Ameesha Patel On Women In Cinema: Today’s Leads Are Blink-And-Miss, Heroes Back Then Were More Secure - Exclusive

In

an exclusive conversation with Zoom, actress Ameesha Patel opened up about how women’s roles in Bollywood have evolved and not necessarily for the better. The Gadar 2 star, known for her memorable work in both commercial blockbusters and special appearances, shed light on the changing screen space for women, the insecurities of male actors, and the future of stardom in Indian cinema.

Unfiltered Ameesha Patel

Talking to Zoom, she said, “The funniest part what is what was termed as a special appearance or screen time and in numerous films that I did as a guest appearance or special appearance with the titling ‘special thanks’ is far more today than the screen time girls get today being the leads of those films." The actress added, "Here, my screen time as a special appearance maybe 45 mins or 1 hour, today girls are blink and miss in their roles even if they are considered the lead and they're even costars, they're not even in trailers.”Speaking about how the industry has shifted, she emphasised that earlier, women were trusted with much stronger parts. “I think they had much more meaty roles for women back then and heroes weren't scared. It requires very secure actors. The reason the box office is suffering again is because we're not making that kind of cinema where people feel justified to pay heavy duty money to come and watch us.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBNJYUYrUBo

Ameesha Patel on longevity of today's stars

The actress also shared her concerns about the longevity of today’s stars once the current generation of superstars steps away. “I wonder sometimes what's gonna happen after the superstars like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Sunny Deol, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan - all these people who have been here for 30 to 40 years. Sunny has been the leading man for the longest amount of time where he's still the poster boy at 68–69, which is fantastic. Do I see this happening with the current generation whom people forget to watch on OTT? I don't know about that because the box office has a very different story to tell.”Patel concluded by stressing that Bollywood must give women their due. “I feel women deserve better roles. There's a huge audience that comes for women. She brings the glamour quotient, she brings the emotional quotient, she brings soul to film, the love story, the motherly figure, she adds that layer and drama. It's actually the industry's loss that they're not giving women the position they deserve," said Ameesha.