For long, female characters in mainstream Indian cinema have been pushed to the side-lines. More often than not, the sole purpose of the female lead in romantic entertainers and action dramas was to support the male lead and help him accomplish his dreams. Among the host of reasons cited for women stars not taking centre stage was that they do not have the same kind of box-office openings as their male counterparts.
Over-the-top (OTT) platforms are credited with changing this by creating a level-playing field for all actors. With the coronavirus pandemic accelerating the growth of streaming platforms, numerous women-centric projects have released on major OTT platforms like Disney Plus Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Sony Liv and Zee 5 in the past year.
“More than women-centric films, OTT has led to more job opportunities for female actors in all Indian languages. Raveena Tandon and Madhuri Dixit got their own shows. A small film like Great Indian Kitchen (which initially released on Malayalam OTT platform Neestream and subsequently on Amazon Prime Video) turned Nimisha Sajayan into a national star. OTT, by liberating the film industry from having to depend entirely on theatres, gave filmmakers confidence to make films about women,” film critic Aswathy Gopalakrishnan, who writes for entertainment site Silverscreen, tells TNM.
From Manju Warrier in Malayalam to Nayanthara in Tamil cinema, for a change several OTT projects had scripts that revolved around the lives of the women superstars. Manju’s Thejaswini in techno-horror film Chathur Mukham (Zee 5) puts up a fight against a supernatural entity through phone, while in Netrikann (Disney Plus Hotstar), ex-CBI officer Durga takes down a serial killer and mouths ‘mass’ dialogues with finesse.
The trend of sports dramas narrating the tales of women sportspersons who rose to fame, such as Mary Kom and Dangal, has only grown stronger with OTT releases like Rashmi Rocket (Zee 5) led by Taapsee Pannu and Parineeti Chopra’s Saina (Amazon Prime Video), among others.
Veteran actors too have received their fair share of spotlight with their own web series and films. After playing the lead in big-budget mass entertainers and nuanced characters, Madhuri Dixit got her own Netflix series titled The Fame Game, which gave the actor the opportunity to break away from playing the conventional ‘morally uptight’ woman. Similarly, Raveena Tandon’s cop-drama Aranyak (Netflix), and Sushmita Sen’s Aarya (Disney Plus Hotstar) also created a buzz among audiences.
Popular women actors from the younger lot have also been pushing the frontiers with OTT. After her critically acclaimed performance in Ka Pae Ranasingam (Zee 5), Aishwarya Rajesh took charge as a cop on screen in Thittam Irandu (Sony Liv). Other examples include Nithya Menen’s Skylab (Sony LIV), which revolves around a series of fictitious and comical incidents that took place in Telangana preceding the disintegration of the American space station; Trisha as a doctor in Paramapadam Vilayattu (Disney Plus Hotstar) choosing professional ethics in the face of adversity and pressure from politicians; and Tamannaah as an ethical hacker in the web series November Story (Disney Plus Hotstar) trying to prove her father’s innocence.
Samantha’s Raji in The Family Man Season 2 (Amazon Prime Video) received a mixed response, nonetheless the actor was appreciated for essaying a major role in the popular web series. While there are discussions around whether these projects have made a mark with their storylines or characters, they prove that the market for women-centric films is expanding and that streaming giants are willing to invest in such projects.
2021 saw several critically acclaimed films that were hailed for the way the women characters were written. Sherni (Amazon Prime Video), in which Vidya Balan portrayed a forest officer, a male-dominated field, as well as The Great Indian Kitchen, which featured Nimisha as a newly married woman struggling to cope with the patriarchal behaviour practised in Indian households, stood out. Other significant films included Sara’s (Amazon Prime Video), which created a dialogue around women’s abortion rights.
Aswathy counts Geeli Pucchi, part of Netflix anthology Ajeeb Daastaans, which featured Konkana Sen as a queer Dalit woman, among her favourite women-centric films that released on OTT in the past year.
“Now we have more talented women writers entering this field and so we’re seeing more well-rounded female characters. I think every production team should hire women writers, their contribution helps like we saw in Sherni or Soorarai Pottru (Amazon Prime Video),” says film critic Neelima Menon.
Speaking on similar lines, Aswathy explains how having more women behind the scenes leads to better characters on screen. “More women working in the industry might not immediately translate to better female characters in cinema. But more women entering the field will create a healthy working space that will lead to producing movies that don’t treat women like meat. That otherisation of women, treating them as second-class human beings will stop,” she says.
In addition, series like Delhi Crime (Netflix) which was based on the gruesome Nirbhaya gangrape case, and House of Burari Deaths (Netflix) which was helmed by filmmaker Leena Yadav also garnered praise for approaching the respective subjects with sensitivity.
The past year also brought numerous women-centric commercial entertainers for audiences. Examples include Jyotika and Sasikumar’s emotional drama Udanpirappe (Amazon Prime Video) as well as Netflix projects like Tribhanga: Tedhi Medhi Crazy, The Girl on the Train, Pitta Kathalu, Pagglait, Cargo and Mimi.
While there are questions about whether commercial entertainers facilitate better representation for women on the big screen, Aswathy explains that the increase in such movies simply indicates that there is a large market among audiences for the same.
Explaining how it is a step in the right direction, Aswathy says, “I’m of the opinion that women should make all kinds of films, including masala films (Jyotika-Revathy’s Jackpot, for instance). OTT has opened a market that’s not dependent on theatre footfalls. Not a lot of women in our country have the privilege to go to movie theatres on their own. They often end up watching films that their husband or male members of the family choose. OTT has levelled that field. Movies, like television serials, have come home. The market has expanded and changed its form. So now there is space for all kinds of content.”
Responding to claims that women-centric films are only a marketing tool, Neelima quips, “I think audiences now are smart enough to differentiate between genuine female characters and others who are added just to please a certain section of people.”