Sexuality and Evil: Lady Macbeth in the Indian film adaptations of Macbeth Maqbool and Veeram

Abstract

An early Indian film adaptation of Macbeth, Jwala (dir. Vinayak, 1938) shows a Lady Macbeth that sides with Banquo against Macbeth, as if an evil female character were difficult to conceive in the Indian imagination. In 21st century film adaptations of Macbeth, Maqbool (dir. Vishal Bhardwaj, 2003) and Veeram (dir. Jayaraj, 2017), the female character is as evil as in the source text. Yet, neither Nimmi (Lady Macbeth in Maqbool) nor Kuttimani (Lady Macbeth in Veeram) is married to Macbeth at the outset of the film, the implication being an Indian married woman is incapable of such atrocities. In both movies, sexual drive becomes crucial in the course of events. By analyzing the role of Lady Macbeth in Maqbool and Veeram, this paper aims to show that these Lady Macbeths are as based on the play as on the role of the vamp (the evil woman) in popular Indian movies, since characters that are sexually driven are always condemned to death.