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And not only historical fascism, the fascism of Hitler and Mussolini - which was able to mobilize and the use of desire of the masses so effectively - but also the fascism in us all, in our heads and in our everyday behavior, the fascism that causes us to love power, to desire the very thing dominates and exploits us. (Foucault, 2004, Preface to Anti-Oedipus by Deleuze and Guattari)
Like the Cinderella and Snow White fairy tales, the staggering volume of movies churned out by Bollywood almost invariably end at the note of the hero and heroine uniting, after overcoming the vicissitudes thrown in by villains, and presumably living happily ever after. The scenario meshes in very well with the all-pervasive norm in Indian society of marriage as the culmination of a girl's life, expressed in phrases and idioms used commonly by parents like: “bas ek bar ladki ke hath peele karde to chain aye” (Once the girl gets married then we will be relieved). Even current chicklit like Piece of Cake by Swati Kaushal (2004) and Marrying Anita by Anita Jain (2008) centre-stage marriage for a woman, without which her life is incomplete.
In addition to idealized notions of love by Bollywood, for decades large hoardings and advertisements have been promoting the Wills cigarette “Made for each other contest” with an implicit message: There is the one Prince Charming or Cinderella with whom there will be absolute congruence; that each and every facet of the personality will fit snugly into complementary slots in the other. The pitch of conscious and unconscious expectations from the partner in a “love” relation gets raised unrealistically high by such subliminal messages. The other is looked upon as making up for all inadequacies and defects of the self as well as providing succor and relief from feelings of anguish and loneliness and lending a sense of completeness.