KOZHIKODE: Actor Padmapriya said market value was not the reason why films are predominantly male-centric.
"In an industry where 90% of all films fail financially, how can you say male actors are bankable, and women are not?" asked Padmapriya, delivering the third M R Narayana Kurup Memorial Lecture on the topic ‘Retelling the Tale Through the Frame of Equity and Justice' at Govt College, Madappally on Tuesday.
She said it is the deeply entrenched gender biases that lead to the under-representation of women in cinema both in terms of the stories told as well as in the equity of space in film production.
"What stops you then from telling women-centric stories and transpersons' stories as well?" she asked.
Padmapriya pointed to the stark difference in the way male and female characters are portrayed in films. While characters such as executives, military officers, lawyers and gangsters are predominantly male, women characters are mostly beautiful young girls, heartbroken, and dancers, she said.
Drawing on her personal experience, Padmapriya said when a woman talks about issues, she becomes the issue.
Padmapriya narrated an incident happened during the shoot of a Tamil film where she was slapped by the director. When she raised the issue, she had to face consequences as she lost many films which she was initially promised. "For a long time, I thought I was the issue," she said. The director slapped accusing her of not performing well. Interestingly, she won the state award for her performance in the film.
She said subjugation of women is not restricted to films. It is all-pervasive and needs to be fought on all fronts, she said.
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