It's heartbreaking to hear Tamannaah's story of just trying to get featured on a movie poster in spite of her being in the industry for almost two decades. She deserves better.
When Bahubali announced Tammana was 4 years into telugu industry. Her first telugu movie was in 2007. Bahubali announced in 2011. As a matter of fact, this happens in all Rajamouli movies. Even Alia was pissed with Rajamouli after RRR. The whole dynamics changes since Rajamouli takes 4 -5 years for each movie. The leading heroine career changes a lot in 3-4 years
@@lazypanda3059 the root of this problem is that audience members like you exist who think that the entire film belongs to the hero & baki sab people associated with the film don’t even matter. Like, come on man. Stop putting these heroes on a pedestal like they’re the only ones that matter, other people in fact, work harder than these so called heroes & superstars.
@@venkataviswanath6688 no that's not true she had done 3 films during bahubali she even debut'd in Hindi during that period. She is miserbly failed. She was telugu since 15 years she top for more than 7 years she never spoke a word.
People who should have been on this panel - Tabu Tabu Tabu (wonder why she never gets credited for what she did as female actor when no one even thought about it). Anjali Menon Parvathy Thiruvottu Sai Pallavi
I liked that Tamanaa and Kanika really put the word forward about what happens backstage and that everything is not ok still today. Conversation should end in a positive note but rest of it should not be about what's good and positive but what is not.
One humble suggestion to the team of fc plz make a 90s oh heroine adda with all 90s actress #manisha #karishma #kajol #raveena #neelam #kareena #esha #juhichawla #preiti #sushmita #priyanka #lara #tabu #revathe #aishwariya #sonali #twinkle
@@FilmCompanionStudios What would they talk about anyway? Their ex-boyfriends Ajay Akshay Sunny?😂😂 90s Actress Roundtable would be the most embarrassing & cringe ever, that is if they agree, they won't😜😜 Most of them were themeselves behind ruining each others career when taking pot-shot at each other in magazine interviews of Stardust and Cinestar. Also, Tabu, Kajol and Aish are the only ones who are good speakers, rest all fumble when framing a sentence. The others you mentioned like PC Bebo Lara Esha are all 2000s era actresses. Neelam is 1980s and super boring, I can bet!
This was just so wonderful, even if only slightly depressing. I’ll believe in a real commerce-driven change happening for female actors/writers/techs at the movies when I see it.
Loved this gathering and the conversation, FC! It’s so good to know that we have a women’s collective of cinematographers and that it’s growing and also, Aparna talking about their DEI playbook, and Reema bringing up regulations of including a a certain % of women in the workforce was a great point. Thank you for having a real conversation all of you !
A good discussion.Neeraj is The only person who talked about inclusivity of every gender caste class religion people in the industry..A Man so humble yet so intellectual. Geeli puchi is one of his master peice.
Neeraj Ghaywan brings up a great point about how a lot of the big southern films are about toxic masculinity and it is worrisome to see the trends it is setting off. It’s either a huge action film where it’s only about escalating the ‘excitement’ aka machoism or even if it is a film made with great attention to storytelling, many of these films the male actors coming together is a bigger point of discussion which ultimately leads to either an invisible or virtually no female characters. I’ve been thinking about how that is going to affect films going forward. In fact this also overshadows good films and more nuanced films from the south and not just about shadowing women and the trends it’s setting. I hope Vidya balan’s theory about this being a result of men holding on to machoism and it will die soon is true. I have also always wondered about female music directors and how I cannot even think of one. It would be good to know that I don’t have enough information and Hence I don’t know any. Or do we actually not have any female music directors? That would be an interesting point of discussion too. I also think Reema Kagti’s point about having films with real women characters is a good starting point. The film’s subject can be anything but having good characters irrespective of gender only does good to the film. I hope more creators realise that.
Uhm yes maybe because you're not aware but also because we do have very few (atleast the ones I know).....Jasleen Royal, Sneha Khanwalkar..have done multiple feature film albums and single songs...Kavita Seth...Rangi saari and multiple ghazals.....Scared games composers also female I guess. But yes very few.
Good Point. But i felt they would have been much more convincing if they acknowledged intersectionality. All of the women (even men) in the panel were upper caste. Men have definitely failed in inclusion policies. Feminism battles for inclusion but not even one person mentioned intersectionality.
It's not south or bollywood. Both the industries have these films where hero is the heart of the film. But being a telugu girl let me tell you, actresses like vijaya shanthi of the 80s are still called Lady Amitabh Bachan. Currently too, in south there are films being made where women are not just a shadow or piece of show in the movie ex: Rudramadevi, arundhati, bhagamathie, mahanati and more. Things are changing and as audience unless we show interest in seeing the films that are women led, makers will obviously make films that are saleable.
I'm a guy and i love women stories. I'm more interested in alia, taapsee, Priyanka s films than any other male actor really. I'm looking forward to taapsee's film this month because it has her in it and i will watch it in the theatre. So i think it's about how interesting the film is. Producers should stop thinking that a female lead movie will work less. PS. I can't wait for jee le Zara. And it's all women!
I too like women centric films and i am a guy, i like them because most of them are based on reality and real life emotions, but most of the male superstars do only perfect protagonist kinda films
I love people like Vikram and Neeraj who are comfortably at ease and doesn't feel threatened when they are a minority among women and lets them take the charge...
I agree with Neeraj that calling some movie as women story puts it in a bracket. It is just a story. If it talks about women empowerment then it's a relatable story but calling kahani, dirty picture, gangubai as women story decrease the value. Movies like pushpa are not called Macho men story. They are sold solely on entertainment value. If the story it's about women better make them entertaining movies rather than vouching just for female representation.
I think it was SRIDEVI who put everyone in their place..all the top heroes used to earn less than her at one time.. Amrita singh once said that she was the only man in the film industry.. she conquered bollywood through sheer talent and hardwork.. with out knowing the language, with out anykind of education..But things have changed a lot now for better..
Absolutely fabulous session.. Great work Anuji and team on this.. The fact that by the end there was 1000 viewers watching it for the premiere itself shows that people really want to listen to what they are saying.. This itself is hopeful..!!
Great conversation. I am so happy to finally see serious conversations on gender equity and representation of women in movies and women in decision making roles in the entertainment business. The film industry needs gender inclusion experts who will guide production houses, media houses, casting companies etc and put regulations in place, like Reema pointed out. You guys should look at the development sector (NGO sector etc) and hire gender experts who have real grassroots experience on gender inequalities (I am hinting towards me..hehe). But really, a very fulfilling conversation to end my day with!! Thanks Anupama!
The problem with this kind of meetings are that usually people converse in english, the english speaking audience already knows the issue, unko bata ke kya milega? P.S- Really liked the discussion and more power to FC.
This feminism stuff keeps floating in the elitist circles. Never reaches the masses. The men in these elite circles are getting wokier day by day. Just look at Neeraj spewing typical american wokism and the real masses praising Rocky bhai and Kabir Singh. Please come out of your ivory towers Bollywood people.
Most of us understand English but most of aren't primarily 'english speaking' either. At the same time many of the people who could be at blame could be English speaking too. I don't understand what language has to do with all this.
I dont agree with 'english speaking audience already knows the issue' but yes i agree that these kind of discussions should be done in hindi as well to really reach the masses, mostly these kinna discussions are done in english apparantely but i really wish ye cheeze hindi me bhi discuss ho so that i can sit with my parents & watch, grow together i suppose. Lallantop is one channel which is kinda doing good things in hindi.
This was so important. If people in any system ignore the importance of inclusion of women, then the system needs to change not the woman. Gender, colour, race, religion and class shouldn't be factors that alter your opportunity in any system.
Rajamouli had strong female characters in Bãhubali.. Just that south macho films are working from past few months doesn't mean South is totally biased towards masculinity.. Even South audience/story tellers are changing a bit..
That is beacuse people knew bahubali.. If you want to know the latest releases then we have virata parvam and gargi of sai pallavi which releasedlast month.. Sita Ramam which just released few days back that had a meaningful female characters..
Now, you can literally count in fingers and point out the films in which female characters are real and flesh and have relatable traits.....that's not a good sign.
Dearest Anupma, thank you for this conversation. It is sad that we are still talking about women leadership in Indian cinema and kudos to Vidya, Deepika, Kangana, kareena and now Alia creating not only magic but meaningful cinema. One point that I notice you consistently ignore/miss and shy away from mentioning in these kinds of conversations is that women empowerment in Indian cinema was really changed in the era of Sridevi and Madhuri. These two were the ones that changed narrative for women in a male dominated industry. Remember Mr. India was known as a Sridevi film, Chandni brought back family, romance entertainment without the unnecessary violence in cinema. HPHK was the biggest earner of its time and kudos to Madhuri. While these conversations are necessary, it’s equally important not to ignore the ones who actually started the trend to rule the male industry- if Sridevi was the lead no one bothered who the hero was. Sridevi demanded better screen time then Amitab in Khuda Gawah (something never given to women in majority of his film from that era) That was the respect they earned through their sheer performance. So please also acknowledge them and don’t put all the credit on Vidya’s shoulders - she doesn’t have the body of work to sustain this biased credit True liberation will happen when other significant names are consistently acknowledged in spaces like this and not forgotten. Respectfully D.
Definitely what you said is true but in the recent times Vidya, Shefali and Tabu are the only few actors who have had a body of work to prove their worth.
Wonderful conversation! Happy to see these implicit bias's which happen to women irrespective of the industry being spoken out loud. The prejudice starts at home and is so rampant if we start looking at family members and immediate social circle itself. We need consciously educate men and women about treating women as human beings not a inclusion diversity point. This gender based species level discrimination is deep rooted across the world which has come down from generations and millenniums. It will be a day to day effort for years but glad to know we have started :-)
Great episode and yes this had to be spoken out. Loved it when Vidya said she doesnt understand what women oriented exactly means , because thats what I have always felt…
Thanks for including Tammannah in this adda.She is one actress who is underrated and directors mainly used her as a white slim cute girl according to Indian concept of a beautiful heroine.Despite working in this industry for about 15 years she never got her due
That's another discussion and if that's her work in a nutshell then there needs to be a conversation about diversity in acting department. Why does audience need brands instead of actors proficient in their craft consistently not just movies with the same face because producers and filmmakers put a value on them.
She will never get her dur cuz she followed the usual path. There are women like Sai pallavi who are taking the path less travelled by and making the mark.
This is one of the best conversation "adda" of Film Companion. And yes like you mentioned that we are hopeful and things will change, and I couldn't agree more. Keep doing this wonderful work and I think change will happen eventually because it is the only things which is constant.
I am really shocked at vidya balan's comment on hyper masculinity films doing so well only because men felt threatened that their masculinity will be lost and just by watching these films they feel more powerful. I felt it's a statement of ignorance. those films are successful because they provide amazing theatrical ecperience. Definitely these films are not liked by only men.
Neeraj nailed it in the head, even I noticed these archtypes of toxic male lead in the South. It reminds me of the bad 90s action film heroes. Not saying that these films aren't good, but Hindi films are churning out at least diverse genres and female led than the south.
The period thing - that's also problematic. Some women may have pain , some others may not have too much pain. The photography assistant may need help ,may not need help. I think man or woman both may need help at times - there's no need to deny that. It is humane. People may and should always ask if they need help. The set needs to be cordial, helpful, collaborative, humane.
Exactly, if they want help they will and must ask for help may it be a female or male. But no one needs to assume that a female would be incapable of doing something herself. So it's always better to ask.
Thank you film companion and Anu for doing this talk. It was really great to listen each one of them. I hope we will be getting more of these episodes in future.
Nowadays there's a strong bias against Bollywood. People act all "woke" and call out the problematic content in Hindi films but shut their mouths when it comes to South Indian films. The female characters are reduced to love interests and eye candy but since the male leads are worshipped nobody speaks up.
Love it when Film companion drops such gem conversation. But Why the caption has hashtags of actors only? I understand you need this video to reach as many people but when will that time come when female writers, director, producers are celebrated same as female actors.
What a wonderful conversation. Really enjoyed it. And honestly both Aparna and Kanika were super inspiring, especially Aparna. It is so inspiring to see a woman at the leading position, and being such a badass, making actual change happen!
Such an important discussion to be had. Vidya's POV about why South Indian movies are doing so well really makes sense. Sadly, it proves people are apprehensive about watching real, well rounded women on screen, and would much prefer them to be eye candies. Great to know that Amazon and abundantia has such regulations in place. Finally, would now go and check out the entire OWomaniya report. A great initiative 🙌
It would be nice to see you do something similar with production designers, the department with the most number of female HoDs. There’s a lot of insight one can get from understanding their challenges.
First of all there is a space for every kind of cinema in the Indian film industry.. in this group only Vidya walks the talk...Tamanna will speak all this and go and pick the scripts with same 5 songs and romance scene appearances in Telugu. Only if you guys take the risk and show to the producers that you can pull off a film by yourself, then you'll start getting offered that kind of movies
They have proved that right? Many have. I mean on the other hand many male actors have done badly at the box office but are still doing the same films. Like why didn't they have to prove themselves to keep going.
First of all you're only assuming what she's doing but who knows there are problems in casting and there's no diversity. She does what is offered to her and there's a hierarchy of sorts in how actors are chosen. Obviously nobody is chosen due to auditions and being proficient in their craft. So we get to see the same faces doing repetitive work because that's what filmmakers and producers have chosen them to do. Vidya balan can only do certain films and definitely she's not going to be in a big directors films doing heroine and melodramatic shit. Female centric movies happened due to the filmmakers finally giving her opportunity to make a space. Tamanna has her own journey and one cannot blame her due to opportunities given to her.
@@Timepass-cx1do Nayantara Samantha Parvati Menon Nithya Menon Aishwarya Rajesh Nandita Das Andrea Jeremiah Ramya Krishnan The list is endless. These women started the way Tamanna did. And now they've changed the rules. You can't see a single interview in which they sit and complain that no one's spoon feeding them with these women centric roles. That's coz they've learnt to say NO to silly roles which carry no weight. Tamanna came to the industry when she was 14. She is 32 now. If she is still sobbing that there are no strong scripts for women, then it's on her
Am i the only one who thinks that @tamannahbhatia was underplayed in this interview. Because all of them are matured and experienced, even she is. As she perceived from glam zone. She couldn't play the best of her
Huge respect just to put up a conversation like this👏 More power to these great voices n opinions, experiences shared were relevant to non-movie industry too. Directors like Dear Zindagi n soorarai pottaru Gauri shinde n sudha Prasad alrdy making huge difference👏👏
It all depends on audience's liking. I like Tamana but honestly she had a very small role specially in bahubali 2. In most of the films, women role are just unnecessary additions which first needs to change. Successful women needs to make movies having good roles for women and this is the only way to change the mentality of audiance/film makers. I appreciate Tabu, Kangana and Vidya for their versatile filmography. Hopefully, new actresses like Kirti Sanon, Yami Gautam, Kiara Advani, etc will follow the same instead of just performing an eye candy.
One suggestion - It would be amazing to bring in singers and have an adda with them. Till Shreya Ghoshal days, women have had to sing at a pitch that is suitable to men. Seldom donee see the pitch adjusted as per the needs of women singers. No wonder so many songs sound shrill when women sing at the male singer's comfort pitch. Now things are changing and I am super glad to see new (female) singers singing in their comfortable pitch.
There has been a female singers adda. But would love to have it again. Jonita Gandhi, Jasleen Royal, Shilpa Rao, Monali Thakur, Harshdeep Kaur, Neeti Mohan, Asees Kaur, Sashaa Tirupati, Shwetha Mohan, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kavita Seth, Shalmali Kholgade, and many more....
FILM COMPANION, one adda I'd like to see would be FEMALE ACTORS TURNED PRODUCERS! There are a lot of A list female actors who have turned into producers for their own films and I'd like to know about their journeys, their reasons for turning into producers and what difficulties they had to face. Because as far as I recall, there aren't many male actors turning into producers for their own projects. So I'm really interested in knowing about this.
True I find her films focusing on story be it her directorial death in gunj or her recent films. As a director she doesn't do it and show off women narratives for namesake but she has a good story and rest follows. All this lack of women in films stems from not giving writers opportunities and placing creative restraints for sake of commerce. Not all women oriented films are good.
Great discussion! But the maajor issue is that majority of people in this country discriminating are hindi speaking or regional. The 5 percent like us know the issue, and do whatever we can to integrate women as equals and/or superiors in many cases. In order to reach a wider audience and actually make a difference, You guys should try speaking in the most commonly spoken language in this country.
Tamanna, Kanika - what is a masculine side n feminine side ? That kind of thought itself is prejudiced. Aggressiveness is Not masculine or softness is Not feminine. They are just traits. What you guys are saying is societal conditions.
Not true, study evolution and you’ll understand the difference between men and women. We’ve tried to ignore these differences and women have had to curve their true feminine nature to fit into a man’s ‘work’ model. We need to accept the science that men and women are different and work culture now needs to shift to accommodate females and their unique requirements.
Yep, I think there’s still a lot of ‘proving’ that a female can work alongside men. What’s missing is, unless the work model is changed, it’s women who end up losing in the end. The ‘work’ model we have today was created for men during the industrial revolution. We can keep fooling ourselves that it still works for the current demographic.
@@river1304 Cite the study results. What you are saying is Not true. "curve their true feminine nature" - what the hell is that ? Man's "work" model ? What the hell exactly is that ? People have way more variety than to limit them into 2 - male & female. Yours is One of the most unscientific, biased stance - propagated for ages and creating problems for men and women alike in society n in work space. You are just spreading a biased outlook.
If the movie has a great content and good performance by actors everyone will watch whether it is male centric or female centric. There are lot of female centric movies have been made where public appreciated and made they movies blockbuster. For eg: mahanati, arundati,queen(bollywood),the great India kitchen... In the movies it is not about the gender it is about the content. It like a bulb which glows because of current. Here current is a content and bulb is a movie.
@@Timepass-cx1do I totally agree that it was a ott release because of pandemic suppose if it was released in theatres then it will become a hit and even in ott also it gathered large number of views. There is another movie called uyare it made with a budget of 6.5 crores but it collected 30 crores in the box office.
True majority of time female centric films which are success already is familiar to audience like bhansali or karan johar or Yash chopra film. Audience is used to seeing those movies which are more in their comfort zone, take the family, emotional, melodramatic and having pretty actress. Producers and creative people won't have problem due those top directors are already a brand that people will pay to watch. Other female centric films don't have good content and just there for namesake and most are average entertainers that'll definitely bring in audience. Very few have exciting and realistic content and again actress and female directors can't cherry pick issues when there is lack of diversity in casting and choosing actors not proficient in their craft.
It's so funny that Aparna Purohit thinks Four More Shots Please has such a large viewership because of the quality of its content. People watch that show as an alternative to porn because many porn sites are blocked in India.
Tammannah has only been part of these hyper masculine films and her experiences are limited to that. A better choice for this panel would have been a samantha or nayanthara or aishwarya rajesh or sai pallavi or jyotika who lead movies and draw in crowds to the theatre.
@@aranyayogananthasarma3539 i am geniuinely asking here. I watched her hammy nonsensical performance in the queen remake. The original was such a powerful film.
Both Zoya Aktar and Reema Kagti singlehandedly steered the narration of women in direction. They were the pioneers who proved their mettle as commercially viable directors.
Look at the description, the bollywood biggie “VIDYA BALAN” is right on top whereas the poor SOUTH INDIAN actress “TAMANNAH” is RIGHT at the bottom of the guest list. I don’t know what’s the point of talking about disparity alone.
amazing how vidya balan gets all the credit for changing the landscape of female representation in Indian cinema when it was Rani Mukerji who took challenging roles in 2000's even in the very khanesque patriarchal era...A black came before Dirty picture which was a semi porn film relying on the male gaze again...she made 3 female oriented films post black which might not have done well at the box office but does deserve recognition..Kudos to vidya though for having great PR and friendship with these relevant journalists..Its all about projection today...a lie repeated 100 times become the truth
This isn't a competition. Both women have contributed to the change that is happening and I don't think you should demean Vidya's accomplishments because Rani has not been mentioned in this interview.
This isn't a competition. Both women have contributed to the change that is happening and I don't think you should demean Vidya's accomplishments because Rani has not been mentioned in this interview.
Women like #vyjayanthimala #Nargis #nutan #nimmi #Nadira #madhubala #sairabanu #Meenakumari #sadhna #waheeda #ashaparekh #mumtaz #sharmilatagore #moushumi #rekha #rakhee #reenaroy #suchitrasen #padmini #jayaprada #sridevi #meenakshi #simi #zeenataman #parveenbabi #smitapatel #shabanaazmi #deeptinaval have played there part well in hindi cinema
When people put action to what they say, like FC does it feels like a change is really at the horizon. The entertainment business is very brave to be able to talk about it so openly and always try to do their part in turning the tables around.
Huzza!!! I never thought about the 'masculine' trait required to get something done in any sphere, it is true. Also, I agree that the whole, 'successful and graceful' gaslighting has to stop.
50s was mother India seema Sujata sadhna bandini kaajal pakeezah seeta aur geeta khilona aaina dream girl chorni aasha nagin neel kamal kati patang anita these were also female lead ventures too in late 60s to 80s even khubsoorat jhoothi pet pyar aur paap arth bhavna trishna rajnigandha
It's heartbreaking to hear Tamannaah's story of just trying to get featured on a movie poster in spite of her being in the industry for almost two decades. She deserves better.
If only she could act you could make a case. All her movies she just shows her navel and dances.
When Bahubali announced Tammana was 4 years into telugu industry. Her first telugu movie was in 2007. Bahubali announced in 2011. As a matter of fact, this happens in all Rajamouli movies. Even Alia was pissed with Rajamouli after RRR. The whole dynamics changes since Rajamouli takes 4 -5 years for each movie. The leading heroine career changes a lot in 3-4 years
Why should producer invest his money to project actress.....market solely relay on hero's image....and producer and industry works only on money
@@lazypanda3059 the root of this problem is that audience members like you exist who think that the entire film belongs to the hero & baki sab people associated with the film don’t even matter. Like, come on man. Stop putting these heroes on a pedestal like they’re the only ones that matter, other people in fact, work harder than these so called heroes & superstars.
@@venkataviswanath6688 no that's not true she had done 3 films during bahubali she even debut'd in Hindi during that period. She is miserbly failed. She was telugu since 15 years she top for more than 7 years she never spoke a word.
Applies across industries! Hats off! As much as ppl diss bollywood, there is atleast a progressive discussion!
People who should have been on this panel -
Tabu Tabu Tabu (wonder why she never gets credited for what she did as female actor when no one even thought about it).
Anjali Menon
Parvathy Thiruvottu
Sai Pallavi
I liked that Tamanaa and Kanika really put the word forward about what happens backstage and that everything is not ok still today. Conversation should end in a positive note but rest of it should not be about what's good and positive but what is not.
One humble suggestion to the team of fc plz make a 90s oh heroine adda with all 90s actress #manisha #karishma #kajol #raveena #neelam #kareena #esha #juhichawla #preiti #sushmita #priyanka #lara #tabu #revathe #aishwariya #sonali #twinkle
Hey, Thanks for suggestion :)
@@FilmCompanionStudios What would they talk about anyway? Their ex-boyfriends Ajay Akshay Sunny?😂😂 90s Actress Roundtable would be the most embarrassing & cringe ever, that is if they agree, they won't😜😜 Most of them were themeselves behind ruining each others career when taking pot-shot at each other in magazine interviews of Stardust and Cinestar.
Also, Tabu, Kajol and Aish are the only ones who are good speakers, rest all fumble when framing a sentence. The others you mentioned like PC Bebo Lara Esha are all 2000s era actresses. Neelam is 1980s and super boring, I can bet!
Such lovely actress and each so unique. Now audiences just have ti watch Alia!
Lovely idea would love to see that interview
This was just so wonderful, even if only slightly depressing. I’ll believe in a real commerce-driven change happening for female actors/writers/techs at the movies when I see it.
Film companion interviews no doubt are a delight to watch kudos to anupama mam and fc team for a lovely interview
Glad you liked it!
@@FilmCompanionStudios was Kangana invited tobthis Maam coz she should be here
Loved this gathering and the conversation, FC! It’s so good to know that we have a women’s collective of cinematographers and that it’s growing and also, Aparna talking about their DEI playbook, and Reema bringing up regulations of including a a certain % of women in the workforce was a great point. Thank you for having a real conversation all of you !
True
A good discussion.Neeraj is The only person who talked about inclusivity of every gender caste class religion people in the industry..A Man so humble yet so intellectual. Geeli puchi is one of his master peice.
Neeraj Ghaywan brings up a great point about how a lot of the big southern films are about toxic masculinity and it is worrisome to see the trends it is setting off. It’s either a huge action film where it’s only about escalating the ‘excitement’ aka machoism or even if it is a film made with great attention to storytelling, many of these films the male actors coming together is a bigger point of discussion which ultimately leads to either an invisible or virtually no female characters. I’ve been thinking about how that is going to affect films going forward. In fact this also overshadows good films and more nuanced films from the south and not just about shadowing women and the trends it’s setting. I hope Vidya balan’s theory about this being a result of men holding on to machoism and it will die soon is true.
I have also always wondered about female music directors and how I cannot even think of one. It would be good to know that I don’t have enough information and Hence I don’t know any. Or do we actually not have any female music directors? That would be an interesting point of discussion too.
I also think Reema Kagti’s point about having films with real women characters is a good starting point. The film’s subject can be anything but having good characters irrespective of gender only does good to the film. I hope more creators realise that.
Uhm yes maybe because you're not aware but also because we do have very few (atleast the ones I know).....Jasleen Royal, Sneha Khanwalkar..have done multiple feature film albums and single songs...Kavita Seth...Rangi saari and multiple ghazals.....Scared games composers also female I guess.
But yes very few.
Southernfilms are about toxic masculinity?
What do you mean?
What is toxic?
Typical south hating woke individual
Good Point. But i felt they would have been much more convincing if they acknowledged intersectionality. All of the women (even men) in the panel were upper caste. Men have definitely failed in inclusion policies. Feminism battles for inclusion but not even one person mentioned intersectionality.
It's not south or bollywood. Both the industries have these films where hero is the heart of the film. But being a telugu girl let me tell you, actresses like vijaya shanthi of the 80s are still called Lady Amitabh Bachan. Currently too, in south there are films being made where women are not just a shadow or piece of show in the movie ex: Rudramadevi, arundhati, bhagamathie, mahanati and more. Things are changing and as audience unless we show interest in seeing the films that are women led, makers will obviously make films that are saleable.
I'm a guy and i love women stories. I'm more interested in alia, taapsee, Priyanka s films than any other male actor really. I'm looking forward to taapsee's film this month because it has her in it and i will watch it in the theatre. So i think it's about how interesting the film is. Producers should stop thinking that a female lead movie will work less. PS. I can't wait for jee le Zara. And it's all women!
Nobody can wait for Jee Le Zara man!!!!!!!
Dobaaraa
@Preetha M that's because of alia's pregnancy. She has said it might go on floors next year in the front row interview on film companion.
Yes.female movies collect less than male lead movies.thats just fact
I too like women centric films and i am a guy, i like them because most of them are based on reality and real life emotions, but most of the male superstars do only perfect protagonist kinda films
I love people like Vikram and Neeraj who are comfortably at ease and doesn't feel threatened when they are a minority among women and lets them take the charge...
I agree with Neeraj that calling some movie as women story puts it in a bracket. It is just a story. If it talks about women empowerment then it's a relatable story but calling kahani, dirty picture, gangubai as women story decrease the value. Movies like pushpa are not called Macho men story. They are sold solely on entertainment value. If the story it's about women better make them entertaining movies rather than vouching just for female representation.
Loved Kanika’s assured voice and how she didn’t shy away from sharing her own experiences. Good dialogue overall!
After listening to Aparna, it's very clear why Amazon India is the best Indian streaming service and has the best content by far
Ma cho# diye bhiya ji 😍 great feminist dialogue
I think it was SRIDEVI who put everyone in their place..all the top heroes used to earn less than her at one time.. Amrita singh once said that she was the only man in the film industry.. she conquered bollywood through sheer talent and hardwork.. with out knowing the language, with out anykind of education..But things have changed a lot now for better..
Absolutely fabulous session.. Great work Anuji and team on this.. The fact that by the end there was 1000 viewers watching it for the premiere itself shows that people really want to listen to what they are saying.. This itself is hopeful..!!
Thank you for watching and yes, we live in hope!
We relate to women stories a lot
Great conversation. I am so happy to finally see serious conversations on gender equity and representation of women in movies and women in decision making roles in the entertainment business. The film industry needs gender inclusion experts who will guide production houses, media houses, casting companies etc and put regulations in place, like Reema pointed out. You guys should look at the development sector (NGO sector etc) and hire gender experts who have real grassroots experience on gender inequalities (I am hinting towards me..hehe).
But really, a very fulfilling conversation to end my day with!! Thanks Anupama!
Regulations is a dangerous track. Equality of opportunity should be strived for, equality of outcome will follow.
My favourite part was the Women’s Cinematography Collective. That’s so cool! Also, congratulations on 150 members 👏🏽
The problem with this kind of meetings are that usually people converse in english, the english speaking audience already knows the issue, unko bata ke kya milega?
P.S- Really liked the discussion and more power to FC.
This feminism stuff keeps floating in the elitist circles. Never reaches the masses.
The men in these elite circles are getting wokier day by day. Just look at Neeraj spewing typical american wokism and the real masses praising Rocky bhai and Kabir Singh.
Please come out of your ivory towers Bollywood people.
What? What kind of an assumption is that? That 'english speaking' audience already knows the issue
Most of us understand English but most of aren't primarily 'english speaking' either. At the same time many of the people who could be at blame could be English speaking too.
I don't understand what language has to do with all this.
I dont agree with 'english speaking audience already knows the issue' but yes i agree that these kind of discussions should be done in hindi as well to really reach the masses, mostly these kinna discussions are done in english apparantely but i really wish ye cheeze hindi me bhi discuss ho so that i can sit with my parents & watch, grow together i suppose. Lallantop is one channel which is kinda doing good things in hindi.
@@Timepass-cx1do most of us is less than 10 percent
This was so important. If people in any system ignore the importance of inclusion of women, then the system needs to change not the woman. Gender, colour, race, religion and class shouldn't be factors that alter your opportunity in any system.
There should be a Part 2 of this as well. Loved it!
It feels so good to see such positive comments. Film Companion and Anu ma'am shutting down the negativity with consistent quality and great work
Great interview! I'm a Sociology student (beginner and for UPSC exam), and i have to say that I learnt a lot.
Rajamouli had strong female characters in Bãhubali.. Just that south macho films are working from past few months doesn't mean South is totally biased towards masculinity.. Even South audience/story tellers are changing a bit..
I've seen people giving the same Bahubali example whenever anyone points out the lack of significant female characters in South Indian Films.
That is beacuse people knew bahubali.. If you want to know the latest releases then we have virata parvam and gargi of sai pallavi which releasedlast month.. Sita Ramam which just released few days back that had a meaningful female characters..
Soorarai Pottru, National Award winning Tamil film 2022 is directed by a Woman..
Now, you can literally count in fingers and point out the films in which female characters are real and flesh and have relatable traits.....that's not a good sign.
Men or women really don't care about it's men film women film ,it's just the content and film-if women centric movies hit -most viewers are men;)
Thank God that film companion exists.
More like female companion lol
So that all feminists can pat each others shoulder 😂
Dearest Anupma, thank you for this conversation. It is sad that we are still talking about women leadership in Indian cinema and kudos to Vidya, Deepika, Kangana, kareena and now Alia creating not only magic but meaningful cinema.
One point that I notice you consistently ignore/miss and shy away from mentioning in these kinds of conversations is that women empowerment in Indian cinema was really changed in the era of Sridevi and Madhuri.
These two were the ones that changed narrative for women in a male dominated industry. Remember Mr. India was known as a Sridevi film, Chandni brought back family, romance entertainment without the unnecessary violence in cinema.
HPHK was the biggest earner of its time and kudos to Madhuri.
While these conversations are necessary, it’s equally important not to ignore the ones who actually started the trend to rule the male industry- if Sridevi was the lead no one bothered who the hero was. Sridevi demanded better screen time then Amitab in Khuda Gawah (something never given to women in majority of his film from that era) That was the respect they earned through their sheer performance. So please also acknowledge them and don’t put all the credit on Vidya’s shoulders - she doesn’t have the body of work to sustain this biased credit True liberation will happen when other significant names are consistently acknowledged in spaces like this and not forgotten. Respectfully D.
Definitely what you said is true but in the recent times Vidya, Shefali and Tabu are the only few actors who have had a body of work to prove their worth.
Wonderful conversation! Happy to see these implicit bias's which happen to women irrespective of the industry being spoken out loud. The prejudice starts at home and is so rampant if we start looking at family members and immediate social circle itself. We need consciously educate men and women about treating women as human beings not a inclusion diversity point. This gender based species level discrimination is deep rooted across the world which has come down from generations and millenniums. It will be a day to day effort for years but glad to know we have started :-)
Great episode and yes this had to be spoken out. Loved it when Vidya said she doesnt understand what women oriented exactly means , because thats what I have always felt…
Thanks for including Tammannah in this adda.She is one actress who is underrated and directors mainly used her as a white slim cute girl according to Indian concept of a beautiful heroine.Despite working in this industry for about 15 years she never got her due
That's another discussion and if that's her work in a nutshell then there needs to be a conversation about diversity in acting department. Why does audience need brands instead of actors proficient in their craft consistently not just movies with the same face because producers and filmmakers put a value on them.
So glad Tamannah is added to this!
Glad to see Tamannaah here🙌🏻
She will never get her dur cuz she followed the usual path. There are women like Sai pallavi who are taking the path less travelled by and making the mark.
Sai will be a better choice compared to tamaannahh
This is one of the best conversation "adda" of Film Companion. And yes like you mentioned that we are hopeful and things will change, and I couldn't agree more.
Keep doing this wonderful work and I think change will happen eventually because it is the only things which is constant.
Thank you for always having such essential conversations.
Omg this is so exciting! I’m so eager to see what they have to say.
The discussion was amazing...Hearing these women speak their minds , i think i totally misjudged them... Especially about Tamanna...
Love this and hoping for more female hero films in future as Vidya said ♥️
I'm here majorly to listen to Vidya Balan n Tamannaah chellam
I am really shocked at vidya balan's comment on hyper masculinity films doing so well only because men felt threatened that their masculinity will be lost and just by watching these films they feel more powerful. I felt it's a statement of ignorance. those films are successful because they provide amazing theatrical ecperience. Definitely these films are not liked by only men.
She is partially right
@@Timepass-cx1do about which part?
she is right?
@@saiganesh9134 She is right about the reaction of men.
@@Timepass-cx1do maybe but that's not definitely majority. but she said like that it is the sole reason for those film's success.
Between 45:00 and 50:00, the discussion debate between Vidya and Reema was so on point.
Dumbest answer in decade😅
Neeraj nailed it in the head, even I noticed these archtypes of toxic male lead in the South. It reminds me of the bad 90s action film heroes. Not saying that these films aren't good, but Hindi films are churning out at least diverse genres and female led than the south.
Oh really don't you know jayalalita was a cm after female superstar I think you never watched any classy south films
The period thing - that's also problematic. Some women may have pain , some others may not have too much pain. The photography assistant may need help ,may not need help. I think man or woman both may need help at times - there's no need to deny that. It is humane. People may and should always ask if they need help. The set needs to be cordial, helpful, collaborative, humane.
Exactly, if they want help they will and must ask for help may it be a female or male. But no one needs to assume that a female would be incapable of doing something herself. So it's always better to ask.
@@Timepass-cx1do women might get hurt while lifting heavy weights that's why Men helps women .
Thank you film companion and Anu for doing this talk. It was really great to listen each one of them. I hope we will be getting more of these episodes in future.
Nowadays there's a strong bias against Bollywood. People act all "woke" and call out the problematic content in Hindi films but shut their mouths when it comes to South Indian films. The female characters are reduced to love interests and eye candy but since the male leads are worshipped nobody speaks up.
Love it when Film companion drops such gem conversation. But Why the caption has hashtags of actors only? I understand you need this video to reach as many people but when will that time come when female writers, director, producers are celebrated same as female actors.
I am happy that tamannaah is here ❤
Thank you Film Companion for such wholesome interviews ♥️
What a wonderful conversation. Really enjoyed it. And honestly both Aparna and Kanika were super inspiring, especially Aparna. It is so inspiring to see a woman at the leading position, and being such a badass, making actual change happen!
Bollywood is shit pahle dhang se movie to bana lo baad m women ko respect dete rahna 😭🤣
Such an important discussion to be had. Vidya's POV about why South Indian movies are doing so well really makes sense. Sadly, it proves people are apprehensive about watching real, well rounded women on screen, and would much prefer them to be eye candies. Great to know that Amazon and abundantia has such regulations in place. Finally, would now go and check out the entire OWomaniya report. A great initiative 🙌
People watch bahubali, rrr, avengers, avatar larger than cinema 😍
people ignore bollywood 💩💩💩
Bollywood don't make larger than life characters like devsena
This comment wasn't about South vs Bollywood, go spew this negativity elsewhere
Just need a show where Vidya Balan speaks her mind........................ Love her.
It would be nice to see you do something similar with production designers, the department with the most number of female HoDs. There’s a lot of insight one can get from understanding their challenges.
First of all there is a space for every kind of cinema in the Indian film industry.. in this group only Vidya walks the talk...Tamanna will speak all this and go and pick the scripts with same 5 songs and romance scene appearances in Telugu. Only if you guys take the risk and show to the producers that you can pull off a film by yourself, then you'll start getting offered that kind of movies
They have proved that right? Many have. I mean on the other hand many male actors have done badly at the box office but are still doing the same films. Like why didn't they have to prove themselves to keep going.
First of all you're only assuming what she's doing but who knows there are problems in casting and there's no diversity. She does what is offered to her and there's a hierarchy of sorts in how actors are chosen. Obviously nobody is chosen due to auditions and being proficient in their craft. So we get to see the same faces doing repetitive work because that's what filmmakers and producers have chosen them to do. Vidya balan can only do certain films and definitely she's not going to be in a big directors films doing heroine and melodramatic shit. Female centric movies happened due to the filmmakers finally giving her opportunity to make a space. Tamanna has her own journey and one cannot blame her due to opportunities given to her.
@@Finnola 'Obviously nobody is chosen due to auditions and being proficient in their craft'?
What makes it so obvious again?
Please watch Tamil films of her
@@Timepass-cx1do
Nayantara
Samantha
Parvati Menon
Nithya Menon
Aishwarya Rajesh
Nandita Das
Andrea Jeremiah
Ramya Krishnan
The list is endless. These women started the way Tamanna did. And now they've changed the rules. You can't see a single interview in which they sit and complain that no one's spoon feeding them with these women centric roles. That's coz they've learnt to say NO to silly roles which carry no weight. Tamanna came to the industry when she was 14. She is 32 now. If she is still sobbing that there are no strong scripts for women, then it's on her
It's great how aparma talks about amazing original it's like they won't disappoint us
Amazing original?
thank you film companion. Anupama, it requires a journalist like you to talk about things. that's all. thank you.
Power packed conversation👍👏👌
That was just amazing, you put a bunch of bright minds together with Anupama, you have hit the jackpot ✨. Loved the conversation.
This was absolutely fabulous. Thankyou Anupama and team.
Am i the only one who thinks that @tamannahbhatia was underplayed in this interview. Because all of them are matured and experienced, even she is. As she perceived from glam zone. She couldn't play the best of her
A very important conversation to happen not just film industry but everywhere. Only way change will come is through conversation like this.
47:00 vidya just speaks so convincingly
It's not true
Avatar 2 m bhi toxic masculinity hoga sayad 🤣 isliye 300 cr kama liya 12 din m
zyda collection southern area se aa rha h
Oscar critics love toxic masculinity male dancer in rrr 😭
O Womaniya - credit to Anurag Kashyap, Varun Grover, Sneha Khanwalkar.
Ohoh yas
As a video editor trying to break into the industry, I literally agree with Vidya Balan
Huge respect just to put up a conversation like this👏
More power to these great voices n opinions, experiences shared were relevant to non-movie industry too. Directors like Dear Zindagi n soorarai pottaru Gauri shinde n sudha Prasad alrdy making huge difference👏👏
It all depends on audience's liking.
I like Tamana but honestly she had a very small role specially in bahubali 2. In most of the films, women role are just unnecessary additions which first needs to change.
Successful women needs to make movies having good roles for women and this is the only way to change the mentality of audiance/film makers.
I appreciate Tabu, Kangana and Vidya for their versatile filmography.
Hopefully, new actresses like Kirti Sanon, Yami Gautam, Kiara Advani, etc will follow the same instead of just performing an eye candy.
One suggestion - It would be amazing to bring in singers and have an adda with them. Till Shreya Ghoshal days, women have had to sing at a pitch that is suitable to men. Seldom donee see the pitch adjusted as per the needs of women singers. No wonder so many songs sound shrill when women sing at the male singer's comfort pitch. Now things are changing and I am super glad to see new (female) singers singing in their comfortable pitch.
There has been a female singers adda. But would love to have it again. Jonita Gandhi, Jasleen Royal, Shilpa Rao, Monali Thakur, Harshdeep Kaur, Neeti Mohan, Asees Kaur, Sashaa Tirupati, Shwetha Mohan, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kavita Seth, Shalmali Kholgade, and many more....
@@Timepass-cx1do Oh I didn't know, missed it I guess. Will check it out, thanks for suggesting!! Great suggestions of singers you have here :)
Well said and hats off to all the guests to opened their hearts and spoke the reality of their industry 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
FILM COMPANION, one adda I'd like to see would be FEMALE ACTORS TURNED PRODUCERS! There are a lot of A list female actors who have turned into producers for their own films and I'd like to know about their journeys, their reasons for turning into producers and what difficulties they had to face. Because as far as I recall, there aren't many male actors turning into producers for their own projects. So I'm really interested in knowing about this.
Hmm interesting point
I absolutely love Anushka Sharma as a producer.
@@atulwarkade1658 whole bollywood is shit na inke pas gener h na concept h
Wish Konkona was a part of this panel too…would have added more perspective!
True I find her films focusing on story be it her directorial death in gunj or her recent films. As a director she doesn't do it and show off women narratives for namesake but she has a good story and rest follows. All this lack of women in films stems from not giving writers opportunities and placing creative restraints for sake of commerce. Not all women oriented films are good.
Great discussion! But the maajor issue is that majority of people in this country discriminating are hindi speaking or regional. The 5 percent like us know the issue, and do whatever we can to integrate women as equals and/or superiors in many cases. In order to reach a wider audience and actually make a difference, You guys should try speaking in the most commonly spoken language in this country.
Tamanna, Kanika - what is a masculine side n feminine side ? That kind of thought itself is prejudiced. Aggressiveness is Not masculine or softness is Not feminine. They are just traits. What you guys are saying is societal conditions.
Not true, study evolution and you’ll understand the difference between men and women. We’ve tried to ignore these differences and women have had to curve their true feminine nature to fit into a man’s ‘work’ model. We need to accept the science that men and women are different and work culture now needs to shift to accommodate females and their unique requirements.
I get what you're saying but I think they have a completely different stance.....
Yep, I think there’s still a lot of ‘proving’ that a female can work alongside men. What’s missing is, unless the work model is changed, it’s women who end up losing in the end. The ‘work’ model we have today was created for men during the industrial revolution. We can keep fooling ourselves that it still works for the current demographic.
@@river1304 Cite the study results. What you are saying is Not true. "curve their true feminine nature" - what the hell is that ? Man's "work" model ? What the hell exactly is that ? People have way more variety than to limit them into 2 - male & female. Yours is One of the most unscientific, biased stance - propagated for ages and creating problems for men and women alike in society n in work space. You are just spreading a biased outlook.
@@river1304 There are efficient working model, humane working model, non-efficient working model etc. What the hell is a "man's working model" ??
This is a gem of a discussion ❤️
If the movie has a great content and good performance by actors everyone will watch whether it is male centric or female centric. There are lot of female centric movies have been made where public appreciated and made they movies blockbuster. For eg: mahanati, arundati,queen(bollywood),the great India kitchen... In the movies it is not about the gender it is about the content. It like a bulb which glows because of current. Here current is a content and bulb is a movie.
The great Indian kitchen was an ott release so couldn't be a 'blockbuster' if you know what that means.
@@Timepass-cx1do I totally agree that it was a ott release because of pandemic suppose if it was released in theatres then it will become a hit and even in ott also it gathered large number of views. There is another movie called uyare it made with a budget of 6.5 crores but it collected 30 crores in the box office.
@@arjunsaijanamanchi1799 I know.
True majority of time female centric films which are success already is familiar to audience like bhansali or karan johar or Yash chopra film. Audience is used to seeing those movies which are more in their comfort zone, take the family, emotional, melodramatic and having pretty actress. Producers and creative people won't have problem due those top directors are already a brand that people will pay to watch. Other female centric films don't have good content and just there for namesake and most are average entertainers that'll definitely bring in audience. Very few have exciting and realistic content and again actress and female directors can't cherry pick issues when there is lack of diversity in casting and choosing actors not proficient in their craft.
It's so funny that Aparna Purohit thinks Four More Shots Please has such a large viewership because of the quality of its content. People watch that show as an alternative to porn because many porn sites are blocked in India.
Tammannah has only been part of these hyper masculine films and her experiences are limited to that. A better choice for this panel would have been a samantha or nayanthara or aishwarya rajesh or sai pallavi or jyotika who lead movies and draw in crowds to the theatre.
wooowowww- such a huge group and amazing coversation
Tamannaah❤
Tamannaah bhatia is considered the best from current generation .
🤣🤣
What a joke 😂😂
Can anyone name a standout performance from her ?
And she is an underrated one. She has done good films but people never remembered it
@@aranyayogananthasarma3539 i am geniuinely asking here. I watched her hammy nonsensical performance in the queen remake. The original was such a powerful film.
Both Zoya Aktar and Reema Kagti singlehandedly steered the narration of women in direction. They were the pioneers who proved their mettle as commercially viable directors.
Yup, exactly. We need more
It was Farah Khan actually
Just just loved it 😍 absolutely fantastic conversation
❤❤
Reema Kagti's expressions whenever somebody is trying to explain are so discouraging and hilarious...I know it's not intentional
Tamannaah makes her point very clear🙌🏻. It's a fact reveled interview ❗️. Hope things will change, Tq Tean 🙌🏻
What an insights... Interview with fire
Since identity exsists on more than one dimension, we also need conversation around caste representation as well.
Look at the description, the bollywood biggie “VIDYA BALAN” is right on top whereas the poor SOUTH INDIAN actress “TAMANNAH” is RIGHT at the bottom of the guest list. I don’t know what’s the point of talking about disparity alone.
Absolutely love this!
I WISH THIS CONVERSATION WAS LONGER
amazing how vidya balan gets all the credit for changing the landscape of female representation in Indian cinema when it was Rani Mukerji who took challenging roles in 2000's even in the very khanesque patriarchal era...A black came before Dirty picture which was a semi porn film relying on the male gaze again...she made 3 female oriented films post black which might not have done well at the box office but does deserve recognition..Kudos to vidya though for having great PR and friendship with these relevant journalists..Its all about projection today...a lie repeated 100 times become the truth
Isn't it a win win situation?
So true
@@Timepass-cx1do exactly
This isn't a competition. Both women have contributed to the change that is happening and I don't think you should demean Vidya's accomplishments because Rani has not been mentioned in this interview.
This isn't a competition. Both women have contributed to the change that is happening and I don't think you should demean Vidya's accomplishments because Rani has not been mentioned in this interview.
Somehow I also felt hopeful at the end of the conversation. Thank you all for taking up this initiative and making insightful conversations :)
Women like #vyjayanthimala #Nargis #nutan #nimmi #Nadira #madhubala #sairabanu #Meenakumari #sadhna #waheeda #ashaparekh #mumtaz #sharmilatagore #moushumi #rekha #rakhee #reenaroy #suchitrasen #padmini #jayaprada #sridevi #meenakshi #simi #zeenataman #parveenbabi #smitapatel #shabanaazmi #deeptinaval have played there part well in hindi cinema
Nice conversation on a very important topic, also shocked to know there is such a scenario in the industry where everyone looks up to.
When people put action to what they say, like FC does it feels like a change is really at the horizon. The entertainment business is very brave to be able to talk about it so openly and always try to do their part in turning the tables around.
This was such an enlightening conversation ❤️❤️❤️ loved loved loved it
Loved the topic 👍
Kanika Talking here about rights and feminism but that doesn’t reflect in her writing whn she objectified women in rakhabandan “pseudofeminism”
Konkana should have been here
You just read my mind
Just loved the conversation.. Change is inevitable
Vidya made very very valid points
Huzza!!!
I never thought about the 'masculine' trait required to get something done in any sphere, it is true. Also, I agree that the whole, 'successful and graceful' gaslighting has to stop.
What a treat to hear this, what a treat !!
Such a great discussion..loved it
50s was mother India seema Sujata sadhna bandini kaajal pakeezah seeta aur geeta khilona aaina dream girl chorni aasha nagin neel kamal kati patang anita these were also female lead ventures too in late 60s to 80s even khubsoorat jhoothi pet pyar aur paap arth bhavna trishna rajnigandha