Women, camera, action!

Much of the power and control in filmmaking is based on technical expertise. But most filmmakers claim that women lack the necessary skill to succeed in the field. Male directors who haven’t had a hit in 20 years continue to get work, while most women drop out after one flop.

At a time when film schools are producing almost equal numbers of men and women, why is the movie business still such a closed shop for women? Supriya is a producer and partner of Annapurna Studios. More known as Sumant’s sister, she works part time in the studio overseeing all the work. She just delivered a baby girl. The ex-actress totally disagrees.

“Opportunities for the fair sex are always open here. In any profession, anywhere, if you feel there is a discrimination it all depends on how you handle it or conduct yourself. There are both positive and negative sides in this field too. It is largely because of opportunity that women are here today. You can’t make a movie without a heroine.”

Swapna Dutt, daughter of producer, Ashwini Dutt, based in the U.S. who is turning a producer herself says, “The entertainment industry has always enticed me and my dad has always supported me from the beginning. Therefore, my foray into cinema was bound to happen. I grew up watching my dad, working on making films with great passion and zeal. “He has set standards in this industry. I don’t know if I could call myself my dad’s successor. But I do match his passion for filmmaking and with his help and direction I hope to play a role in making good cinema. Personally the film industry was never alien to me. I have enjoyed excellent friendships and camaraderie with my dad’s associates and fellow filmmakers for a long time. So I never had to face prejudices of any kind per se.”

About the pros and cons of the film world, Supriya adds, “Working women here are negligible because a lot of women might not walk into a place where 100 men are on the sets. You talk about harassment but atleast here women come in prepared because there is a lot more awareness. It is not a regular job with role specifications. Physically it is taxing, but in terms of organisation, designing, attention and various others factors, men want more women in the industry.”

Supriya feels that unlike in a conservative background, women who grow up in the metros are far more equipped to handle work in the industry. “Opportunities here are coupled with hard work. Here technicians have stood at our gates, gone from one director to another, they have stayed long hours in our cottages with the scriptwriters, can a women do that? Automatically she is at a disadvantage, but administration wise they are the best,” she reasoned.

Swapna believes that competition serves as a constant reminder not to be complacent. “I have never believed that a woman’s contribution to film making or for that matter in any other field is negligible. “Most professions in India were male dominated until the recent past. Film making is no different. However, things have been changing and like in most professions women have been making their presence felt here too and remarkably well,” she says.

A tougher pill to swallow is the notion of how female characters are written about in the movies. The truth is, with a few exceptions, most male directors and writers have a skewed angle on a woman’s personality. Also in the film industry, with its obsession about looks, women are under pressure to fit some standard of appearance in order to gain success. They don’t realise that in show business they don’t have to be answerable to men’s whims, but rather to a far more severe tyrant - the marketplace. So with every new decade comes new challenges for women - to find their place again, as the changing nature of the business makes new rules and hopefully, breaks old ones.