The reel truth today by the second edition of ‘O Womaniya’ report on female representation in the media and entertainment industry should have us worried
Two recent releases on OTT–Darlings (Netflix), directed by Jasmeet K Reen and Good Luck Jerry (Disney+), directed by Siddarth Sen–are great examples of films in Bollywood with women protagonists, male allies (not saviours!), and nary a romantic track. While the events in both narratives are triggered by the male characters, it’s the women who are ultimately the decision-makers.
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Out of 56 theatrical films (from 2021) analysed across languages, not even one was directed or edited by a woman
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The study's results indicate that when a woman greenlit a film or a series, the number of female HODs doubled
Cut to the release of a media report by Ormax Media, Film Companion and Amazon Prime Video. The report, the second edition of ‘O Womaniya,’ a study on the representation of women in Indian films and the M&E (Media & Entertainment) industry, has findings that are frankly disappointing, given how many women are employed in the Indian media and entertainment sector.
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The report has taken into consideration a total of 100 films and 50 series released in 2021 across eight Indian languages: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali and Gujarati; Image courtesy: O Womaniya Report 2022
Key findings
The report studied the representation and participation of women across three major categories: content, which includes female representation on screen and behind the camera; marketing, which studied female representation in promotional trailers of films and web-series; and corporate, which includes female representation in boardrooms of the top 25 media and entertainment firms.
The key takeaway from the report is that women hold an abysmal ten per cent share in the senior leadership roles in the M&E corporate houses, as well as across the head of department (HOD) roles in the Indian film industry in 2021. What’s significant is this ten per cent figure that will, in turn, lead to a cascading effect on inclusivity through the production and execution chain. For the HOD positions in films, five categories were studied—direction, writing, cinematography, editing and production design. The report has taken into consideration a total of 100 films and 50 series released in 2021 across eight Indian languages, namely Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali and Gujarati.
Another key takeaway is that out of the 56 theatrical films (from 2021) analysed across languages, not even one was directed or edited by a woman.
Speaking to The Established, filmmaker and editor Deepa Bhatia, with close to 30 years of work in the Indian film industry, says, “I’m frankly quite spooked by these figures. When I started work as a film editor in the industry, there was Renu Saluja and Reena Mohan who were working as editors. Now when I look around, there are so many young, bright talented film editors, so I am quite astounded by the proportion of the figures. I never thought these would be the numbers, to be very honest. It’s very disconcerting and disturbing. When going through the report, I thought about how we all work in our own bubbles–working in one part of Mumbai, in part of the industry–and when you look at the entire India cinematic universe as a whole, I am guessing that it’s not so balanced.”
Women hiring women
In more encouraging findings, the study found that when a woman greenlit a film or a series, the number of female HODs doubled. “The in-depth analysis of this report highlights that women in decision-making roles hire more women and digital is blazing the trail. This is reassuring and we must continue the good work,” says Aparna Purohit, head of India Originals for Prime Video.
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Just only 55 per cent of the films passed the Bechdel Test, highlighting a lack of meaningful representation of women characters in a large share of films and series
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Biases have to fought, inclusion must increase and more women must be hired for decision-making positions for a more equitable future
Actor Vidya Balan, sharing her views on the report, says, “The more women you have in deciding positions, the more you will see it translate into women getting hired in the team. Eleven years ago, when I did The Dirty Picture, we hardly had two women on set. It was barely an AD or two or maybe a costume assistant, so I do see this figure of 10 per cent HODs as a huge change and a very positive one. Our male actor-lead films have unfortunately ruined the economics of our film industry. I feel there has to be a correction there. The fact that so many of those films are bombing has to be an eye-opener. Why don’t we release more female actor-lead films theatrically also and see how they perform? Gangubai Kathiawadi was Alia Bhatt’s film and it made 130 crores at the box-office.”
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As many as 48 properties had trailers in which women spoke for 10 seconds or less; Image courtesy: O Womaniya Report 2022
The Bechdel Test
The study also included analysing the 150 films for the Bechdel Test, an internationally-accepted measure of female representation in cinema. For a film to pass the test, it must have at least one scene where two named women are talking to each other about something other than a man. Given that streaming series have longer run-times, the criterion was modified to ‘at least three scenes’. The findings are telling: only 55 per cent of the films passed the Bechdel Test, highlighting a lack of meaningful representation of female characters in a large share of films and series.
Significantly if a woman had commissioned the title, a higher proportion of movies–68 per cent–passed the Bechdel Test and women had more talk time–33 per cent–in the trailers. The theatrical films performed poorest on the Bechdel Test, with more than half failing it. When it comes to trailers, the men outspoke the women by a factor of 3:1. As many as 48 properties had trailers in which women spoke for 10 seconds or less. Some of the titles that passed the test included Mumbai Diaries 26/11, Aarya Season 2, Tribhanga, Vakeel Saab, Pagglait, Mimi, Haseen Dillruba and Bombay Begums among others.
Miles to go
While Purohit makes the point that streaming services have opened the doors for more inclusive storytelling that provides greater opportunities to women and have given voice to more female storytellers, resulting in an increase in stories that are driven by female characters, there are miles to go, even as Balan and Bhatia–both believers of female talent–feel that this is just the beginning. Bhatia is convinced that more talent needs to be developed and sought for in smaller towns and cities. “It’s a two-way journey from top to bottom and bottom to top. We have to hire women in more decision-making roles, the more women we have leading the brigade, the more we will witness inclusion.”
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The study found if a woman had commissioned the title, a higher proportion of movies–68 per cent–passed the Bechdel Test and women had more talk time–33 per cent–in the trailers; Image courtesy: O Womaniya Report 2022
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There is a pressing need to attract, recruit and retain female talent in theM&E industry
A note from the study’s gender expert, Sunitha Rangaswami says, “The questions that beg to be asked: Am/are I/we doing enough to get rid of unconscious bias that favours men? How can I/we attract, recruit and retain female talent and bring them to the fore?”
“Who runs the world? Girls,” sings Beyoncé. While this is largely true, in order to improve female representation in the Indian workforce, there have to be more women hired, particularly in decision-making roles. This then has a ripple effect on inclusivity and the adopting of more gender-equitable and inclusive processes and practices.
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