Impact of Item Songs in Hindi Films on Psychological Well-Being of Young Women in Pakistan

Abstract

Movies are a popular form of mass media that helps shape ideas, develop images, and reinforce dominant cultural norms. The structure of the "lyrics and dance moves" of item songs objectifies women in the most humiliating ways. In Pakistan, there is massive viewership of Hindi films. This study focuses on the impact of Hindi item songs on the psychological wellbeing of young women in Pakistan. It also investigates the perception of self among young women after watching Hindi item songs. The study used the survey method to consider 150 female participants (aged 17-30 years). The findings of the study suggest that participants of the survey admire the self-confidence of the “item girl” portrayed in item songs, and they also see her as an “independent woman”. Though they do not prefer to watch item songs with family, they love to use it as a celebration song at weddings, parties and other gatherings and also like to perform on such songs compared to different songs. The study concludes that despite some otherwise conceptions, young women in Pakistan are convinced by the “depiction of confident women” in Hindi item songs. The uses and gratifications hypothesis posits that individuals consume various media types because they anticipate obtaining certain gratifications from such choices.