It is no hidden fact that sexism very much exists in the Indian film industry among its other evils. Sadly, it continues to prevail because it is rare that someone from the industry dares to call it out while accepting that they too have been a part of the system. Very few have the courage to do it because quite obviously, a lot is on the line. Dia Mirza is surely among those rare actors who have time and again spoken about the film industry’s evils. And well, she has done it again.
The actress opened about the rampant sexism in the industry recently while accepting that she too has been a part of the same. “People were writing, thinking and making sexist cinema and I was a part of these stories…,” she shared.
During the interview, she talked about her iconic debut film Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein and how everything about the film’s set reeked of sexism. She shared, “Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein has sexism in it… I was acting with these people. I was working with these people. It’s crazy. I will give you small examples. A makeup artist could only be a man, could not be a woman. A hairdresser only had to be a woman… When I started working in films there were at best about four or five women on any given crew with a unit strength of over 120… sometimes 180 people.”
The actress also talked about how sexism has been integrated so deeply within the very structure of the fabric that most people don’t even realise that they are encouraging it. “We live in a patriarchal society and it is an industry largely led by men. So there is rampant sexism. And I think for a large part it is not even conscious sexism because there are so many men who are writers, who are directors, who are actors, who are not even aware of their sexist thinking,” Dia said.
Well, we are glad that at least some people from the industry have the courage to put it like it is. That said, the onus for the film industry’s sexism lies on the audience as well. From item songs to problematic films like Kabir Singh, it is on us to reject sexist content so that the industry does not have a reason to create more of it. And while that won’t change it all, that would change a lot of it. It is a two-way street you see!
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