Women Empowerment in Selected Indian Cinema: A Critical Analysis

Authors:

Debjani Som

Pages: 5-9

Abstract:

The empowerment of women, gender equality, and feminism are described in contemporary India. Society has changed by touching on these topics that are rarely discussed in the Indian film industry. The problems of women have been greatly focused on by contemporary directors. Feminism in Indian cinema has undergone a notable evolution, reflecting broader societal changes and challenges over the decades. From its early days to the contemporary era, Indian cinema has both mirrored and influenced perceptions of gender roles, empowerment, and equality. These films reflect changing attitudes towards gender roles and empowerment. Women’s roles have changed significantly in modern life. In earlier times, the roles of women were bounded by rituals and patriarchy. Visual media influences society in many ways that affect individuals’ personal lives. Cinema directly or indirectly influences society through the clothes they wear, how they speak, and their social behavior. This study tries to discover whether women’s productive work has empowered them or weakened their positions in the films in which they appear. Cinema always reflected women's image, status, and role in society.  Religion and mythology always influenced films whereby women characters were seen as the epitome of virtue and values, those who could do no wrong, quality of loyalty and obedience to the husband. Hindi cinema successfully institutionalized patriarchal values. In films, the victim's wife refuses to leave her husband’s house despite severe physical and emotional violence and the rationale of leaving the marital house only at the time of her death. This is possible because art and cinema are the mirror of society. I have selected five films, Fashion (2008), No One Killed Jessica (2011), English Vinglish (2012), Queen (2013), and Pink (2016), for this study, where women's empowerment has been emphasized. The films discussed in this article demonstrate the range of thought among filmmakers about the status of women in Indian society.