We all celebrate Women’s Day on March 8 every year. Or should I say some of us celebrate it with all our hearts? The rest just try to recognise it openly to show their fake concern towards women’s development and lack of gender equality. We know it is hard for some people to admit this thing. But it is damn true. How about we apply this scenario to the world of entertainment? Hundreds of movies and tv shows release every year as part of Hollywood, Bollywood, and other movie industries in the world. But how many of them are women-centric? That’s the question we must ask ourselves. And so do the film production houses.
Let’s take the example of our beloved Bollywood industry. We are into the third month of 2022 and the only watchable women-centric movie the Indian moviegoers have received is Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi. The actresses’ name needs no recognition. The country’s cinephiles respect her talent and acting skills. Plus, she is capable of handling big movie projects on her own. No doubt it is a commendable thing. But at the same time, the lack of actresses like Alia in Bollywood feels like a sad thing. Various talented Indian actresses treasure the desire and ability to shine in this industry. But we know how Bollywood functions. Since its inception, this industry has heavily relied upon the style and charisma of male performers. And some of them don’t even have proper acting skills.
There’s no denying that the movie production houses are responsible for making only a limited number of women-oriented films. It may sound a bit harsh but moviegoers can also be held accountable for this disastrous situation. A large portion of people is still accustomed to enjoying male-dominating films. They like when a male actor beats the hell out of a guy or blows things up. But when a female performer does the same things, she receives strong backlash or gets ridiculed by them.
Production houses are the biggest reason behind the current status of actresses, especially in India. Movie producers still do not want to put their money on solo female projects. They need a dashing male star to devour big profits from the box office. And they only consider actresses as a side character or when they need a spicy item song in their movies. Why? Because they know that women-centric films do not bring big profits. And who is responsible for this pathetic scenario? Us!
You might have watched various stories or posts of prominent production houses celebrating Women’s Day with ‘great enthusiasm’ today. But we all know how serious they are when it comes to bestowing proper roles or characters to actresses. Celebrating this day is not enough to uplift the present status of female performers. Movie studios need to hire talented actresses for good roles or projects. Otherwise, posting Women’s Day quotes or statuses is nothing except a miserable drama.