Bollywood Through a French Lens

In this fifth lecture in the series, Sonali examines mother-daughter relationships in Bollywood cinema through the ideas of French feminist thinkers Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva.

Irigaray’s work challenges the patriarchal treatment of women as objects within marriage, reproduction and sexuality, while highlighting female solidarity as a means of reclaiming agency and identity. Kristeva’s ideas draw attention to the deep, pre-verbal bond between mother and child, expressed through art, music and poetry.

These perspectives are explored through films such as Ma Behen (2026), Mom (2017), and Bombay Begums (2021), which question conventional ideas of motherhood and explore female bonds beyond biology, romantic relationships and patriarchal expectations. The lecture considers how these narratives create space for new understandings of women, motherhood, solidarity and liberation.

@The French Gallery