Exclusive: Tiger Shroff faces flak for calling his female co-star's padding'
If you discount a few Mardaanis, Neerjas and Pinks from the recent crop of Bollywood movies, it wouldn’t be incorrect to say that a misogynistic tone still underlines most of the Hindi film industry’s releases. Think of the item numbers, and characters being used as merely arm candy to the all-important ‘hero’ of the movie, and you’ll see what really ails women in Bollywood.
Stoking the flame once again was Tiger Shroff, who in a recent interview chose to reduce the presence of his female co-stars to mere ‘padding’ around him. It has, understandably, sparked off yet another debate on the blatant sexism that exists in Bollywood.
Movies are merely a reflection of society, and Tannishtha Chatterjee believes that the society in general must change, with regards to sexism. “Actors and movies play a huge role in the way our society is. So, I think when speaking on a public forum, stars need to be more responsible,” she says, adding that Bollywood is changing and there are great roles for women too. “Take Dear Zindagi for example, although the movie had a superstar Shah Rukh Khan, it was out-and-out an Alia Bhatt film. I’m glad that actresses are getting more meaningful roles.”
It is also important to see male and female actors in the same light, asserts social media sensation Mallika Dua, “I think it is time to remove the gender connotation from the actors. It is important to focus on acting, as an art rather than just treating it like a visual appeal. If an actor is good with their craft, even 30 seconds of screen space is enough to show their talent. ”
Feminist and theatre artist Dolly Thakore too sees a ray of hope. “There is always a male ‘hero’ who has dominated the industry, but I still feel that things are changing, with female directors and producers trying make a mark. We may have old-fashioned people like Pahlaj Nihalani, but we also have directors and actors, who have always been sensitive to the women,” she states.
—With inputs by Namrata Srivastava
