Brothels as Heterotopic Spaces: An Analysis of the Movie Begum Jaan

Abstract

Brothels are restricted spaces for individuals who follow and praise the societal norms of morality. But these spaces also give easy access to the patriarchal society to suppress women since they do not fit into the so-called “respective” roles in society. Brothels are usually viewed as spaces for men to fulfill their desire for sex, enhancing their masculinistic peculiarities. Women are always suppressed in these sexual acts as they are viewed as derogatory subjects and forced to subjugate under men. The Bollywood movies have created a series of narrations portraying brothels where the above peculiar characteristics are reinitiated and represented. Contrary to this, the movie Begum Jaan portrays a brothel negating all the stereotypical understandings of it, as argued in the paper. To prove this, the paper views the Brothel in the movie as a “heterotopia,” keeping in mind the concepts related to gender, power, and space itself through qualitative analysis.