BREACHING THE BOUNDARIES OF FIDELITY IN THE INDIAN MARRIAGE: A STUDY OF THE PORTRAYAL OF ADULTERY AS A MEANS OF FEMALE EXPRESSION OF DESIRE

While the feminist intentions of the film makers, or a lack thereof, may remain a subject of debate, my paper argues that the three films Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006), Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), and Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare (2019) create a new space for the articulation of womens sexual desires, which seem to find fulfilment only outside the strictures of heterosexual monogamy. In the process, these films relegate questions of marriage morality to the backdrop and focus instead on the emotional and erotic needs of the female protagonists, providing a compelling narrative of women who seek fulfilment that is denied to them.