Juhi Chawla and (inset) Sanjay Suri in My Brother...Nikhil

Juhi Chawla has earned herself a very rare distinction ? that of saving (all right, fighting for) her onscreen brother?s ?honour?. In the recently released, My Brother?Nikhil, it is she who stands by her HIV+ brother (Sanjay Suri) and fights for his dignity (or honour). Some accomplishment indeed, considering it is invariably the swashbuckling brother who saves his sister?s all too precious ?honour?.

The sister has always got a raw deal in Hindi films. At the most, she is given a few scenes in which she has to alternate between fawning over her dashing brother(s), and cracking silly jokes at him/them. The high point of her existence is tying a rakhi around her brother/s? wrist, which underlines her dependence on him/them.

If she is lucky, she gets a rakhi song. Then inevitably, she gets married to an evil, good-for-nothing type, or gets mauled by lusting ruffians. Then, in steps her heroic brother/s to save her all-important ?honour?. If she is very lucky, then she gets to sing another song here, usually a sad one.

And that is all the sister is allowed. What is essentially highlighted is her dependence on her brother/s. It is she who needs the brother/s ? for support, for protection. The brother does not need her for anything, let alone emotional support. He does everything out of affection, and duty, for her. There is rarely any depiction of a close bond between brother and sister, beyond a few ?cute? scenes of inane teasing and joke cracking.

My Brother?Nikhil is one the rare films to feature a brother-sister relationship sincerely. Debutant director Onir portrays a genuinely close and affectionate bond between bro and sis, where, as Juhi tells the audience, they sipped their first glasses of wine together, and secretly smoked their first cigarettes together. Moreover, rather unusually, brother Sanjay depends on sister Juhi, more than she does on him.

In one of the most poignant moments of the film, an insecure Sanjay curls up in sister Juhi?s lap for comfort. It is Juhi he confides in, when he fears the worst about his infection. It is Juhi who stands by him, through every trial and triumph. And though she does tie him a rakhi, it is she who campaigns for her brother?s ?honour?.

Another film, which has the bro-sis relationship at its core, is Khalid Mohamed?s Fiza. The film explores the 1993 Mumbai riots, and communal tensions, through the eyes of Fiza (Karisma Kapoor) who is in search of her brother, Amaan (Hrithik Roshan) who disappeared during the riots. Mohamed depicts a deeply caring relationship between elder sister, Fiza, and younger brother, Amaan, without (mercifully!) resorting to any rakhi-tying and honour-saving stereotypes. Here, too, the sister is a strong, independent woman, who sets out fearlessly to find her brother and, in fact, forces him to give up the path of terrorism. Later, it is she who pulls the trigger on her brother, begging for death, or perhaps, salvation.

Dev Anand?s Hare Rama Hare Krishna had an elder brother (Dev Anand), in search of his separated, disturbed and drug-addicted sister (Zeenat Aman). However, the film did not really chronicle a close relationship between brother and sister, as they were separated early in life, and Dev Anand spends most of the film, trying to track his sister down. Nevertheless, the sister is given considerable importance, and not accorded the ?oh, by the way? status that she generally is in Hindi films.

Recently, Mansoor Khan?s Josh generated considerable hype because it featured superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai as twins. But the unusual casting was about all there was to the brother-sister relationship. Shah Rukh spent most of the film picking unnecessary fights with the rival gang. As far as his relationship with his sister is concerned, he played the archetypal over-protective brother who bashes up anyone who dares to look at her. Ash, for her part, played the adoring, almost hero-worshipping sister, who spent all her time on the backseat of her brother?s bike, vigorously cheering his foolish bravado. In fact, she actually basks in his foolish glory.

In Mandi, Shyam Benegal hinted at an unusual dimension of the brother-sister relationship ? incest. Smita Patil unknowingly falls in love with her half-brother, played by Aditya Bhattacharya. But Benegal does not examine it in detail. The incest angle is one of the many stories in Mandi. It would have been very interesting had it been explored seriously.

Zeenat Aman in Hare Rama Hare Krishna and (above right) Aishwarya Rai in Josh

Largely, the brother-sister relationship is treated as no more than a subplot (usually, quite unimportant) in the main story. It adds little to the film, beyond confirming the hero?s heroic status. Similarly, the sister- sister relationship has also been given the go-by in Hindi films, with the notable exceptions of Sai Paranjpye?s Saaz, Gulzar?s Namkeen and Revathy?s Phir Milenge. Saaz chronicles the troubled relationship between two sisters (Aruna Irani and Shabana Azmi) who are also professional rivals. Namkeen features a delightful relationship among three sisters ? Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi and Kiran Vairale. In Phir Milenge, it is the younger sister who gives the HIV+ Shilpa Shetty the strength to fight the virus and the discrimination. There are films like Aditya Chopra?s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Shaad Ali?s Saathiya, which have charming snippets of the sister-sister relationship, but they do not really explore it seriously.

In contrast, the brother-brother relationship has iconic status in Hindi films. Right from Dilip Kumar?s Gunga Jamuna to Yash Chopra?s Deewaar, Manmohan Desai?s Amar Akbar Anthony to Rakesh Roshan?s Karan Arjun, Karan Johar?s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham? to Farah Khan?s Main Hoon Na, the relationship between the brothers forms the nucleus of the film. All that happens stems from, and centres on this iconic relationship.

While it is true that the bro-bro relationship has generally meant tremendous box-office success, one wonders why filmmakers shy away from the bro-sis relationship (or the sis-sis relationship, for that matter). After all, sisters are also capable of standing up and fighting for their brothers, as Juhi does in My Brother?Nikhil. Hopefully, it will set the tone for films to come. Till then, we?ll continue to lament, ? Sister, where art thou? ?