Mothers on screen are often reduced to clichés — the sacrificial, saintly figure or the melodramatic martyr. Then again, Bollywood notably holds a growing archive of stories where mothers are full-bodied characters: flawed, funny, brave, and deeply human. These women love fiercely, fight quietly, and exist beyond the frame of just being someone’s parent. From fighting governments to challenging their children, they show that real motherhood is messy, resilient, and worth watching not just for sentiment, but for substance.
For decades, Bollywood has been primarily driven by the "male gaze," where women were portrayed through the lens of male desire and societal expectations. They presented women in stereotypical roles, often as damsels in distress, sacrificing lovers, or objects of desire. This male gaze manifested in hyper-sexualisation, passive narratives and limited agency. Women rarely drove the plot. Their actions and desires revolved around men, reinforcing traditional gender roles. They were portrayed as lacking control over their lives, with their choices dictated by societal norms or male characters.
Today marks the 60th birthday of the illustrious actor, Sridevi. Who had left the entertainment industry grief-stricken, after her demise in 2018. Remembering the late actor Sridevi, let us look at five of her most well-known films today.
Female characters in Bollywood have largely been portrayed from a male perspective due to the imbalance between the number of men and women involved in the creative process. Gender bias spanned over decades, and it took more than fifty years to bring equality in terms of gender representation on the big screen.
Mothers on screen are often reduced to clichés — the sacrificial, saintly figure or the melodramatic martyr. Then again, Bollywood notably holds a growing archive of stories where mothers are full-bodied characters: flawed, funny, brave, and deeply human. These women love fiercely, fight quietly, and exist beyond the frame of just being someone’s parent. From fighting governments to challenging their children, they show that real motherhood is messy, resilient, and worth watching not just for sentiment, but for substance.
For decades, Bollywood has been primarily driven by the "male gaze," where women were portrayed through the lens of male desire and societal expectations. They presented women in stereotypical roles, often as damsels in distress, sacrificing lovers, or objects of desire. This male gaze manifested in hyper-sexualisation, passive narratives and limited agency. Women rarely drove the plot. Their actions and desires revolved around men, reinforcing traditional gender roles. They were portrayed as lacking control over their lives, with their choices dictated by societal norms or male characters.
Today marks the 60th birthday of the illustrious actor, Sridevi. Who had left the entertainment industry grief-stricken, after her demise in 2018. Remembering the late actor Sridevi, let us look at five of her most well-known films today.
Female characters in Bollywood have largely been portrayed from a male perspective due to the imbalance between the number of men and women involved in the creative process. Gender bias spanned over decades, and it took more than fifty years to bring equality in terms of gender representation on the big screen.
