Separate washrooms, basic commute and safer sets: What women in Bollywood are fighting for in 2025

The world celebrates Womenrsquos Day today But what is a celebration if itrsquos not preceded by change In the past few years Bollywood has witnessed positive change as there has been increased representation of women on and off camera But itrsquos a long road ahead to equality finds out midday as we talk to women in different streams of filmmaking including direction editing writing cinematography and stuntsWhy are basics elusiveMrs director Arati Kadav highlights that even in 2025 women on set often donrsquot have access to basic amenities like hygienic washrooms ldquoWhen I started out there was one washroom for all the HoDs I protested that I didnrsquot want to share washrooms with men You have to ask for something that I thought was a given If you are a director you will probably have a better working condition But if yoursquore a female AD or an assistant in any department there are no special provisions made for you Since I was given a separate washroom as a director I encouraged women crew members to use minerdquo complains KadavSenior cinematographer Neha Parti Matiyani who has worked on titles like My Name Is Khan Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Netflix upcoming show Royals says she has seen a lot change over 20 years of her career but itrsquos sad something as basic as hygiene is still an issue on smaller productionsldquoSadly enough it is the same problems that existed when I started Which was luckily I worked with production houses which took care of issues like bathrooms for women But across the board if you are not on a lsquoArsquo grade production then bathrooms for women is still a problem she saysThis is not restricted to sets Leading editor Deepa Bhatia who recently worked on Yo Yo Honey Singh Famous shares that offices of studios and production houses too are lacking on the sanitation front ldquoEditors complain of poor sanitation maintained in the bathroomsrdquo she saysCinematographer Pranjal Picha who has assisted on films like Mere Husband Ki Biwi and Khel Khel Mein 2024 says it takes just two simple words to bring about a change All a woman needs is a separate ldquoONLY FEMALErdquo door on set and not just only on the shoot days but also on prep days during set ups and lighting So no matter how big or small budget the project is if you have women working on sets it be actors juniors technicians or crew make sure they donrsquot have to ask for it just give it already she saysWork HoursScreenwriter Kalyani Pandit points out that work timing is another issue Apparently many male writers like working late into the night She notes ldquoWhen a woman joins the writersrsquo room they try to keep the discussions and writing sessions during the day But itrsquos made out to be such an inconvenience If yoursquore adjusting toh jata kyun rahe hordquo she asksSafety concernsEvery day thousands of women go to work to whatrsquos called Bollywood And every day the fight stars way before they reach and long after they leave the workplace even in 2025 Kadav stresses on a systemic change when it comes to women travelling to and from sets ldquoSometimes the packup happens at 1 or 2 am The expectation is that the women in the crew will figure it out with their male colleagues Sometimes shoots happen in obscure locations deep inside Film City Those at the executive level should think about how women will come to set at early hours and leave so laterdquoBhatia echoes Kadavrsquos sentiment noting that the physical safety of women working late at nights is not discussed enough ldquoEditing involves late working hours The production houses donrsquot think about how the women are reaching home I have a small WhatsApp group where whenever a member leaves they drop a text saying lsquoThis is the rickshawcab numberrsquo and on reaching home they leave another text Simple things like making sure that people reach home safely should be looked into Also one needs to consider that when associates assistant editors or even the editors are the last people to leave the establishment is the right kind of staff present I remember an incident where an office boy misbehaved with a woman in the team and we had to get him out So we should ask Is it safe when she is the last person leaving the studio or the officerdquoOddly safety concerns also cost women opportunities Pandit says ldquoI have heard how for outdoor shoots productions try to avoid taking women citing safety concerns This hampers opportunities for womenrdquoGenres have gendersWe have more womencentric stories on screen and more women screenwriters While that is a reason for celebration the discrimination is evident in the smallest things says Pandit who has written the dialogues of 2023 Marathi film Unaad ldquoFemale writers arenrsquot even offered horror or stories with lsquoangryyoungmanrsquo characters They come to women writers for femalecentric stories The mindset is still that women are better at writing sliceoflife stories she rues adding that there are also times when producers hire a female writer only for tokenism ldquoI have seen cases where even for a femalecentric story they will hire men and just one woman just to show diversity in the writerrsquos roomrdquoA female writers fight is not just for rightful inclusion but also to be heard Pandit shares how creative heads often favour the opinion of a male writer over his female counterpart even if the latter holds expertise over the subjectNo matter if I am more experienced than my male contemporary or I have more personal experience of the subject that the story revolves around if a man is speaking in a meeting his opinion gets more weightage than what I say Because unfortunately internalised patriarchy is also an issue I have seen that even if theres a female creative producer in a meeting she will pay more heed to my male cowriter or male director In one such case where my cowriter didnt have such a mindset I found a solution to get my point across I would tell him You share my idea because it will get approved if you say it It wont if I share it This really bothers me It comes down to how many battles can you fight You know finally the credit will be shared by both the writers so you let go of what happens in a meeting30 women came together to form Indian Women Cinematographers Collective IWCC in 2016 It has grown to 200 members today but Matiyani its founding member says there has been much growth in peoplersquos attitude towards hiring female cinematographers ldquoTo get independent work it is still a bit difficult for people who started out after us and the problem remains the same that women have to prove themselves versus people who would take a chance on a male DoP starting out That hasnt changed very much So whatever the change thats not substantial enoughrdquo Picha spells the reason ldquoPeople somewhere still have a mindset that men can do better as cinematographers than women because itrsquos a technical and a physical jobThe silver liningThere have been positive changes over the last few years Makeup artist Hrida Advani whose work includes Sky is Pink 2019 and Mirzapur notes that production houses now view makeup as an integral part of storytelling making them feel more included on set ldquoIt has been a long journey from being addressed as lsquoparlour walirsquo to a lsquoprofessional artistrsquordquo she saysStunt artist Geeta Tandon having a 17year experience that includes huge productions like Chennai Express The Family Man and Citadel Honey Bunny acknowledges that work for stuntwomen is more than ever and in a healthy environment ldquoI have more work than ever and there is more action to do Female stunt women are taken more seriously now Earlier there was a notion that men could also do stunts for female actors but now these opportunities are exclusively offered to stuntwomen There is either a vanity van or AC tents for women action staff If we are in locations like Ladakh where these things are not possible we are given rooms with toilets and other facilities Earlier when I would be on my period I used to feel shy to ask for a break to change my sanitary pad My clothes would get stained but I would be asked to do one more shot Now I can ask for breaks and use the washroom as and when required This is the best time to be in this profession as more and more womenled actioners are being maderdquoPandit mentions that therersquos a shift in the industry culture since the MeToo movement that broke out in 2018 and had many women in Bollywood sharing accounts of sexual harassment at workplace ldquoTherersquos a difference between pre and postMeToo Therersquos definitely more awareness not just from individual men but also from whoever is the final authority like the producers They also are watchful about the behaviour of other men on sets Some comments which would have been passed as healthy flirting teasing or pulling someonersquos leg arenrsquot welcomed by the authority Itrsquos probably just to save themselves But thatrsquos still a silver lining for the immediate future So maybe their mindset hasnrsquot changed but they fear accountability so they are careful Therersquos certain alertness exhibited by production houses and studios I have seen people being fired for inappropriate comments Thatrsquos the advantage of corporate culture It does takes away the agency of creatives but it makes one legally strongrdquoAn executive working in the development team of a midscale production house on the condition of anonymity says having women in leadership position has made a huge difference for working conditions for women in the industry We are an all women team and you can feel the change Theres more comfort empathy and understanding A lot of the issues that my peers face I dont because I have women in senior positionsrdquoBut a systemic change is what will cause a permanent shift believes Bhatia who still witnesses ldquoclannishrdquo behaviour from menldquoI still worry about the sexually inappropriate conduct thatrsquos placed in a very passive quiet sort of way from people in power it could be director producer or someone lower down the picking order There are still sexually inappropriate remarks The clannish behaviour of men on sets concerns me So while we talk about sexual harassment are people understanding what constitutes that There needs to be a better system to report sexual harassment We have our contracts that they tell us there wonrsquot be any inappropriate behaviour from any HoD or anyone else But some orientation sessions are needed for teams Do we take the 100 people on set and say this is not acceptable or similarly to the postproduction team I have been editing for 2025 years In the last two years after the lovely burst of women in postproduction I am actually noticing a dip in applications I just gave a shoutout for the staff I needed for a project and I found the ratio skewing towards men There are hardly any girls applying I keep asking myself why is that happening Thatrsquos something one needs to think aboutrdquo