Insaf ka Tarazu: An Award-Winning Assault on a Minor
A note on how the 1980 film 'Insaaf Ka Tarazu' staged an elaborate scene of a minor being abused — and how, far from protest, its young actor went on to win a Filmfare award.
Child abuse is not frowned upon in Bollywood. Instead, sexually predatory behaviour towards underage girls is a celebrated genre in the industry. Think of phrases like Kamsin jawani, kachchi kali, 16 baras ki Bali…
The 1980 film Insaaf Ka Tarazu went a step further by featuring an elaborate scene of a powerful older man sexually abusing a minor while relishing her helplessness. What purpose did it serve other than titillating the audience?
Although this movie would have been just as bad without this problematic scene, BR Chopra never faced any protest or calls for arrest for encouraging paedophilia onscreen. What’s more, the child actor in this scene, Padmini Kolhapure, won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress award for this rape scene. She was really a minor that time – only 15 years of age.