Movies, though fiction, are somewhere a reflection of our reality. Some Bollywood movies have been bold enough to shed some light on the issue of infertility that has been impacting millions of couples in India. They have successfully projected the social, emotional and marital bearing of infertility. Often, raising the right questions and urging the society to change. Today, we talk about some such movies on infertility that has touched our heart and minds, too.
These movies have appealed to masses at large who empathize with the problem of infertility that emanates from a patriarchal and stereotype Indian setup. Through this article it is our endeavour to spread awareness about infertility and sensitize the society.
No doubt, a couple of movies have come up in open and talked about taboo topics like sperm donation laced with humour. Bollywood follows Hollywood, some recent movies have explored diverse topics of infertility, sperm donation, adoption. Celebrities like Aamir Khan (Surrogacy), Shahrukh Khan (Surrogacy), Vidya Balan, Sushmita Sen (Adoption), Seema Khan, Farah Khan (IVF) have come up in open to share their thoughts on infertility and adoption. Recently, Tushar Kapoor embraced fatherhood without getting married, all thanks to surrogacy.
Parched – All It Took Was The First Act Of Courage
Recently, I watched Parched which has been receiving rave reviews. A sense of frustration and correlation definitely occurred to me. A sense of incompleteness hovers around any woman fighting against infertility. Parched, is a simple yet emphatic tale of a childless woman who desperately wants to conceive. On top of her trauma, her alcoholic husband thrashes her every day at the drop of a hat. The society around her never doubted her husband’s fertility. A woman only has to face the trauma of infertility when it comes from the people around.
Vicky Donor - Let There Be Hope
A humorous take on sperm donation, soon the story evolved to raise a question on society’s attitude towards infertility and adoption. Vicky Donor is a beautiful story of hope and despair, a Delhi boy is hired by an infertility doctor to supply them with his high count sperm. He ends up becoming the biggest sperm donor in that clinic. Later, his own wife who was facing the bitter truth about her infertility is shattered to hear about her husband being a sperm donor. She struggles with accepting the infertile truth of her life. However, the story ends with sending a hopeful message about adoption and the joys of it. A baby born from her husband’s sperm whose parents had expired in an accident was adopted by them.
Filhaal - Holding Hands In Times Of Trial
Whenever I watch Filhal, there is a strong feeling that in those tough times, we need someone to hold our hands. Filhaal is an emotional tale of two best friends Rewa and Sia who have grown up together. One gets married and is on the family way. When she experiences miscarriage, she asks her best friend to be the surrogate mother. It is a complicated yet surreal tale of transformation, love and jealousy during the journey of surrogate pregnancy.
Similarly, in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Priety Zinta is hired as a surrogate mother by a childless couple. The surrogate mother falls in love with the father of the child. Trouble starts to brew when she desires on having the father in lieu of the child.
Amu – The Beauty Of Adoption
A critically acclaimed 2005 film directed by Shonali Bose, based on her own novel by the same name, Amu is a woman’s search about her self through realization of her being adopted. A heart wrenching story it brings out the beauty of adoption.
Made In India - Rules That Twists Happiness
A mother of three, connects with a fertility clinic to give birth to a healthy child for a US based couple. This movie is a griming tale of debatable issue of outsourcing surrogacy in India. It is an emotionally charged film that portrays the obstacles faced by the surrogate mother. Recently, Surrogacy Act of 2016 has brought some tight legal and economic rules that safeguards the rights of both surrogate mother and seeking parents.
Hari Bhari - Its All About A Boy
Shyam Bengal’s masterpiece on women’s plight in the name of fertility in our country, Hari Bhari is a classic tale. Shabana Azmi portraying the role of Ghazala, has been asked to return to her mother’s place since she is unable to give birth to boy. Few people in our society are aware that the gender of the child is determined by the male chromosomes.
Banjh Pan – A short film Talking About Male Infertility
Even if men are at fault, it is the woman bears the brunt of social humiliation, this story documentary reflects on this issue.
These movies on infertility that openly talk about sperm donors, miscarriages, IVF, male infertility, surrogacy are both enriching and inspiring, and we can correlate through our real life experiences.
Life is not easy for them who are undergoing infertility issues. Let’s become sensitive towards them as a society. Extend a supporting hand and tell them they are not alone.
Do let us know if any movie has touched your heart and made you rethink or raise a question.
Tags: bollywood movies cinema hindi cinema movies on infertility
