A lot has been told, written, and assumed about a women’s place in the entertainment industry. Some of it is the harsh naked truth and some of it is just hype created for higher TRPs and selling more copies. So what I express today is what I as a bystander think and percieve about women’s place in the industry. In full disclosure it’s not a femminist rant or even an attack on the opposite sex. It’s more about women’s dyanmics in the industry.
Women now are avid users of internet and believe in taking their careers in their own hands instead of playing the same old waiting game. They are now more internet savvy and means business. Gone are the days when damsels in distress needed rescuing. It’s now about getting things done. From getting the portfolios done to uploading it in the right place. Internet is hence filled with endless possibilities and women are taking it by the storm.
Having said that, women are still completely underrepresented. Even with this year’s stellar performances by great actresses such as Kangna Ranaut in “Queen” and Rani Mukherji in “Mardani” there just weren’t as many strong female performances in lead roles as men simply due to the fact that there aren’t as many of our stories being told. There is less opportunity for women. We need more strong leading roles so that we can really show what we can do. It’s the cyclical thing that we keep going through. I think we just need more women in power positions who can hire women so we get our stories told. It’s about creating community, not the glitz and glamour. This is how we develop as artists and make progress.
Another misconception that a lot of us carry is that men are the enemy when in reality they are our allies. We need to stop fighting them in the name of feminism as that’s not what femenisim is about. People are hungry for change in our country as well as the industry. Like Vikas Bahl making one of the most successful female centric movie of 2014, “Queen” along with Amir Khan taking up Women’s social issues, inequalities and reforms. These are one of the most influential male figures of the industry so let’s not tag the opposite sex as enemies. The fight is not against them, it’s against inequality.
Another stigma we women face is that with women, there’s this whole thing where we can be catty and jealous and bitchy and not help each other. But why does this cattiness exist? Possibly because there is so little opportunity? When someone does have a shot, you have to hold on to it and not share in some way. If that’s true, it goes back into the cycle where we need to support women and give them more knowledge to become writers, directors, producers, cinematographers. Basically getting women into every aspect of the business.
