Indywood Film Carnival at Ramoji Film City (Day 2)

As part of the Indywood Film Carnival 2016 that is taking place at Ramoji Film City from 24th to 27th September, there are close to 50 panel discussions taking place with esteemed speakers from the Indian Film Fraternity. The session held today debated on the topic of representation of women in the film industry and saw a very interesting panel presenting their views on the issue – Ms. Rupa Dash, CEO, World Woman Foundation, Ms. Sonja Prosenc, Writer & Film Director, Slovenia, Ms. Srishti Arya, Film Producer, Namrata Goyal, Senior Management, Jet Airways. The session was also joined by cast of recently released Movie Pink – Ms. Andrea Tariang and Ms. Kirti Kulhari.

The opening remarks mentioned that today around 75% of crew members in the film industry are men. In the last 20 years 3/4th of the crew members in all Indian movies have been men. Ms. Namrata Goyal said that there has been a huge transformation from the 50s till now. “I think the key is education. The main chup rahoongi syndrome has vanished from the movies now. Women are not servient today. They have a position of power and they exercise decision making. Films Like Piku, Queen, Tanu Weds Manu and Pink are fabulous examples of how the representation of women in Indian Cinema has transformed.”

Ms. Srishti Arya said that patriarchy is really a big issue not just for cinema but even for the society, and women in a sense feed that by not standing up for themselves. The transformation has been slow and glacial so far. Women should support each other and help them to stand up for themselves. Ms. Sonja Prosenc said, “'why have you wings if it can't make you fly ' why have cinema if the women are not in the mainstream. Generally, we do not have a collaborative work culture. Most Importantly 2015 was a historical that 34% of the women were lead characters and most films had scripts written by women.”

Ms. Kirti Kulhari said, “It's nice to have men involved as part of women issues. I am not really surprised as there are men in our lives who stand by us who do understand women’s challenges and there are men who have been able to tell a story like pink. On being asked what was the thought process as actors while shooting for a movie like Pink and if movies can really transform the representation of women in the society, Ms. Andrea Tariang said, “IT was a challenging role as an actor and we prepared for it through workshops. If women are given the opportunity they will really come forward. Movies like Pink tell a story which is necessary to be told. The session also discussed the challenges faced by women in all walks of like and how men can be a part of the solution by supporting the women around them.