Sarah Asif responded to the post on Zahra Paracha’s Bekhudi. She prods, of this video and of Dhaani, “I believe if we change body for body, we are not adequately engaging with the gender aspect of it”. And I find it hard to disagree. It is difficult to let go of hope that art can help us imagine futures more drastic than correcting just the elementary failures of our society. For much diaspora, casual scenes in a grocery store do not appear as subversive as they might actually be. Sarah posits:
I am perhaps very privileged to think that access to such spaces is not a big deal. But then I am also reminded that in reality, I see such empowered women around me all the time. During undergrad, I took this class where one of the readings centered around the notion of dreaming as a way to create a reality outside trauma with regards to slavery. My favorite shots from the video are ones that depict that dreaming sentiment - lying in the grass with balloons. I found that part of the video to be inspired, fresh, uplifting, and very reminiscent of carefree yet powerful depictions of womanhood in TV (like Shahnaz Shaikh in Ankahi, Marina Khan in Tanhaiyan).
I am inspired by this beach scene and score from Ankahi. Nayyara Noor's Khwab Martay Nahi is also a good one (albeit a little sad). Or the classic Disco Deewane? What a joy to see Nazia dance!