Bollywood And Gender: The Female-Centric Films

Who Said That Only Man Can Carry The Movie On Their Shoulders?

There are many women-centric films that are created in different languages across the world. When we watch any one of those movies we will get to know the culture of that region.

In the early years of Indian cinema, Bimal Roy gave heroines the lead part to play. Menakumari, Madhubala and Waheeda Rehman were given the female-centric scripts and they portrayed some of the most powerful female characters in Indian cinema. The changing mindset of people and the upcoming talents have increased the value of women-centric films in Bollywood.

“Don’t dare touch a woman without her consent, be it a prostitute, someone less than a prostitute or even your wife,” says Swara Bhaskar, in the movie Anaarkali Of Aarah. Heroines are no longer seeing themselves as sidelined objects or a character that just enhances their male counterparts. They are coming forward and putting their views forward through their actions.

Now, the scripts are particularly written for the females and people are interested to invest in female-centric films. Above all, the audience is also accepting the female protagonists as the main lead.

Female protagonists are breaking the stereotypes and coming out of the grey shades to encounter the real challenge. The movies no longer need to show a male protecting female, as women can protect themselves.

“The audience has become receptive to women-centric films these days. They are not bothered whether the film has a Shahrukh Khan or a Deepika Padukone in the lead,” says noted Bollywood analyst Komal Nahta.

Movies like English Vinglish, Queen, Kahaani, Neerja, Lipstick Under My Burkha show the mesmerizing script and over the top acting of the female protagonist of these films. It feels great seeing the emergence of amazing female characters. Women are no longer just seen doing item numbers or a supporting role. They now write, act, direct and produce films that are relatable and amazingly entertaining.

Online viewing mediums such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Google-play, iTunes help the small-budget movies in a big way, as many of the films did not get an all-India release and have limited number of screens. These platforms give a way to reach the audience.

It's not a man's world anymore!
Women are excelling in every field and movies are no exception to it.