Body, masculinity, and the male hero in Hindi cinema. In Hindi cinema, the masculine body, like its feminine companion, is flexible and formable, susceptible to patriarchal concerns. In this article, Dr. Rai and his associates claim that Hindi cinema has contextually presented idealized male bodies that are metaphorically affiliated with the nation's changing aspirations: enfeebled, lean male bodies as a stark reminder of Mahatma Gandhi's idealized body during he colonial era; well-fed bodies raised on the Nehruvian era's promise of socialist plenty"; bulky, muscular bodies as shaped and emanded by Hindutva discourse.