Are Bollywood women finally getting their due on OTT platforms?

Dubai - Neena Gupta, Kalki, Mallika Dua and others weigh in

Women telling women’s stories on a global platform is not a privilege female artists have enjoyed for long. With the advent of OTT platforms, Bollywood’s obsession with heavy duty blockbusters green lit by production houses solely based on the machismo of the lead star that could automatically catapult said film into the ‘100 crore club’ has thankfully taken a back seat. And the ones who have managed to shine are female artists - be it filmmakers, producers, artists, creators - who are finding a perch to experiment, to give unbridled freedom to their creativity and soar in an environment where content is truly king, or queen, as may be more appropriate in this context.

We speak to a select few artists - actor, comedian, director - to find out how they view this newfound freedom and most significantly what advice they have for other women artists hoping to create a space for themselves in India’s entertainment industry.

Neena Gupta: ‘Women should be financially independent’

She famously took to social media to ask for work at an age where women were perceived to be too old to restart their careers, especially in the glam industry. For a woman who ‘found love’ at 50, there’s been no stopping Neena Gupta as her second coming in Bollywood certainly called for encores with movies like Badhaai Ho and Shubh Mangal Zyada Savadhan. But it was Netflix’s reality drama Masaba Masaba in 2020 that truly bought out the real spirit of this unorthodox woman - who proved underneath that soft demeanor, lay a strong woman, who is truly one who embodies ‘nari-shakti’.

Advice for women: “My message for women is that one should be financially independent. That makes a whole difference to everything in life. Being financially independent doesn’t mean you look down upon a man or you don’t compromise in a relationship - even though you are independent you have to do that. But being independent financially will give you a lot of strength to sort out your problems in a relationship.

On her equation with Masaba: You have to be honest in your relationship - when young girls are teens they will obviously hide things, they have boyfriends, they go out - you are bound to hide, but there is a limit. Mothers also should be very frank with daughters. I didn’t have the same relationship with my mother cause we have a big generation gap. But with Masaba I have less of a generation gap.

I couldn’t talk to my mother as freely as I can to Masaba and vice versa. Every relationship including mother-daughter will survive, be healthy if you are honest with each other. You have to be available to each other,

If you have a problem you have to talk and find a (solution) midway. I used to not sleep when my daughter went out and came back late. Initially I put a time limit but sometimes it doesn’t work but that doesn’t mean that I stop her and don’t allow her to go out. She has to grow, she has to learn her own lessons, from life but most importantly a mother should make her daughter feel she is always there whatever the latter does. So she can always come back to her...

Bhavana Pandey: ‘My advice to Ananya would be to stay grounded’

When Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives first dropped on Netflix, the unapologetically glamorous foursome - Seema Khan, Bhavana Pandey, Neelam and Maheep Kapoor - naturally drew all eyeballs. Unapologetic about their glossy lifestyle the four friends took detractors in their stride - one thigh high boot and stiletto clad foot at a time. The series offered up a look at each one’s fabulous spirit and brought out the bond between the friends that has remained unshaken in a seemingly shallow industry where relationships are made and broken after every film release. Among the four, Bhavana Pandey’s cool and collected self stood out - she was not just an atypical star wife she was also an atypical star-mom to a rising superstar Ananya Pandey.

How liberating was it to tell your own story on your own terms with Fabulous Lives… I was very apprehensive about doing the show initially as I didn’t know how it will be taken. The beauty of the show was that I was not given any lines, was not told to behave or act in a certain manner - I was just told to be myself. That was the most liberating part of the show.

Advice for Ananya: Chunky and I are extremely proud of Ananya. She works really hard and she’s trying to better herself at her craft every day. My advice for her would be - stay grounded, take in all the love, don’t get bogged down by all the negativity, work hard and reach the top like you’ve always wanted to whether in Math, English, Psychology - whatever you have done in life. Stay true to yourself - don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do it. Go for it, give it your best, be humble. I’m sure everything around will support you until you achieve it.

Kalki: Don’t wait for the world to catch up with you