Cinema is believed to entertain, take the audience to a world which is different from the reality. Cinema is popular media designed for mass consumption which plays a key role in molding opinions, constructing images and reinforcing dominant cultural values.
Characters, Situations and Plots have largely driven by stereotypical ideologies. Indian films top the list in terms of objectification of women onscreen. The showbiz industry has restricted itself to a defined sketch of womanhood which has lead to men forcing themselves on to women without their consent.
Cinema has shaped the cultural, social and political views of people in the country. The leading ladies of Hindi cinema have more or less played roles which conform to the values upheld by the Indian society.
The heroines are portrayed as secondary to the hero. Her role is always chartered out in context of any male characters which is central to the script. She is devoid of any sort of independent existence and her journey in the entire movie is chalked out in accordance with the male lead of the movie. This kind of straight jacketing technique limits the women’s roles to providing glamour, relief, respite and entertainment.
Women constitute of 50% of the population so their portrayal in movies is very crucial in determining the stereotypes that exist in the society. In recent times there has been a major change in depicting women on the big screen. The movies like Mary Kom, Baby, Pink, English Vinglish , Neerja and several others have able to succeed with female centric films
In my opinion there are few of movies where female lead has been hero of hindi films but I think this is just the start of the transition and there is still long way to go. Cinema is a reflection of the society so it is good start where there is hope that the Indian society will also gradually see woman as strong individuals in future.
