Decoding Women in Films - A workshop on Character Work

Before we aspire to be change agents, it is imperative that we develop critical thinking to question what is given, what is seen as normal and accepted and what needs to be changed. 'Decoding Women in Films - A Workshop on Character Work' did precisely that.

Population First in collaboration with Screenwriters Association, Mumbai had launched an interesting initiative with students of three courses at Usha Praveen Gandhi college - BMM, BA (Film and TV), MA (Media Management). Titled 'Decoding of women on screen’. The initiative was spearheaded by SWA which had announced a contest for students to pick up a female character from a film, analyse it from a gender perspective and present how they would be rewriting her character.

The participants chose female character from existing feature films and described in 500 words, why they found the characterisation to be problematic, and how they would reimagine the character with a gender-sensitive lens.

25 entries were received which were read by five jury members, who joined the event on 9th December as panelists.

The high-profile jury panel consisted of:
Moderator Cum Mentor:
Ms. Suhani Kanwar: She is known for her contribution as a screen writer to Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016), Leila (2019) and Dil Bekaraar (2021).

Panelist Cum Mentors:
Ms. Nidhi Bisht: is an Indian casting director filmmaker, lawyer, actress and writer. She is one of the earliest members of 'The Viral Fever (the comedy drama)
Ms. Yashna Malhotra: BAFTA Newcomers fellow, Yashna holds an MFA in Screenwriting from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, which she received in 2020. She is also a Sloan grant recipient, and was a finalist for the Sloan Grand Jury Prize awarded by the Museum of the Moving Image.
Ms. Shazia Iqbal: Her Film 'Bebak' had won many awards and earned her international acclaim. She is also associated with scripting of the original Netflix series, 'Sacred Games'.
Ms. Arati Raval: Is a much sought-after writer for OTT platforms, who debuted with 'Interview' a short film in the web anthology ' Feels like Ishq' on Netflix and is currently engaged in many projects with OTT platforms

The five panellists had gone through the 25 submissions from the students and selected the ten best write-ups to feature at the event.
The ten students selected and the characters they chose to review are as follows.
1. Kareena Ramsay - Isabella Swan from Twilight.
2. Amit Ranjan - Zoya from Ranjhana
3. Mahika Bheda - Nandini Raichand from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
4. Harsh Salunke - Preeti from Kabir Singh
5. Vanshika Bansal - Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
6. Akshat Manish Kochar - Mary Jane in Spiderman
7. Vatsa Sharma - Ayesha Mehra from Dil Dhadakne Do
8. Aarav Trivedi- Neelam Mehra from Dil Dhadakne Do
9. Roshni Sanghani - Aarohi from Aashiqui 2
10. Ameya Keni - Lt. CDR JoAnne Galloway from 'A Few Good Men'

The major issues identified in the characterization of women are as follows:
1. They are voice less and docile. They were shown as only supporting their husbands and other male characters in the story (Nandini Raichand from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham)
2. They are not shown as standing up for themselves or the others (Neelam Mehra from Dil Dhadakne Do)
3. They are passive sufferers (Nandini Raichand from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Neelam Mehra from Dil Dhadak Ne Do)
4. Women who are not feminine are not sexually attractive (Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)
5. They are shown to be liking being dominated and abused by men (Preeti from Kabir Singh)
6. They actually acquiesce to the male dominance and power (Lt. CDR JoAnne Galloway from A Few Good Men)
7. They have no identity or agency (Isabella Swan from twilight)
8. Even when they are projected as otherwise empowered, they are not shown as asserting their position or rights (Ayesha from Dil Dhadak Ne Do)
9. Negative poryrayals show them as manipulative, erratic and unpredictable (Zoya from Ranjhana and Arohi from Aashiqui 2)

The presentations were followed by animated conversation between the presenters, panelists and the audience.
While discussing the presentations the panelists made the following observations:
1. It is important to acknowledge that women can also be mean, self-seeking and cruel and project them also in stories as such in a well-rounded and nuanced fashion
2. While there is nothing wrong in telling stories of toxic masculinity as in Kabir Singh, it is important to show final redemption which the film fails to do and ends up glorifying and celebrating the toxic masculinity.
3. Similarly, telling the story of a stalker as in Ranjhana is not the problem, what is problematic is the fact that the story is told from the perspective of the perpetrator with sympathy and not from the perspective of the stalked woman and its impact on her
4. It is important to understand how women negotiate the power equations. Both Ayesha in Dil Dhadak Ne Do and Lt. CDR JoAnne Galloway in A Few Good Men acknowledge the gender power equations and negotiate them in their own way.
5. However technically perfect a movie is, if it perpetrates and normalizes stereotypes and violence against women, it fails to be a good movie, said the panelists, citing the example of Kantara. The film hypes hyper masculinity and undermines the choice and agency of the main woman protagonist.
In her opening remarks Dr.A.L Sharada, thanked Mr.Anjum Rajabali and SWA for their consistent support to the cause of Laadli and thanked the panelists and the participants for their enthusiastic participation.

SWA members present at the event included:
Mr. Robin Bhatt - President
Mr. Zaman Habib - Gen Sec
Mr. Suhael Anwer - Chief Operating Officer
Ms. Persis Sodawaterwala - EC Member
Mr Deepanjan Roy - EC Member
Mr. Sanchit Dahake - Events Manager
Mr. Sumant Prajapati - Events Coordinator
And
Mr. Anjum Rajabali, Senior Script Writer

Mr. Robin Bhatt appreciated the initiatives of Population First, and said that activities like these are important to bring in greater gender sensitivity among young content creators. He extended SWA's continued support to Laadli and thanked Usha Parveen Gandhi college management and students for their enthusiastic participation.

Ms Anuja Gulati from UNFPA joined as a special guest. She emphasised the need to engage with young content creators in conversation to ensure greater gender sensitivity in our films and advertisements.

Dr. Anju Kapoor - Principal, Mr. Ashish Mehta and other faculty members from Usha Praveen Gandhi college graced the occasion. Ms. Kapoor thanked Population First, UNFPA and SWA for organizing the event and expressed hope that this initiative would be continued in the coming years as well.
The event can be viewed here