From Malaika to Nandita Das, celebs on the onscreen clichés about women: Exclusive

Some factions of the Hindi film industry have made active efforts to end the stereotypical portrayal of women in onscreen. Despite that, female characters in desi movies continue to be depicted through a clichéd lens. In an exclusive chat with Hook, women from the industry—be it directors, actors, or celebrities—talked about the one stereotype about female characters that they are tired of seeing onscreen.

Nandita Das and Tillotama Shome on the lack of nuanced portrayals of women

When asked about the clichéd traits she has noticed in the female characters in Bollywood, director and actor Nandita Das made an interesting point that dismantles preconceived notions of weak and strong.

She said, "I think we have a strange notion of strength. If you want to show a feminist character, a strong character, they are taking revenge and they are sort of, being violent, and they are being sort of brattish, rude, and violent—and that’s not the way. Strength is a very inner thing and I think most of us have it. And you can be vulnerable and strong at the same time, which is what we are. And I really miss those nuances, because you know, finally true representation is in that nuance.”

Nandita’s response raises a lot of questions about how the overall humanity of a woman is rarely depicted onscreen due to the uni-dimensional treatment of female characters. Along the same lines, actor Tillotama Shome also talked about the issue of circumscribing women into niches or types.

She said, “I don’t think it’s a particular trait that bothers me. I think what bothers me more is when we just reduce women or men into types. That is very alienating for me because, ‘She’s very intellectual’, you know, she’s one thing. So. if she’s intellectual, she can’t have a sense of humour. ‘She’s very sporty, very athletic.’ So, if she’s athletic, she can’t be intellectual? You know, so I think maybe it’s those things for men and women. Having these kind of, very reductive types bother me,” highlighting the glaring lack of multiple facets in movie characters.

Malaika Arora doesn’t think women need men’s support

When quizzed on the stereotypical depictions of women that she dislikes, VJ, dancer, and actor Malaika Arora said, “A stereotypical character which I’m fed up of seeing is probably, women being shown—that—constantly being needy, constantly need a man to support. I feel that narrative needs to change because women don’t need that. I think we can, we need to let people know that we can totally kill it on our own.”

In Hindi movies, women have been treated like arm candy and supporting characters for a long time. Many such characters don’t have a well-defined backstory, a trajectory of their own outside that of the male character’s, or even lengthy dialogues. But even in 2025, such characters continue to be written. Malaika isn’t alone in being tired of this narrative of the woman’s role only existing in the context of the man’s.

Payal Kapadia is tired of the manic pixie dream girl

Director Payal Kapadia, who is known for creating ‘All We Imagine as Light, said, “I think the manic pixie representation is a bit boring now.”

For the uninitiated, a manic pixie dream girl is a cheery, unidimensional woman who doesn’t have a narrative or direction of her own. Her role in a story is to help the man find himself. As someone who received international acclaim for a story centered around three women, Payal’s perspective on this is definitely worth noting.

Rasika Dugal’s exasperation at women having to be compassionate

Women are often required to be sensitive, understanding, and compassionate, and Bollywood also furthers this stereotype. Rasika Dugal said that the constant portrayals of women who are compassionate need to end: “It seems to be that all women have to carry lots of compassion. I don’t see why that should be the case. I don’t see why we should be burdened with that responsibility. I think every human being has moments where they are very compassionate and sensitive, but there are moments when they are not. I don’t know why we are always expected to carry the bhaar of compassion with us.”

Much the way there are damaging stereotypes about men not being sensitive or compassionate, women bear the burden of the opposite. Either narrative clearly undermines the humanity of men, women, and other genders. So, why not do away with them?

Seema Kiran Sajdeh on the rise of misogynistic films

When asked about the stereotypes about women she is tired of seeing onscreen, Seema Sajdeh got candid and said,“It’s not a stereotyped woman. Why should I lie? I just think that misogyny still exists and I think that misogynist films still do really well in our country so obviously that’s a red flag somewhere. But, it is a red flag somewhere. Not to take away from the great films that are being made because I watch them myself so I don’t want to be hypocritical about it. But, somewhere I think that needs to tilt."

Chhaya Kadam’s take on the stereotypical portrayal of domestic workers

‘All We Imagine as Light’ and ‘Madgaon Express’ actor Chhaya Kadam talked about how stereotypes about women from certain communities continue to be perpetuated in Bollywood. She said,“Jaise maine shuruat ki thi na, ki har film mein agar naukrani dikhate hain, toh usko Nauvari saree aa jaati hai. Aur woh fir zyada karke Maharashtrian dikhayi jaati hai. Toh woh hona nahi chahiye. Woh dekh ke bore ho gaye hain. (Like when I started, when every movie had to show a domestic worker, they would be in a Nauvari saree. And they would mostly be shown as Maharashtrian. That should not happen. I am bored of seeing that).”

So, while the Indian film industry has made some headway as far as the portrayal of women goes, there is clearly still a lot that needs to be done.