Majority of leads, co-leads in Hindi box office hits are men: TISS report

Seventy two per cent characters in Hindi cinema are played by cis-males with 26 per cent parts going to cis-females, says a new study on gender dynamics in the Mumbai-based film industry.

A meagre 2 per cent space in Hindi movies is allotted to queer characters with only 0.5 per cent of characters shown with disability who are largely part of the story to generate sympathy or comic relief, it found.

Titled 'Lights, Camera, and Time for Action: Recasting Gender Equality Compliant Hindi Cinema', the study was conducted by School of Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (SMCS-TISS), Mumbai, through a grant from the US Consulate in Mumbai, a press release said.

The report was released on Wednesday in the presence of actors Vidya Balan, Nandita Das, producer Guneet Monga, Producers Guild of India president Shibashish Sarkar, along with Shalini Bharat, director, TISS and Mike Hankey, the US Consul General, Mumbai.

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SMCS-TISS did an in-depth and shot-by-shot analysis of 25 high revenue-grossing Hindi films of the year 2019, as well as 10 films made by women/gender-fluid individuals and/or with a focus on women (between 2012-19) to arrive at its findings, it added.

The report states that only 36 per cent of box office hits pass the Bechdel Test. Additionally, women-centric movies had a perfect score of 100 per cent on the test.

The Bechdel Test is a measure of the representation of women in film and other fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man.

Majority of leads and co-leads in box office hits are men, while women play the lead and co-lead characters in women-centric films. Women generally play the role of romantic co-lead or romantic interests in the box office hits, according to the study.

It enumerated 1,930 speaking and named characters to reveal that while a lot is changing in terms of quality in Hindi cinema, there is a lot that still needs to be done when it comes to gender and diversity, according to the release.

The report covered three points: gender representation on screen on 15 parameters, women's participation in filmmaking processes by enumerating the end credits and women's representation in significant bodies/associations of films through primary and secondary data sources.

For example, it was found that while women are shown to be employed, their work roles are gendered with a greater presence of such characters in healthcare, education, entertainment and journalism.

Caste and age dynamics also come into play with most of the characters belonging to the age group of 21-45 and from Hindu dominant castes, it said.

Expression of romance and intimacy is "restricted in the box office and women-centric films", and most often it is male characters who initiate intimacy, the study added.

"The idea of consent is still fraught with ambiguity, specifically because there is a greater emphasis on women remaining demure and expressing consent through non-verbal and symbolic gestures," it said, adding that the prevalent skin tone for women characters is "fair skin" and body type for lead female characters is "thin".

The study also found that only a few women professionals graduate from film institutes.

There is a need for "a more conscious and clear strategy" to close the gender gap on screen and behind the screen, it added.

Going forward, the study suggested, the industry must have at least "50 per cent women, trans, non-binary, and queer characters in films".

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"Make space for exploring women's lives beyond their role as a romantic interest. Show women as initiating sexual relations or actively verbally consenting to a physical relationship. Show men participating in domestic work, being caring and sharing parenting. Have characters from diverse caste locations, especially as leads in films," it said.

The filmmakers must work to include "trans persons and persons with disability, both visible and invisible, as part of the cast" as well as include diverse representations of ageing, the study added.

"Ensure adequate representation of all skin tones and body types within the film. Care to be taken on cinematic language that reinforces the objectification of women's bodies," it said.