Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali with actors Kushboo Sundar, Suhasini Manirathnam and Vani Tripathi Tikoo astatine IFFI, Goa, Thursday. (PTI)
“We can’t go tolerant of sex injustice astatine the workplace. We can’t enactment with barriers… No 1 should deliberation that idiosyncratic should beryllium taken vantage of,” writer-director Imtiaz Ali said connected the request to marque workplaces unafraid for women.
He was speaking astatine a sheet treatment connected the taxable ‘Women’s Safety and Cinema’ astatine the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, connected Thursday. Ali was portion of a treatment with actors Suhasini Maniratnam, Kushboo Sundar and Bhumi Pednekar. The contented of women information created rather a disturbance precocious pursuing the revelations of the Hema Committee study findings connected the moving information of women successful the Malayalam movie industry.
Pednekar said she believed that portion depictions of each kinds of characters are important, it is imperative that the messaging is right. “Art should not person boundaries. The characters that are flawed should beryllium represented connected screen. Having said that, I besides consciousness that we arsenic a nine should guarantee close messaging. There person been songs successful which you are told the leader volition travel and springiness a small whack connected your posterior. This mightiness beryllium amusive for immoderate but growing-up boys mightiness deliberation they tin get distant with it. So, it is astir the dignity with which you represent women connected screen,” the histrion said, who has played fascinating characters successful aggregate movies including Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), Sonchiriya (2019) and Badhaai Do (2022).
Speaking astir the power of cinema, Ali, known for making fashionable movies specified arsenic Jab we Met (2007), Highway (2014), Tamasha (2015) and Amar Singh Chamkila (2014), said: “There is this umbilical cord that exists betwixt nine and cinema. They can’t beryllium autarkic of each other. They power each other. However, the portrayal of women successful cinema has been changing implicit a play of time.”
When it comes to depiction of women connected screen, actors excessively person a responsibility, said Pednekar. “I don’t play immoderate quality that does not person immoderate agency. There person been instances erstwhile I person said nary to large projects due to the fact that of this. I privation to permission down a bequest that girls tin ticker and consciousness empowered,” she said.
Asked astir the much-debated contented of women “compromising” for the involvement of bagging projects, Suhasini and Kushboo made it wide that women learning to accidental nary and taking a basal for themselves are crucial. Suhasini recounted that erstwhile she was astir 25 years old, she realised that antheral actors bash inquire the directors to marque changes to suit their surface persona oregon what they judge successful portion heroines are expected to toed the line. “When I realised it, I started arguing erstwhile I didn’t hold with something. Obedience has to beryllium enactment astatine location and school. Young girls should cognize however to accidental no,” she said.
Kushboo said she is conscious of the choices she is making now. “I americium not going to kick astir those roles (she played successful the aboriginal years of her career) due to the fact that those were a idiosyncratic choice. I was not successful a presumption to backmost retired of specified projects. However, successful the past 25 years, I person hardly done 10 films. I americium successful a presumption to take what I privation to do. As a parent of 2 young girls, it is important for maine to recognize what I permission behind.”
Though her hubby Sundar C, 1 of the apical producers of Tamil films, makes “entertaining films”, they effort to bash that “with responsibility”, Kushboo said.
Since cinema is simply a reflection of society, the panelists were unanimous that the acquisition of respecting a pistillate should commencement astatine home. Ali said, “The satellite erstwhile I was increasing up was a spot much sexist arsenic compared to now. In the bylanes of Amritsar, young girls spell astir connected bikes precocious successful the evening. Such changes are besides due to the fact that of however their parents are treating them. That’s showing successful the practice successful cinema.”
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