Bollywood has real women problems

I am finally a minority. As a female writer working in the Indian film industry, I am part of a minuscule 12.1 per cent. This fact has been revealed to me by a one-of-a-kind study on the representation of women in cinema around the world conducted by the Geena Davis Media Foundation with support from the United Nations.

But this would be a milder charge. I just wrote a television show about a female commercial airline pilot (they make up only 11 per cent of the pilot population). Our highest representative body as a people - Parliament - has 11.4 per cent women. So, I am not so much a minority anymore as simply the norm.

While the debate around this UN report has mostly focused on the sexualisation of women (Indian films score high with 35 per cent of female characters being shown with some nudity), quite the better headline, what has been under-reported in its dissemination, is that women who by default (some would suggest) would be change agents when it comes to representation of women in cinema are at a disadvantage based on sheer numbers.

The power dynamics in the industry are stacked up against women, only 9 per cent are directors and 15 per cent producers.

Imbalance

The task of correcting that imbalance is a daunting one. In its essence, this is not a "female-friendly" workplace. There is no organised structure that facilitates corporate practices that protect women.

Most people, male and female, who work in the industry, do so much in the way migrant workers would, moving from project to project and constantly adapting to new standards, working environments and personalities. It is a business of shifting loyalties and ever-changing equations, irrespective of which rung of the ladder you find yourself on. To shepherd a change when the ground beneath your feet is constantly shifting, is like knowingly walking a path prone to landslide after landslide. No one really takes it on.

So, it continues as it is, till an A-list actress objects and it becomes a "controversy" or a UN report damns the industry in an authoritative way using facts and figures.

Aesthetics are hard to define-one person's pornography is another's art.

Nudity is part of human existence, a medium like film that provides intimate access to characters and their lives should be permitted to do so if a film is to stay true to reality. But then when does it cross the line? And more importantly, who sets the boundaries?

The litmus test in the end is whether the nudity is representative or merely provocative in order to elicit a "desired" response. The issue we face with "exposure" (an outdated term) in our films more often than not is that it has become a means of engaging the audience, a primarily male one at that, since most movie viewers in theaters are men (and more people in movie halls, means bigger box office receipts-the ultimate test for a film).

Objectification

The objectification of women has been formalised, with "acceptable" terms like "item girls" or "item songs" now performed by main female leads when they realised they were losing ground to the starlets. It's a process of fixing accountability, female actors don't have the kind of power that necessarily makes them mistresses of their celluloid journey. The competition is tough and for every opportunity lost or relinquished there is a ready and eager replacement.

Furthermore, the business is ageist, the day a female actor hits 30, her career once again becomes an uphill journey. The insecurities are aplenty, the choices are limited and the end always round the corner.

Here is the biggest non-secret in Bollywood, men open flames, women don't and everyone knows it. But things are slowly changing. This year has been a remarkable one for female centric films like Queen, Finding Fanny, Mary Kom and Mardaani. Each one has done respectable business, with Mary Kom topping the list with around 50 crore (as of now). It's still not near the 100 crore figure that male superstars command at the box office, but it's a lot more than what was expected or predicted in the past, in no small measure bolstered by an increasing number of female movie goers.

Representation

However, even in countries like the US, where women make up a sizable number of the film-going audience, a 2013 survey on the representation of women on celluloid was disappointing-of the 100 top grossing films, only 15 per cent had female protagonists and only 29 per cent were major characters. Movies across the world flunk the gender balance test, but go on to make big money, spawn celebrities and capture popular imagination.

In a recent interview, filmmaker Farah Khan said her new movie Happy New Year was for her a feminist statement, she wanted to give to the industry the biggest mounted film of the year as a woman. That's a powerful intention. While she doesn't speak of the content she does approach the "condition" from another perspective - that of "the spectacle" - that Bollywood movies can be, and she promises one like none other.

While the debates rage, what is also true is that women in film (despite their numbers) in front of and behind the camera are constantly working to make space for themselves in an industry where men speak and women are seen.