The dignified ‘other woman’: How Rekha’s styling in Silsila attempted to redefine the taboo trope

Alia Bhatt changed into Silsila’s lovelorn Chandni as she arrived on the celebratory screening of 1981 traditional, Umrao Jaan, now restored by the Nationwide Movie Growth Company-Nationwide Movie Archive of India below the Nationwide Movie Heritage Mission, and in addition momentously re-released in theatres on June 27. How Rekha’s styling in Silsila tried to redefine the taboo trope of the ‘different girl'(Images: X) 1981, thoughts you, was a giant yr for Rekha on the profession entrance, what with the musical drama profitable her, her solely Nationwide Movie Award for the grace and gravity with which she portrayed the titular position. Additionally having graced the flicks that yr, was Yash Chopra’s Silsila. A morally-grounded but emotionally evocative love triangle, it was fairly the controversial movie on the time — the type of controversy that follows the movie’s legacy throughout many years, given the general public conjecture surrounding the reel perceptively imitating the ‘actual’. Amitabh Bachchan starred entrance and centre as Amit, the item of need, certain by obligation and torn by love with Jaya Bachchan enjoying his demure spouse, Shobha. That left Rekha to embody the crushing aura of unrequited love as she slipped into the sneakers of Chandni, the ‘different girl’. Rekha, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan in a nonetheless from Silsila (1981)(Photograph: IMDb) Chandni’s trajectory in Silsila adopted a winding street of distress and misfortune as she discovered love, misplaced it to destiny, discovered the braveness to reclaim it for just a few fleeting moments, just for it to be taken away, the one factor left in her possession on the finish of all of it being her grace. And that’s the place the masterstroke lies. The historical past of cinema, homegrown and international, has for many years on finish painted the opposite girl in somewhat handy hues. Sultry, seductive and immoral, her selfishness solely stood to characterize temptation and wreckage, themes amply embodied in how she introduced herself. Now within the language of cinema, the immorality that the opposite girl tends to characterize is as sacred because the morality the spouse reigns on. And that is the place the iconoclastic nature of Rekha’s Chandni wins. Nicely, Chandni does not actually ‘win’, however her presentation to the viewers — a lot of it by the way curated by Rekha herself — goes a giant little means in highlighting the complexities of the opposite girl. Daring reds, rani pinks, luxurious satin and delicate bling could not seem to be a giant deal now, however in context of Silsila’s Chandni, it very probably represented the audacity of a girl to prioritise her personal coronary heart over that of society’s, although the context of it was and continues to be uncontestably abysmal. The reams of tulle, the short-cropped shirt sleeves and the halter necklines, gave hints of pores and skin with out actually permitting the character to descend into the demeaning trappings of the trope. The nearly-constant wine-stained lips and crisply kohl-lined eyes additional pushed the exact same boundaries — all superbly framed by Rekha’s signature gaze of defiant love. This is not a justification of the rationale of the opposite girl — however an statement on sartoria getting used to ever-so-subtly imprint her gall on the minds of the viewers. It is an early, and seemingly very intentional case research of style revolt. Silsila, with all its grace and contradictions, is out there for streaming on OTT.