Rajani to Bhakshak: Small screen sheroes who were harbingers of social change

Hyderabad: Before OTT ushered in waves of compelling change, the small screen offered little respite to viewers searching for women protagonists who were not trapped in domestic squabbles, kitchen politics, and regressive character arcs. This International Women's Day, we take a look at pathbreaking sheroes in OTT narratives as well as on television who stood apart and went on to exemplify power, courage, and the intentionality to bring about social change.

An overview:

Rajani

In the golden era of Doordarshan, director Basu Chatterjee gave audiences a firebrand, feisty homemaker who took on corruption, red tape, government laxities, price rises, inept policing, and much more. Starring the late Priya Tendulkar in the title role, this 1985 classic is still remembered for giving us Indian television's first woman change maker whose passion for social justice sparked conversations in living rooms and inspired people to raise their voices against all that was ailing society. With ratings that reportedly surged to about 94 percent in July 1985, the show was both a critical and popular success and one episode even featured a yet-to-be-discovered star, Shah Rukh Khan!

Dr. Sneha (MKBKSH)

'Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon' (MKBKSH) or 'I (A Woman) Can Achieve Anything' has raised the bar for edutainment as a transmedia (TV, radio, internet, and mobile phone) show. The initiative was created by Population Foundation of India in synergy with the National Adolescent Health program, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. At its heart is the passionately committed Doctor Sneha Mathur (Meinal Vaishnav) who fearlessly disseminates information about taboo subjects like family planning, Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) and takes on social ills like domestic violence, child marriage, sanitation, and more. Not surprisingly, its three seasons on Doordarshan reached a viewership of over 150 million. The Feroz Abbas Khan directorial also aired in West Asia, the Far East, Canada, and Europe. Additionally, an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) set up as part of the initiative received approximately 2.2 million calls from 400,000 unique numbers across 29 states during these three seasons. It is now available on YouTube.

Kalyani Singh (Udaan)

The recent demise of the pioneering writer, director, and actor Kavita Chaudhary brought back into focus the first-ever television show that introduced a woman in uniform to the audiences. The year was 1989, the show was 'Udaan' and Kavita played Kalyani Singh, a profoundly inspirational female character modeled on her sister IPS Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya who was the first woman to become the Director General of Police in a state. The journey of Kalyani Singh was credited with inspiring a large number of women to join the Civil Services. In the span of just 13 episodes, we saw how a young woman, tired of systematic oppression, gender discrimination, corruption, and social inequities, decides to transform herself from a supplicant to a powerful IPS officer. The precursor of shows like 'Delhi Crime' and 'Dahaad', 'Udaan' remains an iconic story about a woman who chose never to give in or give up.

Vaishali (Bhakshak)

This recent Netflix thriller recreates the horror of the Muzaffarpur shelter case through the gaze of Vaishali, an independent journalist and YouTuber who becomes obsessed with the search for truth. Directed by Pulkit, with Bhumi Pednekar in the lead, the film revolves around a young woman who has very little viewership or resources but decides to pursue leads that no mainstream journalist is following. The quest endangers her and those close to her but she does not rest till the brutalisation of the inmates of the shelter home becomes public knowledge. The film reinforces the value of empathy and demonstrates that with courage and persistence, any woman can turn the wheels of justice.