Four Levels of Femininity in HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..!

On some level, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! is probably Sooraj Barjatya's best film. At least, it's the best expression of his voice and his style as a filmmaker. It redefined Indian cinema in the 1990s as the first family musical entertainer after a long period of violent crime stories reigning the box office. Love it or hate it, HAHK is one of the most iconic films in the Indian history, even making it into the Guiness Book of World Records. I watch HAHK fairly often, at least once a year. Each time I keep thinking about the themes of what Indian femininity is to these characters, how modern values intersect with that, and traditions being both appealing and unappealing.

HAHK features four levels of femininity, each represented by a young female character. Because the film revolves around a large extended family, there are certain expectations about the ladies in the family should act. How these women meet these expectations, and how they are treated in the film, is what I want to talk about in this article.

The highest level: Pooja, played by Renuka Shahane
Pooja is presented as the Feminine Ideal. She is a demure wife, a loving daughter/daughter-in-law, a caring sister/sister-in-law, and she's gracious, humble, generous, and sweet. In fact, Pooja is so saintly, there's nothing left for her to do but die. The film builds up to her death subtly, by presenting her extreme goodness without any sort of fatal flaw.

That's not to say that Pooja lacks any personality. She does have a sense of humor, and she thrives in her traditional role as bhabhi and bahu. Her character makes distinct choices, and shows integrity in her life.Within the film, there is no indication that Pooja has any unfulfilled dreams that are being held back by her marriage into the family. For all we know, Pooja is happy in her traditional role. She is surrounded by people who love and respect her, and her relationship with her husband Rajesh (Mohnish Behl) is strong. Pooja's happy life is a strong argument for the necessity of traditional values. Perhaps some modern people (like myself at a younger age) find her "happy homemaker" life to be disappointing. But she is living her life through her choices

The second level: Nisha, played by Madhuri Dixit
Nisha is presented as the Replacement Model. She has many of Pooja's qualities. However, she adds some modernity. She's flirty, she's more overtly humorous, and she has the agency to kickstart her own love story. Nisha feels like a woman of the 1990s. She also seems more worldly, and aware of herself and her relationships to others. Like Pooja, however, Nisha finds some sort of comfort within traditional values and ideas. Like Simran in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Nisha must find a balance between her own modern opinions and sensibilities, and the ties to her family and tradition. Her romance with Prem (Salman Khan) isn't a direct rebellion, but it does defy the norm of arranged marriages. I should mention, of all the people to have a secret affair with, your sister's husband's brother is probably the safest choice. On some level, Nisha is being groomed to replace Pooja throughout the entire film. Nisha's place in the family shifts, and she must start to fulfill more traditional roles.

After Pooja's death, Nisha ascends to the Ideal Feminine level (I guess it's like how when a executive dies, everyone gets promoted up). Only this time, she resists being pushed into that box. She's not happy to step into her sister's shoes to marry her brother-in-law and be mother to Pooja's kid. Nisha goes along with what her family tells her, because of her sense of duty to the family and to her nephew. Through Dixit's performance, however, we can see the resentment and longing for her own life in the back of her mind. Nisha makes a choice; she isn't boxed into her fate. I like to believe that, were it not for her strong sense of duty, she would have told her parents about her relationship with Prem. Nisha s ultimately rewarded for her loyalty.

The third level: Rita, played by Sahila Chaddha
Rita is probably my favorite of the side characters. But I don't think the film even knows what a great character she is. She exhibits a lot of modern characteristics: she's outspoken, she's active in her pursuit of Prem, and she resists being the traditional girl even more than Nisha. HAHK treats Rita like the butt of the joke, but in the 21st century Rita is another type of young Indian person. She might dabble in traditional behavior (like making kheer) but following the traditions don't come naturally to her. Rita's lack of inherent comfort with feminine traditions is exemplified with her crossdressing as Prem in "Didi tera devar deewana."

Let's talk about Bhola Prasad (Dilip Joshi), who falls in love with Rita and imagines her as the mythological figure Shakuntala. One on hand, Rita is shown to be pretty undesirable to Prem. So that the person who does fall for her has to imagine her as the symbol for feminine devotion and piety is interesting. On one hand, it's troubling that Rita isn't desirable on her own, implying that only the upper levels of femininity are worthy of marriage (and of course that's the only endgame for these people!). At the risk of giving Barjatya too much credit, I want to posit that this love story with Bhola Prasad is extreme as a satire. Because Bhola Prasad is pretty low on the ladder of traditional Indian masculinity. He doesn't have the qualities that Prem and Rajesh have, which might make him less desirable. I guess it's good that these two found each other, because the film suggests nobody else wants them.

The lowest level: Sweety, the unseen character
Sweety is so terrible, she doesn't even merit being in the movie at all. Sweety is introduced by mention as a possible match for Rajesh. But the film presents her as the antithesis of everything you'd want for a daughter-in-law: vain, selfish, uneducated, and rude to lower class people. Everything about Sweety is meant to showcase what a terrific match Pooja is for Rajesh. Sweety is mentioned to build up Pooja even more, but also to shwo what can come of young people too influenced by Western culture.

HAHK does not have a direct villain, but Sweety's onscreen representaiton, Mamiji played by Bindu, is the closest we have to one. Mamiji is often ridiculed in the film, and the film's lone act of violence is directed towards her. Mamiji often says inappropriate things, pushing Sweety on this family. Sweety represents all the qualities that make people undesirable in this traditional Indian culture.

I should mention that Prem too is being groomed to replace his elder brother Rajesh. The older brother is also held up as an ideal man. Rajesh doesn't exhibit toxic masculinity, but rather understanding, loyalty, self-sacrifice. Much mention is made of Prem succeeding in the business and settling down with a wife like Rajesh.

Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! is a classic family drama, and its respect and love for traditions makes it feel quaint and somewhat outdated. But at the same time, it offers a few different characters who react to family expectations in different ways. And while I'm not a fan of idealizing some characters over others, I think it has to do with the time period. 20+ years ago, the film probably resonated with the values at the time. The romanticized view of tradition was refreshing after the violent films in the 1980s.

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