The Journey From 'Rasode Mein Kaun Tha' To 'Boardroom Mein Kaun Hai'
The women in Indian TV soaps are a certain kind. Turn on the television to any of the GECs and you will feel like you are in a tired time warp. Nothing seems to have changed in over 20 years.
Characters are written to fit a unidimensional arc, devoid of nuance. You are either a man-stealing vamp and or a people-pleasing domestic goddess. Young girls are invariably cute and bubbly. Older married women run a fiefdom that starts and ends in the kitchen. Mother-in laws are still berating their daughter in laws for the smallest mistake, daughter in laws are still hovering around the dining table, waiting for the men in the house to finish eating first before taking a bite. Stereotypical tropes still flourish, women who are unmarried are evil, they almost always have short hair, drink and are usually a bad influence and must be avoided at all costs.
Women in TV soaps are primarily thinking about men, talking them, adjusting their lives around them. Clearly, no one has heard of the Bechdel test or even if they have, the content creators don’t think their audiences care. They may be right, because if TRPs of the most popular soaps are anything to go by, it seems like what’s being dished out is what’s being readily consumed.
The larger screen has been equally limited when it comes to representation. While women-centric films are being made, the box office pressures often don’t let them thrive without a strong male lead. Films like Kahani, Queen, Tumhari Sulu, Raazi and Manmarziyan have been exceptions both in terms of storytelling and in the range of characters that women actors got to play. However, for the most part mainstream films have women doing the side hustle, spending their screen time playing second fiddle.
Then there’s entertainment in the digital medium. If Kolilaben of the ‘Rasode mein kaun tha’ Tv soap fame wandered into one of scenes of ‘4 more shots please’, she would be apoplectic with rage and jealousy. Here are 4 women living their lives, unapologetic about their choice of work, partners or sexual preferences. In another show, a 60+ Neena Gupta dances joyfully in a music video asking, ‘Aunty kisko bola bey?’ In a third show, we have a woman using a vibrator for the first time and inadvertently right in front of her puzzled mother in law.
With the explosion of smart phones, the insatiable need for diverse content has thrown open the floodgates for content creators of both genders but the impact on women creators has been significant. Never has there been more room for women in every department – be it content, casting or crew. There is more room for nuance and depth in storytelling. Take for instance, Shefali Shah. This powerhouse of talent who would have otherwise been typecast in films and TV is now has been able to do roles that explore her full potential – be it Delhi Crime or Juice.
We now see women in web shows unabashedly own their bodies and sexuality and sexual preferences, their fragilities, flaws and fears. They are not expected to perfect bahus or mother in laws with unidimensional characters and monolithic experiences. We see them explore topics that’s considered taboo and fringe by the mainstream– LGBTQ issues, divorce, infidelity, sexism and harassment, work pressures, being single and so on. And probably for the first time we have web-series where women are at the centre of the story and not playing peripheral insignificant roles.
Significantly its not just on screen. Off screen we have women directors, writers and technicians who are getting to flex their creative muscle. One of the most talked about web shows last year – Made in Heaven was led by 4 women, Zoya Akhtar, Nitya Mehra, Alankrita Srivastava and Reema Katgi. There are a lot more examples not just in the Hindi but in the regional languages as well. Clearly much of the credit for this expanding canvas for women needs to go to the OTT platforms and it’s no coincidence that two of the biggest OTT platforms in India – Netflix and Amazon Prime have women at the helm of their Original content division.
Internationally, there are so many amazing stories being told by women, about women. Fleabag, Killing Eve, Veep, Mrs America just to name a few. In 2020 Emmys in categories that are traditionally not divided by gender (acting) there has been a significant increase in representation of women in writing, screenplay, direction, editing and music. The International Emmys this year has 3 Indian nominations and 2 of them have women directors and 1 lead woman actor nomination.
While it’s indeed a great time for women to be in digital entertainment, there is still quite some work left to do. Rampant sexism and pay disparity issues still need to be addressed. Pigeon-holing women into working on certain types of content is also a concern. That women need more representation means it’s not enough. That women need more acknowledgement means it’s inadequate. That we still need to say ‘women directors’ instead of directors and ‘women writers’ instead of writers means we are a distance away from true equality.
Feminism isn’t about special privileges; it’s about having the same choices and opportunities without bias. That fight should continue.
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