It’s well known that women are hardly considered as an important part of Indian cinema. They are generally portrayed as glam dolls or idols of idiocy.  It has sunk to such a level that, most actresses these days are like ‘I look for character oriented roles in movies!’. Oh well, I mean, what is that? It’s like asking to choose between gender equality and feminism.

Have we ever seen a male actor stating that he’s not ready to take up glam roles or wear revealing clothes? HELL NO!

Women have always excelled in Arts ever since the stone age and though male chauvinists might strongly disagree to this, it is true. But women of today’s age are being pushed aside and forced to adorn the role of an attention seeker. Be it advertisements or films, women are being used as objects rather than performers.

Long gone are the days when veteran film makers like K.Balachander, Balu Mahendra and Bharathi Raja wrote scripts with a female performer in mind. Sridevi by then was a strong household name and many preferred watching her take on the role with ease. Though most of those ventures were met with a lukewarm response, they stood by as pillars of feminism in cinema.

Thankfully, we can state that the trend is slowly changing now. Be it Bollywood’s Dum Laga Ke Haisha, English Vinglish, Queen, Dirty Picture or Sonam Kapoor’s upcoming venture Neerja; women centric films are gaining more attention these days.

Currently in the South we have 36 Vayathinile, Maya and Trisha’s upcoming venture Nayaki which are women-centric. In the past, we have had films like Raja Rani, Arunthathi, Rudhramadevi, Poo, Paruthiveeran, Azhagi, May Madham, Mannan, Roja, Kalki, Sindhu Bhairavi, Poove Poochudava, June R, Mozhi etc.

With the way cinema is drastically changing, it is also important that the perspective about women changes along with it. With more directors going for lady centric projects and women even choosing to wear the director cap like Sudha Kongara for Irudhi Suttru, it is indeed a much-needed change in the society.

Cinema is a mass medium that reaches out and shapes the thought process of many, so it is highly important that the creators out there handle gender stereotyping and equality more carefully. It would be a disgrace if we as a society, treat our peers as objects of ogling and desire. It’s time fans went crazy for release of female centric films like they do for the normal ones, don’t you think so too?

Charity begins at home; so please treat your beloved women with respect. Be it your sister, mother, aunt, friend or lover, treat her with love, respect and stop telling them what to do in life. Let them make their decisions. As the transformation happens, we’re sure that this line of thought will soon catch up with creators and we will soon live in a society that is proud of its women! Cheers!