Pakeezah

Pakeezah

The film Pakeezah has many significant meanings within its story. Maybe that is why I had such trouble deciphering this movie. I would like to focus particularly on the critique of the general patriarchy that was displayed within this movie. The general that I speak of would be Salim’s fathers stupid and ridiculous acts to prevent his son and future wife from being happy.

The general patriarchy in this movie represents biased ideals that a father expects his child, Salim, to find a perfect wife and live up to all these ideals that not every single woman can do. Sahibjaan is a very hard-working woman who was put into a lifestyle by her aunt without her knowing there would be much else, let alone something that she is good at. That to me is the essence of a good woman. Sahibjaan is someone who works hard every day to live. She does not complain and knows that her job has some very bad risks at times. These risks present itself when, in thanks to her aunt, she is almost raped by another man just for having a poor showing at her job. She is honest and you can see this when she confesses her job to Salim out of guilt for everything that he has done for her. She even agrees to dance with the man who calls off her wedding.

Regardless of all this Salim’s father instantly dislikes the female because Salim knows very little about her past. Since at the time the father makes all the decisions he tries to prevent them from being happy. He even goes as far as trying to kill her over her getting glass in her feet.

This movie in my opinion assaults a patriarchy by showing the stupidity of some males and what it could do to impact the lives of others. The happy ending was close to being tragic based on a father’s ridiculous beliefs on what a wife should be at the time of this movie.