Women in Malayalam cinema

Sharmila Tagore inaugurated an exhibition titled ‘Women in Malayalam Cinema’ in 14th of International Film Festival of Kerala. Sharmila said that the Malayalam cinema industry has a great range of women characters starting from Rosy, in 1928. Actors K.P.A.C Lalitha, Navya Nair, Menaka, Sona Nair, Scriptwriter Didi Damodaran, activist Dr. N. Seema, dubbing artists Anandavalli and Bhagyalakshmi flanked the occasion.
“What we see upfront doesn’t constitute the stark reality that goes behind the lives of the women actors”, reflected Sharmila while recalling her experiences as an actor. The situations are still not favorable to women to be successful without a male patron. Women shouldn’t be viewed upon as liability by the society; she said adding that she hails from a family of three daughters.Veteran Malayalam actor K.P.A.C Lalitha said women are being reduced to decorative roles nowadays unlike in the past when they have assigned character roles with strength.Navya Nair expressed anguish over the speechlessness experienced by women in cinema. The media too plays a role in reducing women to shadows and that leads to a certain fear to come out in the public. “Accessibility to the lives of actors have made them more pretentious”, said Navya. Didi Damodaran said the women behind camera have always been very less in number comparing to the number of women in other careers. This situation has to change. Dr. N.Seema maintained that the ideology behind this gesture signifies the huge need for the women to be heard and appreciated the academy for conducting the exhibition. The exhibition is being conducted as part of the academic exercise to document the history of women in Malayalam cinema in front of camera as well as behind the scenes. Beena Paul said that the exhibition would go around the country and state, expanding with fresh elements in course of time. Art Director Sabu designed the exhibition and contributed creatively to make this exhibition unique ,