The Bollywood vamp was iconic. We need to bring her back
Last December, I looked Shree 420 (1955) In a somewhat empty cinema in Gurugram, where she was projected in honor of the year of the centenary of Raj Kapoor. The film follows a Ranbir Raj (Kapoor) with the fall in the Mumbai’s dishonest upper ladder. Although Raj first cares deeply about his brothers who share his bad luck and his exploitation by the rich corrupt, he ends up succumbing to this last group. On both sides of the moral and economic spectrum are Vidya, played by Nargis, and Maya, played by Nadira. There is a striking contrast in their cupboards while they fight for the romantic attention of Raj; One drawing on his simple heart, the other has his greed. Your loyalty will push you to the Vidya dressed in Sari while she is sidelined by Raj halfway from the film. But you would be forgiven to be tempted by the Maya hedonist who, in his wardrobe and his black Western diamonds, has much more fun.
I miss Bollywood Vamp. With a frantic promiscuity, Campy dialogues, theft impulses of husband / boyfriend and plunging necklines, she was what our Chastes heroines could never be: deliciously, unpleasantly nasty. An image clicks in place – Do you also think of big elegant hair, noisy and garish makeup and a cigarette when you think of it? The Bollywood vamp could be an acolyte of a gangster, the husband’s mistress, a trivial criminal, a cruel mother-in-law, a matricide maniac, a sexy cabaret dancer or just a very nasty rich girl who does not do it like the female protagonist. In the world of the film, she is never “kind” and always a bit of a pill.
