Liberation Conscience in Leena Yadav's Parched

Abstract

The main thrust of this thesis is to show how the sense of self-discovery and independence comes into the mind of the protagonists Bijli, Lajjo, Janaki and Rani in the movie Parched as they undergo different types of unequal treatments on the basis of gender. Indian society is a patriarchal society where women are taken as commodity and their agency is not perceived. But these female characters become aware of how patriarchy misbehaves them. Bijli is used by her boss in order to earn money. Janaki's father sells her in 4 lakhs; Lajjo is stigmatized as barren women whom her husband uses to fulfill his daily necessities and Rani is compelled to suppress her desires and compelled to live her whole life as child-widow. Their psyche revives in order to challenge the social setting. Consequently, they deny what patriarchy says in order to get rid of all kinds of injustice that have been exercised upon female civilization for last many decades in Indian continent. They are fed up with the patriarchal codes and conducts and thus challenge it. They can control over their own body and mind in A Room of One's Own. Submissiveness, docility, fragility, and feebleness are attributes women reject in favor of self-exploration and emancipation as feminism envisions. Keywords: Self-exploration, liberation, female identity, submissiveness, patriarchal ideology.