Shifting Paradigms of Female Characters in Bollywood Movies

Abstract

Men in almost all the societies were considered as main source of income while the role of women was constrained to being an ideal homemaker and a decent mother. This validates to women in an extremely patriarchal society of India. As societies came into the era of Upgradation and modernization, the responsibility of women transfigured significantly. Media actively performed an imperative task in the transformation of societies and significantly influenced the persona of women in today’s contemporary world. End number of researches has been done on the role of women in various societies. Nevertheless, very little has been said about the significance of movies in depicting women in shifting paradigms over several decades and the influence it has on societies by and large.Over the last decades, Indian cinema has beheld a noteworthy makeover in the way women are represented through movies. Contemporary movies represent women as more self-governing, convinced, and career focused. Present article discusses with these rapid shifting paradigms of women represented in Bollywood and its impact on the patriarchal Indian society with a spotlight on some representative Bollywood movies. The endeavour is to connect the shifting character performed by women in movies with the promising position of women in India, as movies are a mirror image of modification in the social arrangement.