Be it BR Chopra's Pati Patni Aur Woh or Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Rang Birangi or David Dhawan's Biwi No 1, men has always got the best of both worlds.
They would flaunt their wives at social dos, but wouldn't leave an opportunity to sneak away with other women at the slightest pretext.
It is funny to note when it comes to dealing with a woman's 'wayward' behaviour, things change drastically on the social front.
Writers and filmmakers face sever backlash from critics and audiences alike.
The theory of a so-called 'modern woman' who wants to live her life on her own terms and conditions has never gone down well with the Indian audience.
Decades ago Mahesh Bhatt ruffled a few feathers with his Shabana-Smita Patil-Kulbhushan Kharbanda starrer Arth.
The film saw the heroine walking out of a marriage because of her husband's affair with another woman.
However, much before she makes the painful, yet dramatic step, she cries, shouts, whines, hoping against hope to have her man back in her life.
Mahesh Manjrekar's directorial Astitva was one such film that ran into a lot of controversy.
The film sought to explore and define the identity of a husband and wife in a marriage.
All hell breaks loose when the husband finds out about his wife's old but brief affair with her music teacher.
Both her husband and son disown her. Astitva was released with an 'A' certificate.
It was also touted as a semi-arthouse film film by the media.
Interestingly, films like Gharwali Baharwali and Sajan Chale Sasural that make a song and dance about a man's multiple affairs and second marriage passed off with a Universal or U/A certificate. All in the name of family entertainers.
Coming to the daily soaps on the small screen, men come across as the more powerful lot.
They can steal someone's fiancée (Mr Bajaj in Kasautii Zingagii Kay), can marry five times the same or different women (Mihir in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Sujal and Kashish in Kahiin Toh Hoga) without a prick of conscience.
Middle-aged actor Ram Kapoor aka Jai Walia, marries Bani (Prachi Desai), a young girl, almost half his age, in Kasamh Se... Or when diamond merchant Dharamraj Mahiyavanshi (Ronit Roy) marries much younger Santo in Bandini, audience simply loved it.
Irrespective of their huge age differences, Prerna (Shweta Tiwari) and Mr Bajaj (Ronit Roy) in Kasautii… hit it off with the audience, with girls going gaga about the hot and odd couple on television.
But on a serious note, Bajaj was ever suspicious of Prerna and Prem's friendship. The list can go on…
One wonders if the scriptwriters have really run out of ideas. But then showbiz is one industry where sterotypes flourish.
Then again there are exceptions. Svetlana (Kitu Gidhwani) fought tooth and nail for her rights in Swabhiman, a soap that was considered much ahead of its time and spoke of extra marital affair quite openly.
Shweta Tiwari's new show on NDTV Imagine, Jaane Kya Baat Hui claims to be a soap that speaks about the rights of a wife and a woman. As Shweta said in an interview, it was the concept of the story what enticed her to go for it.
Jane Kya… sees Aradhana (Shweta Tiwari) married to Shailendra (Sanjeet Bedi). But their relationship is tested following the entry of a much younger man in Aradhana's life.
The show reportedly tries to explore the double standards in our society even today.
If a boy hangs out with some of his female colleagues it is acceptable, but if a girl does the same thing, people criticize.
The actress is quite kicked about the way the show is shaping up.
For a change, the focus is not on designer saris, bindis or scheming vamps. And if the show doesn't deviate from its original storyline it's sure to go a long way.
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