The Female Gaze: Huma Qureshi, Nitya Mehra and Others Weigh In On The Gender Debate

At an event organised by Breakthrough Trust, various influential voices from Bollywood collectively underscored the powerful impact of cinema in shaping societal attitudes and cultural norms. They emphasised that films have the ability not only to entertain but also to reflect and influence how gender roles and relationships are understood in society. The speakers called for an urgent transformation within the industry, advocating for the creation of a more gender-sensitive environment that promotes equal opportunities, diverse representation, and inclusive narratives. They stressed that fostering such a culture is essential for dismantling long-standing stereotypes and biases, ultimately driving positive social change through storytelling.

Huma Qureshi

Huma Qureshi, actor

Is there room for improvement? Definitely. I could surely get paid as much as my male co stars. Having said that, have things changed? For sure, I think better parts are being written for women, where they’re not just an accessory to the hero’s journey, but actually have more agency. And it’s happening across, with a lot of shows and films centered around women. I’ve been fortunate enough to star in some of those. On a separate note, I loved movies like Khoon Bhari Maang, as a kid, that’s the kind of stuff you like. And I would think I also can fight my own battle, I don’t need someone to come and rescue me. And I feel like no matter what genre, as long as we are just putting out women, not trying to, box them, thinking whether these things are acceptable or not acceptable, I’m perfectly fine. Let’s have some more toxic women in films. Let’s have some toxic mothers. Why does the mother have to be holier than thou?

For example, I did a film called Monica, O My Darling. And I remember pulling up a journalist, in fact, who said, oh, but you are playing a vamp. And I’m like, excuse me, this entire film is full of great characters, but you choose to call me a vamp in an interview. So that is just reflective of your mindset as well, right? I’m just a character who’s making great choices, maybe using my body to get what I want. And why are you putting a judgment lens on it already?

Vijay Krishna Acharya

Vijay Krishna Acharya, (Director and screenwriter)

It’s perhaps bite sized things that will be the way forward, something that is already happening. Being a man, gender is a privilege for me. I have to learn how to look at things in a different way. And thankfully, I have two daughters and my wife to ensure that.

Sohini Bhattacharya

Sohini Bhattacharya, (CEO, Breakthrough)

As the entertainment landscape continues to evolve, we want to partner with it to enable more gender-sensitive content. I think this call in not ours alone but women themselves are demanding such content. This call to action marks a significant step toward reshaping the future of cinema and promoting gender equality in the industry. We are trying to build a community and find a common ground to work on the value of gender progressive stories and why they matter, together as a group. Building ally-ship is the first step towards this.

Nitya Mehra

Nitya Mehra, (Director and screenwriter)

Stories have been told by men for a long time, because of which all the values that we gain from these stories are pretty much from that male perspective. So I do feel that a lot needs to be done, and we’re not anywhere near that. But, yes, I’m very fortunate that I’ve been part of a generation, where as a film-maker, I’ve been privileged to tell the stories that I want. And I feel like with OTT, a lot of that has also changed.