Author: Ms. Shubhangi Bhatnagar

Abstract: Sandeep Vanga’s Arjun Reddy (2017) was revered for its unflinching story-telling, unprecedented cinematography and rousing music. The film won accolades from both, the critics and audience, alike for doing away with the tropes of toxic masculinity and misogyny in South Asian cinema. The film revolves around the eponymous hero, Arjun Reddy, and his intense and raw painful suffering for love. The research paper will question how successful the film was in its attempt to portray Arjun Reddy as a flawed, complex character by depicting anger as his only fatal flaw, while also granting him Herculean powers, captivating looks and prodigal skills as a surgeon and an all-rounder, as well as, simultaneously claiming to be audaciously real. The definitions of masculinity, as presented in the film, are analysed and challenged. The study will also question the power dynamics of Arjun and Preeti’s relationship, and Arjun’s treatment of women, in general. Feminist concerns in film theory such as ‘The Male Gaze’ and the issue of gender representation shall be discussed. ‘Did the film do more damage than good with its thinly veiled misogyny presented as new-age feminism?’ are some of the important arguments that will be resolved.

Keywords: Arjun Reddy, feminism, misogyny, patriarchy, South-Asian cinema, toxic-masculinity.

Article Info: Received: 15 Jul 2021; Received in revised form: 13 Aug 2021; Accepted: 23 Aug 2021; Available online: 31 Aug 2021

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.64.48