Jai Santoshi Maa as a Feminist Film in Indian Context

RUNNING HEAD- CULTURE PAPER 1
NAME OF THE STUDENT
NAME OF THE COLLEGE
CULTURAL WRITING
TOPIC- JAI SANTOSHI MAA AS A FEMINIST FILM
(INDIAN CONTEXT)

CULTURE PAPER 2
ABSTRACT
Culture refers to the ideas, customs and beliefs of a particular country or a society. It
is not just confined to the practices done in a closed methodology but it is a way of life. The
following paper talks about a cultural outlook of religion in India. Talking about art and
culture, religion plays an important role in structuring the culture of the place to where it
belongs. It affects the lives of people on a daily basis and structures the society as a whole. It
is the social behaviour found in humans of the society, therefore making it the most integral
part of a country. Religion is a fundamental step towards the building of a society. And, being
a part of a society, it covers a large mass of people together, contributing to various social
theories.
This paper critically analyses the role of religion in the evolution of societal theories,
analysing an Indian religion based film -“Jai Santoshi Maa” in context of feminism.
INTRODUCTION
India is known for its diversity and this can be clearly seen by the number of religions
it carries in one single fraternity. Amongst them, Hinduism is the largest of all and followed
by the majority of people1. Not just being the majority, Hinduism is also the oldest of all of
them. It has formed the roots of Indian culture and carried it for so long that now; it shapes
the basic mental structure of all the people.
Apart from being a culture of numerous rites and rituals, Hinduism has shaped the
roots of Indian society. The mythologies taught in the religion cannot just be treated as
philosophies but they themselves are a way of life2. They have motivated people from history
and the future to respect all the forms of creation. All living organisms are considered equal
and are given utmost respect in the society. The religious history of India has given a lot of
importance to female gender and all aspects of feminism.
1 Parameswaran, Ambi. For God's Sake: An Adman on the Business of Religion. Penguin UK, 2015
2 White, Ethan Doyle. "Theoretical, Terminological, and Taxonomic Trouble in the Academic Study of
Contemporary Paganism: A Case for Reform." Pomegranate 18, no. 1 (2016).

CULTURE PAPER 3
ABOUT THE MOVIE – “JAI SANTOSHI MAA”
It is a low budget, religious Indian film, based on a female goddess –“Maa Santoshi”,
who is considered to be the mother of satisfaction and has a great importance in the Hindu
structure of religion3. The goddess has been given the place of a mother. The movie displays
the system of iconography and symbolism. It represents the power of worship and belief.
Goddess is remarked by a fast of 16 Fridays consecutively by the women. It is
considered that women will be blessed who fast with a true belief4. The movie shows a
number of families and female individuals who are going through tough phases of life, but
once they concentrate their prayers, the goddess is tending to help them and light their way
with happiness and blessings.
The prayers and the grievances are only connected to the females. This shows a
biased culture of female goddesses being a help for the women fraternity. All the cases shown
in the film are related to the females5. Being it the delay a women faced in the birth of a child,
a girl getting married, going through the various issues of family and marriage to stopping of
an unwanted divorce6.
The movie states itself to be a female centric script, mostly acknowledging the
problems faced by a woman in Indian society and that, their cure lies in offering prayers to
the female goddess.
CULTURE AND FEMINISM
Hinduism is a diverse religion in itself and has carried a number of philosophies of
numerous gods and goddesses in its lap. With all the mythology that has been created in the
religion, the holy writings and holy temples have given the female goddesses a lot of
3 Pintchman, Tracy. "Cosmological, Devotional, and Social Perspectives on the Hindu Goddess." The Oxford
History of Hinduism: The Goddess (2018): 17.
4 Sensoy, Ozlem, and Robin DiAngelo. Is everyone really equal?: An introduction to key concepts in social
justice education. Teachers College Press, 2017
5 Ortegren, Jennifer D. "Hindu Ritual at the Margins: Innovations, Transformations, Reconsiderations. Edited by
Linda Penkower and Tracy Pintchman. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2004. ISBN 978-1-61-
117389-5, pp. xiv+ 235. 49.90(hardbound),ISBN978-1-61117-390-1, 48.99 (e-book)." (2017): 363-365
6 Rao, Shakuntala, and Vipul Mudgal, eds. Journalism, Democracy and Civil Society in India. Routledge, 2018.