(GIST OF YOJANA) Portrayal of Women on Screen

GIST OF YOJANA : Portrayal of Women on Screen

NOVEMBER-2025

Portrayal of Women on Screen

Context:

Indian Cinema, one of the largest and most influential film industries in the world, has long mirrored the country’s shifting cultural, social, and political realities. A particularly telling lens to study this evolution is the portrayal of women. From being excluded altogether in the earliest films to becoming central, complex protagonists in the 21st century, women’s cinematic journeys reflect India’s wider struggles with gender, empowerment, and identity. Across eras, Indian cinema has both reinforced traditional expectations and offered moments of resistance—sometimes typecasting women into archetypes, sometimes challenging those very roles.

Early Years - Breaking Barriers

In the earliest years of Indian cinema, women were barred from acting. In Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra (1913), the female role ofTaramati was played by a man, Anna Sulanke.
This exclusion began to shift with Phalke’s Mohini Bhasmasur, where Durgabai Kamat, a widow ostracised by her community, became India’s first actress, alongside her daughter Kamlabai Gokhale, the first child artist. Their courage symbolised women’s first steps into an industiy that had denied them visibility.
Many early actresses came from Anglo-Indian or Jewish communities, where public performance for women was more socially acceptable. Silent films helped bypass language barriers, creating openings for diverse performers.
Figures like ‘Fearless Nadia’ (Mary Ann Evans), famed for her stunts in Hunterwali (1935), and Devika Rani, India’s first female superstar, broadened cinematic possibilities for women. Studios like Prabhat Films also made socially conscious works such as Kunku (1937, Marathi) and Manoos (1939), portraying women with agency rather than passivity.

1950s - The Self-Sacrificing Ideal

In post-independence India, women on screen became symbolic carriers of morality and tradition. Films portrayed them as self-sacrificing daughters, wives, and especially mothers, anchoring the nation’s values.
In Devdas (1955), both Paro and Chandramukhi embody devotion and endurance. Paro quietly accepts marriage to an older man when rejected by Devdas, while Chandramukhi abandons her profession for unrequited love. Theiridentities are defined not by autonomy but by sacrifice.
The archetype was cemented by Mother India (1957), where Nargis as Radha epitomises moral strength. Despite hardship,she remains righteous, even killing her own son to uphold justice. Radha became a metaphorical mother of the nation—strong yet bound by duty. While empowering in moral stature, such portrayals confined women to virtue, endurance, and family honour, denying them individuality.

1960s - Emotional Depth, Limited Agency

The 1960s added psychological nuance to female portrayals, giving women emotional complexity while still restricting their autonomy.
In Bandini (1963), Nutan’s Kalyani is layered and flawed—imprisoned for murder, torn between duty and love, passion and guilt. Yet her redemption is framed within conventional forgiveness, reinforcing morality.
In Bengal, however, filmmakers like Ray challenged these archetypes. Charulatu (1964) depicted a lonely housewife’s yearning for intellectual companionship, subtly questioning domestic confinement. Regional cinema thus offered quieter yet profound critiques of patriarchy, contrasting Hindi cinema’s melodramatic idealisation.

1970s -Silent Sufferers and Emerging Rebels

The 1970s marked a split in women’s portrayals between mainstream melodrama and the parallel cinema movement. In commercial films, women remained self-effacing moral anchors, while parallel and regional cinemas explored oppression, resistance, and agency.
In Abhimaan (1973), jaya Bhaduri’s Uma, a gifted singer, faces marital strife when her success eclipses her husband’s. Her silent suffering reflects the gendered expectation that women should suppress ambition for family harmony.
In contrast, Shyam Benegal’s Ankur (1974) presented Shabana Azmi’s Lakshmi, a marginalised woman navigating exploitation and systemic oppression. Initially subdued, Lakshmi ultimately asserts dignity and defiance, embodying feminist awakening in parallel cinema.
Tamil cinema also pushed boundaries. K Balachander’s Aval Oru Thodar Kathai (1974) centred on a middle-class woman sacrificing her dreams for her family’s survival, highlighting the burdens placed on working women. Malayalam cinema’s Avalude Ravukal (1978) boldly portrayed a sex worker with empathy, challenging moralist narratives.

1980s - Feminist Voices in Parallel and Regional Cinema

By the 1980s, parallel and regional cinema became powerful platforms for feminist narratives, even as mainstream Hindi films often relegated women to decorative or victimised roles.
Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth (1982) was ground-breaking: Shabana Azmi s Pooja, betrayed by her husband, refuses to reconcile or succumb, choosing independence instead. It was a radical assertion of female agency for its time.
Ketan Mehta’s Mirch Masala (1987) presented Smita Patil’s Sonbai as a symbol of defiance against sexual violence and patriarchal authority. The film’s climax, with women uniting in resistance, transformed the narrative into a metaphor for collective feminist struggle.

1990s - Glamour and Contradictions

The 1990s, shaped by globalisation and liberalisation, brought contradictory portrayals. Women appeared glamorous, modern, and visible, yet were still bound by traditional expectations.
In Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994), Madhuri Dixit embodied the perfect daughter-in-law—nurturing and beautiful, but defined by familyduty over personal choice. In Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Kajol’s Simran, though educated and modern, required paternal approval for her love, reinforcing patriarchy.
Chak Del India (2007) offered a powerful ensemble of women athletes, battling discrimination and stereotypes to find solidarity and strength. The film celebrated ambition and teamwork, redefining how female characters were portrayed in sports dramas.

2010s - Feminism and Breaking Stereotypes

The 2010s solidified feminist narratives in mainstream cinema, centring women as unapologetically complex, flawed, and powerful.
Vidya Balan’s Kahaani (2012) subverted tropes of female vulnerability, revealing her pregnant protagonist as the mastermind of the plot. In English Vinglish (2012), Sridevi s Shashi quietly reclaimed dignity by learning English, showing empowerment as subtle yet profound. Queen (2014) redefined coming-of-age stories, with Kangana Ranaut’s Rani discovering independence through solo travel after heartbreak.
Pink (2016) directly confronted misogyny and consent, with its message “No means No” becoming a cultural milestone.

2020s - Realism, Diversity, and Intersectionality

The 2020s have pushed cinematic Feminism further, embracing intersectional and realist storytelling. Women are no longer confined to archetypes but shown as multifaceted, navigating class, caste, region, and personal struggles.
In Thappad (2020), Taapsee Pannu’s character leaves her husband after a single slap, questioning normalised violence and the culture of silence. The film demanded recognition of women’s right to dignity, even in ‘respectable’ homes.

Conclusion:

Yet as society transformed, so did its cinema. From the virtuous ideals of the 1950s to the rebels of the 1970s, from the feminist assertions of the 1980s to the contradictions of the 1990s, portrayals gradually expanded. By the 2000s and 2010s, women emerged as central protagonists with voice and agency, and in the 2020s, their stories reflect realism, diversity, and intersectionality. Today, women in Indian cinema are not merely part of the story — they are the story. The future of Indian cinema lies in telling these stories with honesty and depth, embracing the complexity of women as bold, vulnerable, resilient, and real.