Thanks to expanding reach of OTT, women characters are now out of 'poori prison' & 'pickle jar'

Mona

Afierce cop, a Bollywood diva, a top banking executive, a single mother, a neurosurgeon, an athlete...she is a hero headlining many OTT titles.

An entertainment industry that thrived on formula has now undergone a monumental shift. The wide web world is offering women characters that represent different moods and shades, no more boxed into set norms. If Aarya, Aranyak, Bombay Begums, Call My Agent: Bollywood, Delhi Crime, The Fame Game, Human, Made in Heaven, Maharani, Mimi, Rashmi Rocket and Tabbar have women driving the story, 2023 shall see a female-oriented content platform - Clean OTT.

The shift is not sudden, but is a welcome change for makers as well as audiences. "It's so heartening to see more and more women's presence on the sets. Right from ADs to being in the position of decision making, different positions are commanded by women today. If I get a project directed by a woman, I am like yeh to chodna hi nahi hai," says Flora Saini, seen in Aarya, Inside Edge and Gandi Baat. "If we wouldn't stand by each other, who would?" asks the actor.

Bored of formula, web has opened up a whole new world, and that has led to different stories making it to OTT, believes Flora. More women making it to the sets have changed the dynamics. "Women

are as capable as men when it comes to direction, even more. With their keen eye on costume and set design, at times, they offer a broader skill set."

Sumrit Shahi sees it as an organic process. "Rather than sitting down to write a strong character who is a woman, the shift to OTT has resulted in the freedom to write characters one couldn't write earlier due to censorship. The change in sensibility has resulted in characters that are unconventional, offering women a larger playing field," says the screenwriter for Never Kiss Your Best Friend, LSD: Love Scandal & Doctors and Medically Yours. "In Dev DD a girl makes the wrong choices; in Girigit we could write a plus size woman falling for a girl and normalising it - the narrative sure has changed," says Sumrit.

Director, producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah debuted in the digital space with Human exploring the world of pharmaceuticals and human drug testing. He had male characters in mind when developing it as a subject for big screen. Not able to fit the subject in three hours, he took the digital route, "Courtesy OTT, Mozez Singh with his team of writers settled for women characters. It's a chance one can take in the digital world," says Vipul. The women-centric stories have seen return of actresses-Sushmita Sen in Aarya, Raveena Tandon in Aranyak, Pooja Bhatt in Bombay Begums, Madhuri Dixit in The Fame Game. Roles are being written for actress like Shefali Shah for whom the tide turned post her performance in Delhi Crime. Even the series that don't have women headlining the show, women characters are written with details and emphasis. Tabbar had Supriya Pathak in a pivotal role, Saba Azad is a fleshed out character in Rocket Boys.

"There was a time when female characters were written mainly as a supporting element to the male protagonist to bring out his arc. The women were shown as either sacrificing or love interests or the evil, ambitious vamp type. Today, we also see women who are fun, flawed, feisty which is also much more exciting for actors to play," says actor, director and producer Shriya Pilgaonkar. "Things have evolved especially with the writing and we see some beautiful stories and characters where the female star is getting her due. With more female creativites at the helm, like Monika Shergill, vice-president, Content, Netflix India and Aparna Purohit, head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video, things are only changing for the better."

Producer Prabhleen Kaur likes to share credit with men and audience, for this surge of strong women presence on OTT. "When I want to tell the story of a woman, I need the length for there are many layers. In the long format characters are detailed. With women sitting at decision making position, it brings out their narrative," says Prabhleen.

In a society where the heroines are often portrayed as victims or vixens, digital material enables women to explore possibilities believes, Akanksha Puri who will be seen in Inspector Avinash. "OTT platforms have helped women escape pickle jars and poori prisons. The female characters today are real, they have doubts, trauma, and hurdles to face and that's what keeps the female audience connected because they can relate to it," she adds.