ON EQUAL FOOTING

Bazaar India speaks to five notable female cinematographers and artists working behind the scenes on what drives their passion, the lessons they have learnt along the way, and how to be resilient in a male-dominated industry.

- HUMRA AFROZ KHAN

The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film in the US has been conducting a study, Celluloid Ceiling, every year since 1997, to track women employment statistics in Hollywood. According to the report, despite a drastic rise in women’s participation since 2019-onwards, men continue to heavily outnumber women (about 4:1) in key roles. In fact, in 2022, women made up only 24 percent of key behind-the-scenes roles—such as directors, writers, producers, and editors—in the top 250 grossing films.

The data is only bleaker in India. About 48.39 percent of the population in the country identifies as women. Yet, only 8 percent of the Head of Department (HOD) positions in our film industry were held by women in 2019-20. Women in technical roles, such as cinematographers, sound editors, special effects supervisors, et cetera can, perhaps, be counted on the fingers of one hand. Underrepresentation off-screen often translates into gross misrepresentation on-screen. Then, there are other gender-based evils like pay disparity for the same designation, lack of equal opportunities, an uneven playing field, and sexist stereotypes, among many others.