“An audience problem”: Making gender-conscious cinema while the box office celebrates toxic masculinity

“What does it say about a society where the audience only pays to watch films about toxic masculinity, while gender-conscious films are ignored?” asks Anupama Bose. Speaking at a panel discussion hosted by eShe TV, the Mumbai-based producer said that the box-office success of such films reflects social biases, and not necessarily the absence of gender-sensitive cinema.

At a time when a spate of Hindi films that glorify male chauvinism, religious jingoism and brute violence have become ‘hits’, there are still producers like Bose who have put their energy and resources into a film like Joram, which takes on social, class and gender issues without compromising on cinematic art.

Released in cinemas recently, the film is a thriller about a Jharkhand villager Dasru (played by Manoj Bajpayee) on the run with his baby daughter Joram, trying to escape the grasp of the Mumbai police on one hand and rural politicians and Maoist rebels on the other.

Directed by Devashish Makhija, the film features women in key roles: Smita Tambe Dwivedi plays the antiheroine Phulo Karma, a bereaved mother seeking ruthless vengeance for the murder of her family. Nimmy Raphel plays a Maoist rebel chief in the forests of Jharkhand, and Megha Mathur plays the role of Phulo Karma’s ever-present, tech-savvy sidekick.

Actor Tannishtha Chatterjee makes a special appearance as Dasru’s wife Vaano, whose murder in a poor urban settlement in Mumbai sets off the thriller’s chain of events.

The film not only offers a layered portrayal of women characters – giving them nuanced back stories for psychological authenticity – the cast and crew also attest to gender-conscious treatment on set and behind the scenes. The film premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam and travelled to prestigious festivals worldwide before its cinematic release in India.

An award-winning actor in Marathi and Hindi cinema, Smita Tambe was accompanied by her breastfeeding four-month-old baby at the time of the shoot. She spoke about the support she received from the film’s producers and director on set, and her own ways to deal with the challenge of new motherhood.

“Women have so many layers and aspects to their personalities that can be presented on cinema in various ways. I felt very blessed to be able to play a character like Phulo Karma that has been written in such a way – with fearlessness and relatability,” she says. “Very few films do this. We need more filmmakers to present women characters in this interesting way.”

Tambe, who has thrice won the Best Actor Award at the Maharashtra State Film Awards, also shares how she ‘detoxed’ herself emotionally by dancing wildly to local pop songs on the car radio while on set in a remote village in Jharkhand, so that she would not end up subconsciously carrying home her character’s negative emotions to her own little baby.

Tambe’s on-screen and off-screen partner in crime Megha Mathur also shares similar stories of bonding on set. In preparation for her role, Mathur spent time with tribals in a village to understand their lifestyles better. She found that the cast and crew of Joram were driven and dedicated to making this film that highlights the plight of tribals in the face of corporate money, corrupt politicians and the ever-present threat of armed violence.

Mathur also observed that films that become hits in India are not women-centric, barring a handful such as Dear Zindagi, in which Shah Rukh Khan plays a supporting role as a therapist to the lead character played by Alia Bhatt.

“I really wish more of the male stars – the ones on whom the money is invested, the A-listers – would support such women-led stories,” says Mathur, whose critically acclaimed first feature film, Jhini Bini Chadariya (The Brittle Thread) won the best debut film at the New York Indian Film Festival 2022. She was awarded the best actress at the International Film Festival of Ahmednagar.

Acclaimed actor and director in theatre and films, Nimmy Raphel’s role in Joram is that of a Maoist rebel chief who trains new recruits in armed warfare in the jungles. A writer, teacher and musician who has trained in the classical forms Mohiniattam and Kalaripayattu, Raphel helms the theatre laboratory Adishakti and runs the most sought-after theatre workshops in India.

“I want to be seen not as a ‘female’ director but as a director who has a voice in saying something that is relevant to the times,” she says.

She also shares that it’s important for the industry to invest in actors since they are the ones who make the productions come alive, while adding that social-media popularity should not be the criterion to select any actor for a particular role.

The full episode is also available as a podcast here.