anthology which will release on Netflix on September 18.

‘Male gaze in Raj Kapoor’s cinema’

Shakun Batra, who has also helmed a segment in Lust Stories 3, argued that over 20 years before Shah Rukh Khan even made his film debut with Raj Kanwar’s 1992 action romance Deewana, late legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor was “very comfortable with the idea of trying to explore” desire with films like Mera Naam Joker (1970) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985).

Shakun specifically referred to the storyline in Mera Naam Joker in which a young Rishi Kapoor is attracted to his schoolteacher (Simi Garewal), and to the one in Ram Teri Ganga Maili in which a widower (Rajiv Kapoor) finds himself attracted to Mandakini’s character. Interestingly, Mandakini’s visual in Ram Teri Ganga Maili has a key part to play in his 2016 family drama Kapoor & Sons, which also starred late Rishi Kapoor.

“But even at that time, the gaze was always male. And the women were sexualized. You’re putting that element down and making jokes at its expense anyway. That’s the problem — the sexualisation of women, and then by saying, ‘Don’t sexualize them’, and then calling them devi, and putting them on some pedestal of morality that you approve of. I find that problematic,” countered Radhika Apte.

“You’re still giving them clearance from a male point of view,” added Shakun. However, he also lauded Raj Kapoor for at least attempting to push the envelope on that front. “What I’d at least appreciate is that they may not have the awareness then, but they were at least trying to shake off the system a little bit. People 10 years from now may find flaws with how we’re showing lust. I’ve always liked filmmakers, storytellers, and actors who’ve pushed to do something different.”