"Many Indians shrug off widow abuse. It's been like this for centuries as the accepted way of life. The husband is called a god and the minute a woman loses her god, she becomes a zero," Mohini Giri, a leading Indian activist for widows' rights, was quoted as saying.

Giri, herself a widow, founded the New Delhi-based Guild of Service in 1972, a volunteer organisation that helps widows and organises classes to teach them various skills so that they can support themselves.

Even today widows seek salvation either in Varanasi or Brindaban, which is about 120 km away from Delhi. According to a survey conducted by a social worker, there are more than 9,000 widows in Brindaban and most of them either survive on charity or pension from the government.

Many filmmakers had tried to brig forth the issue like Raj Kapoor did in "Prem Rog", Govind Saraiya in "Saraswatichandra", Rituparno Ghosh in "Chokher Bali" and Ramesh Sippy in "Sholay".

Young filmmaker Kunal Kohli also dealt with the sensitive issue deftly but subtly in his directorial debut "Hum Tum" starring Rani and Saif Ali Khan.

All said and done, widow remarriage still seems a far cry and one hopes Chopra's "Baabul" succeeds in penetrating and changing the orthodox mentality.