They are uniformly bad…for a good cause. Welcome then, the new avatar of the Indian woman. With fire-in-her-belly and purpose in her stride.

An agent of change too…for with her entry into our digital world, khaki takes centre stage. A big change from having baton-wielding extras jumping in only after the hero has beaten the bad guys to a whimpering mass.

Perhaps Shefali Shah’s masterful rendering of real life DCP Chaaya Sharma’s role in Delhi Crime 1 started the trend. But soon enough, khaki uniforms structured to fit comely women’s bodies were filling wardrobes across OTT platforms.

The women on the small screen are a far cry from those the big screen has been offering up as the idealisation of Indian womanhood.

No simpering, clinging or cringing here; these women walk with purpose and look both the viewer and their character counterparts squarely in the eyes. And they don’t sing sad songs either when the going gets tough.

Going beyond Delhi Crime too, the list is impressive Jamtara Sabka Number Ayaega, has a no-nonsense SP Dolly Sahu, a character based on the real life SP, Jaya Roy, storming into the scene to get to the bottom of the phishing scams that originate from the small Jharkhand town and trap people across the country in their net. Gudiya plays her able aide.

The two policewomen show grit and courage, each facing her own challenges without fear of repercussions.

Convincing acting

To their credit the actors, though lesser known, hold their own, convincingly.

The uniform has its uses. If traditional cinema put Raveena Tandon and Sonakshi Sinha on the shelf, the middle level policewoman’s roles fitted their ages to a ‘t’. Raveena in Aranyak is a zero-tolerance, fierce cop, who however has to ensure she balances her work and home lives. That she falls off the tightrope at times makes her real. Refreshingly different from the heroes who can jump backwards up a wall! In fact vulnerability combined with power makes these policewomen more flesh and blood.

Giving us a glimpse of what the lives of women wearing uniforms in real life must be, in a world that only gives them a grudging place as upholders of the law. Sonakshi Sinha’s character in Dahaad has the additional burden of belonging to a low caste. That she uses her power to fly in the face of the high caste opponents who throw her caste against her, is an additional feather in the director’s cap.

The list goes on. She, where a small time constable goes undercover as a prostitute, in a role that shows a woman’s courage in the face of real danger, Kathal, where a young policewoman tries to prove she is worthy of her uniform by chasing the bigger cause, Grahan where an IPS officer who has given up her duties decides to continue when the Anti-Sikh riots case comes up… And there are more.

Feisty women

Feisty women all, fighting various causes that cinema on the big screen has pretended never existed.

Whether the fact that there are real life role models that inspire these characters or whether it is the spate of such women heading investigations and trials in western series that has inspired the change is immaterial. The fact is that change is happening.

That there are enough flags to highlight the prejudices against women in a predominantly male profession, and in each case the quiet resilience of the women is put in focus, makes it a cause for cheer. At last it seem the image of Indian women on screen is set to get more real.

PS: Will someone tell the news channels: bosses, design crew etc, that their AI anchors do not all have to be millennials with names like Sona and Soundarya?

The news will sound more real from mature AI creations. The demographic group their anchor represents does not really care about TV news and what’s happening on it. They only scroll through Shorts on their phone.

The writer is a Consulting Editor with Penguin India

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