Representations of women in Indian cinema are often warped and twisted. They are subjected to a series of gazes – voyeuristic, investigative and titillating. The controlling look is always with the male. One film-maker who consistently steered clear of this right through his career was Satyajit Ray. None of Ray’s women on celluloid can be reduced to a cliche. They defy every imaginable stereotyping. This is particularly true of the women in his ...
