The Representation
of Women in Bollywood
I have always loved films but as I grew older I started seeking out new films with more women, about women and by women because it felt as though mainstream Bollywood did not have enough of that. This data story is an exploration of that sentiment.
“Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object -- and most particularly an object of vision: a sight”
- John Berger, Ways of Seeing
It's obviously not that there aren’t any films about women in Bollywood. There are many big hits with women, but it is usually as a co lead and in a romantic setting.
And again, there's nothing wrong with romance but don't we deserve better, complex, multidimensional narratives? After all, we do make up 50% of the population.
So the idea is to put into perspective how few mainstream films there are with a female lead as well as explore their centrality in co-led films.
I looked at the films between 2009 and 2019 because that was the time during which I grew up watching them.
The Big Picture:
Who Leads Bollywood?
Let's take a look at the top 25 grossing films of each year from 2009 to 2019
Out of 250 films (Top 25 of each year)
22
9%
were female led
which is just
Zooming in: Seen
but Not Heard
Let's take a look at the top 25 grossing films of each year from 2009 to 2019
Total Runtime
123 minutes
On-screen Time
123 minutes
Dialogue Time
123 minutes
Total Runtime
123 minutes
On-screen Time
123 minutes
Dialogue Time
123 minutes
Total Runtime
123 minutes
On-screen Time
123 minutes
Dialogue Time
123 minutes
Total Runtime
123 minutes
On-screen Time
123 minutes
Dialogue Time
123 minutes
Total Runtime
123 minutes
On-screen Time
123 minutes
Dialogue Time
123 minutes
Total Runtime
123 minutes
On-screen Time
123 minutes
Dialogue Time
123 minutes
Total Runtime
123 minutes
On-screen Time
123 minutes
Dialogue Time
123 minutes
How Central are Women
to the Story?
Let's take a look at the top 25 grossing films of each year from 2009 to 2019
Notes on my Process
Datasets
Visual Inspiration
Writing
Thanks for reading!
See you soon :)) (hopefully)