The Changing PorTrayal of Women in INDIAN CINEMA

By Mrinalini Sundar

Indian cinema has been around since 1896. Yet women’s repre sentation on and off the camera is limited and often fewer when compared to their male counterparts. Despite Indian cinema being trendy and attracting masses from all spectrums of society, women are often reduced to misogynistic roles with significantly less screen time. Then, there is the issue of pay disparity, objectification, and the biggest of them all - the casting couch. Having said that, this is not a story that has set out to bash Bollywood and its ways. The portrayal of women has changed over the years. Women started as the ever-loving, over-protecting love interest for the man, to a woman with different shades. The women who portrayed mothers in the 70s and 80s could do no wrong and were worshipped by the heroes. Women sacrificed, worked hard, loved harder, and were the epitome of beauty.

Today’s women portrayed in Bollywood are very different. They are flawed; they can be selfish, have negative shades, and are as human as possible. Movies and web series portray women’s challenges in the real world, the emotional and circumstantial pressures women face, the pressures at the workfront and fighting society and male domination. Enough data also back all these statements. According to a landmark report by Ormax Media and Film Companion in association with Amazon Prime Video, there is a fundamental mismatch regard ing women’s representation in movies in India. The report stated that “Only 10% of head of department positions (HODs) across key divisions (production design, writing, editing, direction and cinematog raphy) are held by women. Out of the 56 theatrical films analyzed across multiple languages, not one was directed or edited by a woman. In media and entertainment corporations, only 10% of senior leader ship roles were held by women.”

We want to appreciate a few movies where women depicted more substantial roles and were the center of the storyline.