The female gaze

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">What do women directors in Bollywood feel about being stereotyped as ''women filmmakers''?</span><br /><br />''Women filmmakers'' has always been an awkward tag for female directors. On the one hand, in the Indian film context, they are accused of making films with a feminist agenda.And if their films are not the former, they are accused of pandering to the male gaze. <br /><br />In Indian film history, women filmmakers have always been associated with sensitive cinema; namely Sai Paranjpe, Kalpana Lajmi, Deepa Mehta, Hema Malini, Tanuja Chandra, Aruna Raje and recently Revathy. The connection, most critics would say, is not undeserved. However, there are filmmakers like Farah Khan and recently Leena Yadav, who adhere to the mainstream <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">masala</span> philosophy. How do they react to being stereotyped? "It''s like a <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">chhap</span>. I don''t deny I''m a woman, and maybe that''ll reflect on the story I tell. But I have no obvious feminist message to give through my films," says Leena Yadav, who recently directed <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Shabd</span>. <br /><br />Explains Tanuja Chandra, director of films like <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Dushman</span> and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Sur</span>, "Movies are made to tell stories, not for ideological discussions. The rule is the same for both men and women." While most directors agree that the market mechanism treats both male and female filmmakers alike, the kind of subjects that women filmmakers are inspired by and their treatment, even in the mainstream milieu, are different. But that is natural, protests Aruna Raje, who''s made films like <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Tum</span> and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bhairavi</span>. "Men and women are essentially different, women respond and relate to issues differently than men and it shows in the film," she says. Actor Shabana Azmi, who''s worked with both kinds of directors, agrees. "I know several male directors who have portrayed women sensitively. But I''m sure being a woman does influence a director''s gaze, their treatment." <br /><br />"Women directors are still a recent phenomenon. As the numbers grow we''ll see a change in the way our films are made," says Tanuja.</div> </div>