THE MALAISE OF SEXISM IN THE SOCIAL ORDER
Coco Chanel, the French fashion designer said that every girl should know who and what she wants . Just ‘ knowing ’ who and what to want is surely not going to cut it, if she does nothing about ‘ getting ’ what she wants. “ ಮಿಥಿಲೆಯ ಸೀತೆಯರು ” (‘ Mithileya Seetheyaru ’, which means ‘ Seethas of Mithila ’) is a 1988 Kannada film that pundits heaped profuse praise on for its strong storyline and touching theme. The profuse plaudits were richly deserved too, for the moving, meaningful movie emphasizes the importance of breaking the glass ceiling. Visveshwaraiah (HG Somashekar Rao) is a domineering father, who takes pride in his ancestral lineage. The fellow though whiles away his time drinking and gambling. He has three beautiful, bread-earning daughters― Vanitha (Geetha); Kavitha (Akhila Thandur) and Latha (Kalpana Iyer). Visveshwaraiah’s meek, demure wife, Patho (BV Radha) is a homemaker keen on getting her daughters married off. Deferential as they are towards their father, the daughter...