Ormax Media, Film Companion and Amazon Prime Video compiled a landmark report which revealed the terrible state of India’s representation of women on and offscreen.
In collaboration with the Producers Guild of India, Active Telugu Film Producers Guild and streamers Hoichoi and SonyLIV, Voot, and studios Clean Slate Filmz and Dharma Productions, Emmay Entertainment and Excel Entertainment, Purple Pebble Pictures and RSVP, this report analyzed 150 films, streaming films, and series that were released in 2021 in eight Indian languages.
Key findings from the report O Womaniya! 2022, include:
• Women have low representation behind-the-camera. Women are only 10% in the top 10% of head-of-department positions (HODs), across key divisions (production, writing, editing and direction), None of the 56 films were directed or edited in any of the languages. Women occupy only 10% of senior leadership positions within media and entertainment corporations.
•Only 55% of the films and series passed the Bechdel Test. Women had 25% of the talk time in promotional trailers, and 48 titles allocated 10 seconds or less to female characters.
•The percentage of female HODs doubled when a woman was responsible for greenlighting a series or a film. The Bechdel Test was passed by 68% more films than the test, and trailer talk time for women who were commissioned to make the film (35%) was higher if they were female.
•Streaming films and series scored better than theatrical films across all parameters, indicating the ongoing change the sector is ushering in female representation on- and off-screen. The representation of female HODs was five times greater in streaming films and series than it was in theatrical films. The Bechdel Test was passed by 64% of streaming series, 55% of streaming movies, and more than half failed by theatrical films. Similar results were seen in streaming films and series, where female characters are given more attention in trailers. This led to theatrical films scoring an additional 10 and 14 percent respectively.
Shailesh Koor, founder-CEO at Ormax Media said: “While it’s no surprise that female representation in mainstream entertainment is low, the degree of skew, such as 10:90 on some key parameters, should be a wake-up call. While streaming titles, especially series, are more women-inclusive in on- and off-screen representation, theatrical films continue to perform very poorly, and in fact, have shown no positive growth at all since the previous report, which covered content released in 2019 and 2020. We hope that this report serves as a starting point for the industry to come together and discuss ways to address the evident imbalance.”
Anupama Chopra is a former VarietyFilm Companion’s founder and editor, a contributor, said: “Data is essential to understanding how drastically skewed the gender equation in the Indian film industry is. O Womaniya! provides us with the starting point for discussion and debate. We will continue to build this momentum and hopefully lead the way to change.”
Aparna Purohit is the head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video. “Streaming has given voice to more female storytellers resulting in an increase in stories that are driven by female characters with agency. At Prime Video, we have rolled out an inclusion policy playbook that has institutionalized certain guidelines to ensure just female representation on- and off-screen. These range from mandatory female representation in writers’ rooms, and evaluating every script on specific parameters. I am certain that streaming is going to further lead the charge on diversity, equity and inclusivity in Indian entertainment.”
Vidya Balan (an actor who has been featured in female-led stories in streaming and theatrical films) supported the report. “The Dirty Picture,” “Kahaani,” “Tumhari Sulu,” “Shakuntala Devi,” “Sherni”And “Jalsa.”
Balan said: “The report indicates that we still have a lot of ground to cover. And this can only happen when we have more women in the boardrooms, prompting change right at the heart of decision-making. As female actors in positions of influence, we need to push for more female representation behind the camera in order to have more sensitive, authentic and relatable representation in front of it too.”
Sunitha Rangaswami, an independent consultant on gender and women’s economic empowerment, provided counsel on making the Indian entertainment industry more inclusive for women.