Bollywood shapes criminal justice machinery (CJM) expectations of “ideal” rape victims, affecting credibility assessments and highlighting need for media-influenced reforms.
Authors
Nikunj Kulshreshtha, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India; Department of Gender Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, United Kingdom;
Lydia G. Jose, IILM University, Haryana, Gurugram, India
Summary
The paper seeks to explore the role of popular Hindi cinema (Bollywood) in the creation of the image of an ideal rape victim that is expected by members of the criminal justice machinery (CJM) in cases of rape against adult women in India using theoretical, conceptual and interdisciplinary methodologies. The article would begin by reviewing contemporary literature on how Bollywood impacts society in the way certain crimes and victims are perceived and how the CJM deems certain victims more credible than the others. The article would then analyse the depiction of rape scenes in Bollywood movies from 1980 to 2022 to understand how specific characteristic markers are expected from rape victims by the CJM in India. Thereafter, the paper discusses the impact of each of these markers on the CJM and the role of media in shaping the opinion of society before offering possible solutions to address the issue and thereafter conclude.
Published in: Sexuality and Culture
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