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Abstract

This article evaluates the contemporary Indian redefinition of gender norms, subjectivity, and practices by analyzing Bollywood films as a major influence upon its global audiences. This study explores how Indian cinema redefines women’s status and promotes gender-neutral entertainment by harnessing the powerful energies of current movements such as #MeToo. The article closely examines the textual and conceptual features of current women-focused movies like Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga (2019), Thappad (2020), and Paglait (2021). This examination focuses on key insights from popular Bollywood actresses’ critical feminist roles to understand their assertions of women’s power, agency, and equality. Additionally, this research explores the evolving trope of the male liberator, who dominated past Bollywood and the popular culture imagination but is now being revised in a way that deconstructs patriarchal norms. This paper first explores traditional portrayals of women in Bollywood and then critiques these films to look at how resistance is portrayed in contemporary cinema. This paper examines current paradigm shifts through the analysis of characters that challenge conventional depictions and resist the prevailing gender stereotypes in their quest for empowerment.

Author Biography

Sheetal Yadav is a doctoral research fellow at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. The focus of her research is on Women’s Studies with a close lens on rape culture in South Asian narratives. Email id: syadav@hs.iitr.ac.in

Dr. Smita Jha is a Professor of English at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. Her areas of specialization include Indian writing in English, critical theories, Linguistics, Technical Communication, and soft skills. Email id: smita.jha@hs.iitr.ac.in

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