The recasting of female gender roles: an analysis of the representation of female protagonists in Bollywood Cinema (National Film Awards 2010–2018)

Abstract

Hindi cinema, popularly referred to as ‘Bollywood’, is a part of the wider Indian film industry, which includes regional language cinema such as Bhojpuri, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telegu and others. Hindi cinema is enjoyed across the globe, beyond the Asian sub-continent, extending to, for example, South Africa, Nigeria, Russia, Australia, Greece, Canada and the United States of America. With the expansion of the Indian diaspora across the world and internet-driven globalisation, Hindi films are today viewed as a transnational cultural force. This research investigates whether Indian National Film award-winning performances in the category of ‘Best Actress’ lead to a recasting, or any evolvement, in the representation of female gender roles in selected Hindi films. Film production in India exceeds over one thousand films annually, of which Hindi cinema’s contribution accounts for approximately 340 films (Galalite Screens, 2025). Concomitant with its global transnational reach, Hindi cinema also plays a crucial role in the construction and circulation of dominant social norms, cultural values and Indian identity. It can be argued thus that Hindi cinema’s global visibility magnifies its position as an ideological apparatus. Specifically, the thesis analyses four films between 2010–2018: The Dirty Picture (2011), Queen (2013), Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015) and Mom (2017). Through the theoretical framework of feminist film theory and interpretive paradigm of social constructionism, the study explores three key research questions: (i) how female characters in the films under analysis appear on screen (the ‘presences’) and thus, how do they not appear (the ‘absences’); (ii) how do these representations reflect broader constructions of female gender roles; and (iii) how the issue of women representation is reflected in Hindi (National Award) films today in comparison to traditional and stereotypical representation of women in mainstream Hindi films. A qualitative methodological approach addresses these questions, through a combination of a close reading (textual analysis) of each film and a reflexive thematic analysis to identify recurring motifs across the films. Purposive sampling was used in the selection of the films as the period is marked by a heightened visibility of women in Hindi cinema. The study identifies three recurring absences across all four films: stable professional identity (episodic depictions of career, largely unexplored); recognised legitimacy (recognition in the domestic domain in conditional and gatekept ways); and substantial sexual desire (desire is either commodified, a spectacle, sanitised, ignored or not selfauthored). The study highlights that whilst women may appear as narratively central figures, this centrality does not result in a meaningful shift (a recasting) of female representation on screen. National award-winning films echo female stereotypes and key figures prevalent in mainstream Hindi cinema such as the vamp, the obedient daughter, the contrite (and eventually dutiful) wife and the self-sacrificing mother. The study recommends that scripts should be crafted that explore durable female agency with stable and sustained professional identities; self authored sexual desire and unconditional domestic recognition. A further recommendation is for the expansion of female presence ‘behind-the-scenes’ to shift the gendered narrative structure and move towards more authentic, multi-faceted and complex depictions of women.