The treatment of female characters in mainstream Hindi cinema has evolved over the years. From being just supporting roles to leading roles. Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya recently opened up about the same, saying his own stories are a testament of how women have transitioned from being just homemakers in the 90s to being career-oriented working women now.
Sooraj Barjatya says Hum Aapke Hain Koun cannot be made today
For the unversed, Barjatya’s new show, Sangamarmar, starring Sheen Savita Dass, shows a woman taking over her father’s business after his untimely death. Talking about the story, the filmmaker told Hindustan Times, “Where stories are concerned, agar main aaj bhi sochoon ki ghar pe baithengi ladies (the women will sit at home), that is over. You cannot make a Hum Aapke Hain Koun where everybody lives together, because it’s not possible today. But the values remain the same.”
Hum Aapke Hain Koun is Barjatya`s most successful film. Released in 1994, it went on to become India`s highest-grossing film for over a decade. The film narrates the story of a tightly-knit family, and is popular even three decades later.
Sooraj Barjatya on changing roles of women
Barjatya added that the stories in Indian cinema have evolved to a point where being career-oriented does not automatically mean being opposed to family values. He says that this change is related to more women being involved in the filmmaking process. “My sets have more women than men today,” he says. “This is a big change. When I started, the only women (on set) were the actresses, their mothers, and hairdressers,” he shared.
“The energies are different. The way to look into a scene is different. We never used to pay so much attention to costumes and production design. The number of kitchen sets and temples I have put on screen that no one else has. That is where women come in with new ideas,” the filmmaker adds.
The filmmaker further admitted that women in positions of power in the Indian cinema still find it difficult to exercise that authority. “They say it is so difficult to give orders to men,” he says, adding that the women tell him, “We have to manoeuvre by massaging their egos in order to get the work done.”
