Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga, Tahira Kashyap join hands to discover and promote female storytellers

Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana

In the past few years, there has been a much-needed discussion about on-screen representation of women in Indian cinema. Unfortunately, there has been little focus on those behind the camera. Now, two years after Malayalam cinema witnessed the formation of Women in Cinema Collective, it is time for Bollywood to effect change.

Producers Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and filmmaker Tahira Kashyap Khurrana have joined forces to form Indian Women Rising (IWR), a collective that will discover, nurture and put the spotlight on female storytellers across the country.

Tracing its origin, Monga says, "Less than five per cent of directors in India are female. It's time we change these statistics. We intend to use our combined resources to amplify independent women creators."

While making a movie is the first step of the journey, IWR will step in during the second phase - when the project requires marketing and distribution support. It will provide resources to determine the film's positioning, market it aggressively to catch the attention of mainstream media around the world, and eventually find the right buyers. While any filmmaker in or outside of India is eligible to apply, the association presently is seeking only finished films - be it a short, documentary or feature film.

Kashyap, in charge of zeroing in on the movies that they will back, says the move will translate into more nuanced depiction of female characters on screen. "We are often stereotyped - we are either revolutionaries, or tragedy-stricken damsels. Our various shades will surface if we have more women working not only in front of the camera, but also behind it. This [venture] intends to disrupt the boxed notions about [our tribe]." Kapoor adds, "When Guneet and Tahira shared the idea of launching the collective, I instantly said yes. Women can create wonders when given the right opportunity and support. We hope IWR will encourage more female directors to come forward with their work."