Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is a vibrant Bollywood film that explores themes of family, love, and gender dynamics. At the center of its narrative is Rocky Randhawa, played by Ranveer Singh, a character who challenges traditional gender stereotypes in a quintessentially Indian setting. While the film is celebrated for its progressive moments, Stuart Hall's theory of representation offers a nuanced lens to analyze how media both disrupts and reinforces cultural norms.
Rocky: A Symbol of Gender Fluidity
Rocky, a wealthy, gym-obsessed Punjabi man, initially appears to embody hyper-masculinity. However, as the story unfolds, his character defies these expectations. A pivotal scene features Rocky performing a Kathak dance during Durga Puja, traditionally viewed as a feminine art form in Indian culture. By participating in this performance, Rocky asserts that such forms of expression are not confined to gender roles. This moment resonates with the audience and challenges societal norms, as men in Bollywood rarely embrace such vulnerability and grace on screen.
Through Rocky, Johar deconstructs the hegemonic masculinity that Bollywood often perpetuates. Instead, the character embodies a multidimensional masculinity that embraces empathy, emotional intelligence, and non-traditional interests—traits traditionally coded as feminine.
Hall’s Theory of Representation
Stuart Hall’s essay on representation posits that media shapes societal understanding by creating preferred meanings while also allowing for oppositional readings. In Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Rocky is represented as a progressive counterpoint to patriarchal masculinity. Yet, Hall’s framework invites us to critically assess whether this representation fully escapes the cultural myths it seeks to disrupt.
Encoding of New Masculinity:
Johar encodes Rocky with traits that subvert traditional masculinity. By positioning him as a nurturer and an emotional partner, the film pushes against the stereotype of men as dominant and stoic. However, Hall reminds us that these representations are still shaped by the dominant ideologies of their creators and contexts.
Reinforcing Gender Norms:
While Rocky’s character breaks stereotypes, his eventual return to traditional family values and his validation as a romantic hero could be read as reinforcing patriarchal structures. According to Hall, such narratives often oscillate between resistance and accommodation, ensuring that progressive portrayals remain palatable to mainstream audiences.
Cultural Myths and Audience Reception
Barthes’ concept of myth aligns with Hall's theory, highlighting how cultural products like films naturalize ideologies. Rocky’s character challenges myths of Indian masculinity but also constructs new myths. For instance, his progressive actions are framed within his larger role as a supportive partner in a heterosexual love story, subtly tethering his rebellion to traditional family values.
The audience’s reception plays a vital role in interpreting Rocky’s character. While some see him as a groundbreaking figure for masculinity in Indian cinema, others may interpret his actions as an extension of a performative masculinity tailored to win over modern, liberal audiences.
In conclusion, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani exemplifies Bollywood's evolving landscape, where breaking gender stereotypes is becoming a narrative priority. However, as Hall suggests, media representations are rarely neutral. Rocky’s journey is both a victory for progressive masculinity and a reflection of Bollywood's strategic balancing act between tradition and modernity. By using Hall’s theory, we see that while Rocky challenges societal norms, his character also reaffirms cultural myths, offering a complex portrayal of gender in contemporary Indian cinema.
I watched Rocky aur Rani a few weeks ago and loved it! Your blog picks the right moments in the movie to show how this was a massive improvement compared to previous Bollywood films. I agree with your take on Rocky’s character. Particularly, his Kathak performance and his family’s reaction to his performance was very reflective of average desi family situations. However, your point about Rocky’s oscillating values is misplaced. In my opinion, it showed a different side to masculinity in a desi setting - one where you can be true to your wife and your family at the same time. It was very realistic.
As someone who absolutely loved Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, I thought your blog was very well put. Pointing out how Rocky subverts the traditional hegemonic man typically presented in Bollywood cinema through acts in his relationship and, in general, a change in his life is important. Looking at this through Stuart Hall's framework of representation and pointing out that the media rarely escapes dominant ideologies is also incredibly important. This is something that I agree with. I don’t believe that Bollywood movies will ever be able to escape this ideology entirely because that is how Indian society functions. Bollywood filmmakers are aware of the fact that their audience is now evolving, so movies like this are coming out, but they are also cognisant of…
This analysis gives a deep insight several scenes in this movie challenges the concept of hegemonic challenges hegemonic masculinity and redefines it. It has always been a traditional style and notion of bolly wood movies that they have fit in the dominant characters and normalize such portrayals. I loved how you used the Barthes’ concept of myth and Stuart Hall’s theory of representation to explore how Rocky’s progressive masculinity and character.
Your blog was a really insightful look into how the character of Rocky Randhawa, while breaking gender stereotypes, does also end up falling into these stereotypes. I feel like this movie also falls into the trap that many movies do in the name of breaking stereotypes which is that they'll have a character such as Rocky subverting traditional gender roles (such as in this case with Rocky's Khattak dance and general nurturing character) but then don't go all the way in breaking them as, by the end of the movie, Rocky eventually returns to traditional family values. This phenomena begs the question that did the movie break actually break gender stereotypes or that it only appeared to do so? Your…
Your analysis very accurately captures the complexity of Rocky’s character and Bollywood’s evolving approach to gender representation. However, as you’ve highlighted through Hall’s framework, media rarely escapes dominant ideologies entirely. This was a thought-provoking read, and I appreciate how it invites us to question the balance between resistance and accommodation in progressive portrayals of masculinity!