If you are 90's kids who have turned out to be responsible citizens and don't think the only way to woo a woman is by pulling her hair, or blocking her way or do weird pelvic exercises in front of her, you don't have Bollywood to thank for the same. Because some of those songs which you screamed throughout bath-time, danced to in pandals and gleefully sang along when they played on the radio were actively promoting harassment. Here's a sample:
Premi Aashiq Awaara (Phool Aur Kante, 1991)
What can build your leg muscles, improve core strength and perhaps even exercise your bicep a bit? Of course, trying to flee the clutches of a gang of 10 (or is it 12) rowdy boys who rush towards you when you are out jogging. This super-hit song from the 1991 blockbuster stars Ajay Devgn - who had more vowels in his name and less muscles on his body back then. But you have watch with wonder, with what astonishing agility, he circles that bike around Madhu, slams her against the bike a couple of dozen times, picks her up and plonks her down on the said bike and then pushes her off it, leaving her rolling on the ground. The beautiful thing here is, Madhu not only comes out without a single bone broken, she also consequently falls in love with him. We suspect, it's the hero's Hindi vocabulary - the sheer number of synonyms he knows for 'premi' - which does the job. Never mind he doesn't know what the word actually means.
Kya Ada Kya Jalwe Tere Paro (Shastra, 1996)
One of the most relevant things Suniel Shetty did in his career was be a part of this song. You may not remember the film, but the song was a rage. In fact, it redefined rage. A spin-off on a popular Pepsi commercial, 'Yehi hai right choice baby', this could be the stalking 101 of any time. The heroine in the video clearly has great perseverance - evident from the fact that she is repeatedly seen in berets, boots and once in latex in Bombay summers. Either great self loathing or extraordinary patience can make you do such things. No wonder then, when Suniel Shetty and enough men to populate a Modi rally, chase her, she is not murderous. They trail her, Shetty feels her up even as she tries to push him away, they circle her and mess up her hair and Shetty keeps getting handsy with her. What happened next won't blow your mind - you may want to blow up your own brains though. She falls for him.
Khambe Jaisi Khadi Hai (Dil, 1990)
Well, Dil had its hero Aamir Khan threaten the film's heroine with rape, for 'tarnishing' his reputation. Before it made that blatant attempt to be the apple of patriarchy's eye, it started off rather harmlessly in comparison. You know, just a little pushing and pulling, falling on the girl, groping her, forcibly hugging her while an assortment of men cheered and leered, sliding across the floor to end up at her feet so that her knees can be cuddled, making lechy faces and trying to peek under her skirt. Girl to boy ratio - one: a small country.
Lal Dupatte Waali (Aankhen, 1993)
Lal Dupatte Waali was pretty much a musical epidemic which refused to die down several years after it hit the country. Thankfully, it showed rare generosity to the women in the frame - two women get stalked by two men. Yes, they pull their dupattas, try hitching their kurtas up, nearly push their faces into the women's chests, scoop them up and then toss them at each other like frisbees, grope and fondle them, but phew, at least two men, not an army like the rest. Thank god for small mercies, no?
Akeli Na Bazaar Jaya Karo (Major Saab, 1998)
Ajay Devgn does some fascinating things to Sonali Bendre here, apart from chasing her around the town with a military of louts. He grabs her neck and turns it around, he squeezes her cheeks while holding her neck, he does some strange thing like swatting an invisible fly on her abdomen and then massaging it and then finally gets a cavalcade of bullock carts to follow her. Obviously, there are the usual blocking the way, groping and pushing business that Bollywood's leading ladies required to 'fall in love'.
Did we miss any? Tell us in the comments section.