This panel, which had screenwriter Ishita Moitra, director Kiran Rao, and two actors, Ratna Pathak Shah and Rajashri Deshpande, discussed how to make sense of gender portrayals on screen and the kind of discourse journalists could raise to better understand cinematic representations of gender. Documentary filmmaker Paromita Vohra moderated the session.
By knitting together the perceptions and experiences of the speakers, all of whom had done paradigm-shifting work on gender in mainstream cinema, the session shed light on how the medium of cinema could go beyond lip service to politically correct themes and binaries of victims and heroes. It explored how cinema could change the way society thinks about women’s lives in all their complexities.
Discussions on cinema, especially the ones involving Bollywood, tend to be shallow and cautious if not sensational and rife with gossip. But this session brought together stalwarts who spoke candidly and deeply about gender on and off the screen. The afternoon was filled with warm, honest, sharp and humorous exchange of ideas, experiences and thoughts.
In response to the first question about gender representation in cinema Ratna Pathak Shah spoke about the changing times over the past few decades. She said that comedy “saved” her, but that she had seen either stereotypical portrayals of women in Gujarati theatre (where her mother Dina Pathak worked) or fiery, angry feminists. She pointed out that most women, ‘like us,’ are neither. They can be homemakers and “can take to the streets too when needed.”
Through the roles that Pathak Shah did and was offered during the television phase of the 1980s and then much later after 2000, she said that directors – male and female — had changed. They now “know their craft” and the stories they want to tell. “But more than representation, I think the change is in less misrepresentation,” she said. She also spoke about women directors and how their outlook is different.
Filmmaker Kiran Rao spoke of her personal experiences of why it took her so long to make her second movie (Laapataa Ladies) after her directorial debut, Dhobi Ghat. She took the discussion to a more nuanced level saying that most of the time women are busy with so many tasks that support the household and other members of the family that there is little space for creative energy. So even if they are employed, they may not be able to take on a project or a task that requires a lot of creativity.
While addressing the issue of gender representation Rao spoke on two counts. She referred to a study by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences — “Lights, Camera and Time for Action” — which shows that not only is gender representation skewed on the screen, it is also skewed in most other areas of film production. “Most of the commercially successful films have a male lead and female romantic lead,” she said and added that although as women filmmakers they try to give a leg up to women technicians, it is far from adequate.
The discussion also focused on the way the media represented women and how it engaged with female actors. Rajshri Deshpande spoke spontaneously and emotionally about her journey. She spoke about the hustle and how it is hard for actors to navigate the media. “Even when I had invited the media for the school opening at Marathwada, they wanted to ask me about Nawazuddin and my role in Sacred Games.” She dwelt on the hardships that actors go through if they want to do limited but meaningful work. She said she had to face a lot of trolling after the release of her film Sexy Durga and that this did affect her.
After entering the industry late by usual standards, Deshpande approached people with whom she wanted to work. She referred to her backstage work at Motley Theatre and said, “I was learning so much just by observing them (Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah). She now actively seeks work with people who she admires. “I went and asked for work because I wanted to be associated with them,” she said candidly. “Paisa kam milta hai lekin bahot maza aata hai! (The pay is less but it is a lot of fun!)” She is rooted in Marathwada and continues to work in the field of education there.
Paromita Vohra asked Ishita Moitra, a screenwriter who is now well-known for writing Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani, a commercially successful film which also breaks several taboos, about ambition. Vohra remarked, “I remember meeting Ishita and thinking she is so ambitious and it is wonderful to see a woman talk about her ambition.” After writing Ragini MMS 2, and a few other not-so-successful movies, Moitra said she cracked it after writing Mere Dad ki Maruti. But the game changer has been an immensely popular series on OTT – Four More Shots. Season 2 of this story of four women friends going through trials of lives, often together, sometimes apart, was nominated for the Emmys.
When asked if she worries about criticism, Moitra spoke candidly. “Someone or the other will not be happy but I am okay with that.” The show has a journalist, a lawyer, a stand-up comic, and a personal trainer as protagonists.
Moitra also spoke about the Filmfare award for Rocky aur Rani and pointed out that very few women had received a Filmfare award in that category (Sai Paranjpe and Juhi Chaturvedi are two who did). She said it took her more than 10 years but she always knew she was ambitious and she was open about it.
Towards the end of the discussion, journalists and panellists had a freewheeling exchange of ideas about the quality of journalism and industry response to media. Questions about access to filmmakers and actors were raised and concerns about paid write-ups were mentioned too. When asked if the industry cares about journalism or PR, Kiran Rao said that the industry cares about PR, primarily because “we want bums on the chairs.” She also spoke about how overall readers and the space for good writing had reduced.
Ratna Pathak Shah commented that despite producing so many films, India does not have a culture of quality film criticism or journalism. She spoke about how she enjoys reading about cinema in the western media.
Senior film journalist and author Anna Vetticad also pointed out that in the West, film journalists get to see the films several days in advance, but here they get it just a day before they are expected to write their reviews.
All the panellists noted that they had rarely interacted with journalists in the way they did that afternoon. Both the journalists at the session and the panellists were honest and upfront knowing that it was a safe space, where they could speak openly and stand up for sisterhood above anything else.
The first day concluded with a performance by Sambhaji Bhagat, Dalit activist, playwright and balladeer, along with two of his fellow singers. Sambhaji is known for his songs of protest that address caste violence and socioeconomic inequality.