The Play Truth: How narratives and portrayal of women are changing at theatres near you

The male gaze is dissipating if not disappearing. We are getting more women-oriented stories where not just women are playing the role of a protagonist but the concerns they are raising are more about their identity and needs and desires. In fact, the shifting from the heteronormative narrative to a more inclusive perspective is helping balance the gender disparity overall.

 Though there are not enough stories about normalizing women and not glorifying them but slowly they are emerging. Playwright and director Purva Naresh says, “In Pink Saree Revolution, developed for the curve UK, the director Suba Das and I spoke at length about this while putting Sampat Pal up on the stage as the protagonist. We didn’t want to glorify her or make her out to be a superwoman. We wanted to show her as a strong woman who could not escape the patriarchy due to a lack of education and exposure. She chose violence because she was conditioned to think she needs to fight like a man.”

 ‘Samman nahi samaanta’ (Not respect but equality), that’s Purva’s go-to phrase for portraying women. Her latest film script is also about that. Women need not be superhuman or super talented to be glorified. They need not be goddesses because such narratives create undue pressure on women to fit the revered image.

The names of plays that instantly come to our mind when it comes to women-oriented narratives are Chapa Kaata, Pink Saree Revolution, Ok TATa bye Bye, Zoon, Bandish, Umrao, Ladies Sangeet, The Elephant In the room and Shikhandi. Today women are more in ownership of their agency but again the male gaze is dissipating but not disappearing, yet. And this is because women are also conditioned by the patriarchy through family and the popular narrative.

Purva feels that the entire gender dialogue has to change and heterosexual supremacy has to go out of the window for starters.  She says, “As of today, women don’t want to be equal to men. In reality, most of them want to emulate men and behave as men in power. This has to give way to understanding what women want better.”

Narratives are changing in their depiction of not only women but the family and social structures as well. Stage and film actress Sonali Kulkarni says, “As society is developing, we have become more open to different themes. Be it feminism or urban isolation where everybody is alone in the crowd, we are attempting different issues and, in a way, gender differentiation is slowly getting merged. And narratives have more to do with human beings rather than one gender or another. Parents are also accepting their kids and are more receptive to their choices. It is okay to not hide who you are anymore, which is such a welcome change. Today we have a certain amount of dignity and an attitude of acceptance towards everything.”

In a recent interview with Firstpost, actress Aahana Kumra said, “Women-oriented stories have taken over because audiences are bored of seeing men at the helm. It’s time that men take a little bit of a back seat and let women step into the limelight at the centre of the stage because they have waited in the wings far too long.”

Storytelling is the single most powerful agent of social change and when we have a platform, we must use our power responsibly. Story tellers are now breaking taboos and digging deeper to have important conversations about gender and what being a woman is all about.  Aahana feels that this conversation of women-oriented stories has been long pending. Today, while wanting to be entertained, you can switch languages, regions, and nationalities to find what connects with you. You may not intentionally go seeking a woman-led story but chances are that a really interesting show will also have really interesting women in it.

Shailja Kejriwal, Chief Creative Officer - Special Projects, ZEEL and Zee theatre says, “It is heartening that across plays, cinema and OTT platforms, we are beginning to experience change in that more women who do not fit into stereotypes are emerging in popular, mainstream narratives. They are complicated, interesting, unapologetic and powerful and they are leading some of the most popular shows as lead players. The lens on stories about the women can’t be coming from a male gaze-which practically dictates the commissioning agent’s preferences and sits upon the audiences as deep-rooted conditioning.

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