For women, of women, by women

PUNE: A close-knit group of women film-makers, experts and technicians in the city are taking up women-centric issues steering clear of gender stereotypes, cliches and a set attitude towards women that is strongly reflected in Indian cinema.
As a writer, producer and director, Sumitra Bhave has made films like 'Nital,' 'Ek Cup Chya' and 'Gho Mala Asa Hava.' Her directorial approach avoids stereotypes, conventional gender biases and societal cliches.
The first film is about a leukoderma-affected woman who marries a doctor; the second is about the RTI Act from a woman's perspective, while the third is about a comedy about a village girl looking for a suitable match.
However, exhibiting such films is a hurdle. "I pen and make my films with a different value system. There are subtle undertones that project the woman's point of view. I choose not to show the conventional male perspective on feminine beauty and feminist issues. Such films resonate with a thinking audience. However, I have had to struggle to get my films through to the audiences because of middlemen like distributors and exhibitors. They need convincing," Bhave said.
Her films have won accolades at national and international festivals. "If my films are being appreciated at film festivals, they must easily reach my own audience," she said. Her cast and crew, like co-director Sunil Sukhtankar, share her sensitivity
Bhave said there is an upside. "Young men and women are entering film-making. Many are sensitive towards women's issues. We can hope to see a better handling and dilution of gender-bias in cinema. However, the goal is to go beyond feminism for a humanistic approach to film-making," Bhave said.
Gender stereotypes, cliches and conventional definitions of female beauty and a woman's place in society, largely prevail in Indian cinema, said film expert Shyamala Vanarase.
"Importantly, a woman-centric film doesn't necessarily mean it's a feministic film. A film like 'Mee Sindhutai Sapkal,' a biopic on the social activist, tells her story from a male perspective. A woman's assertion is in the choices she makes should be projected in cinema," Vanarase added.
Scriptwriter-production designer Sandhya Gokhale has consciously penned strong female characters as protagonists in Amol Palekar-directed movies like 'Anaahat' and 'Paheli,'. "All my films have self-reliant, self-sufficient and assertive women protagonists who accept and address their vulnerability and learn to overcome them. They look at themselves as humans first," Gokhale said.
Actor Sonali Bendre's character in 'Anaahat' makes her own choice in a patriarchal, political set-up, while Rani Mukerji in 'Paheli' takes responsibility for the choice of her man.
"We need many more bold, strong, assertive and decisive female characters in our movies so that they can become role models for women in our society. Women in our cinema are mostly regressive and conventional and they manage themselves within a patriarchal set-up. We haven't dealt with issues that emancipate women," she added.