Women Filmmakers in Contemporary Hindi Cinema

“Despite being central to any Bollywood potboiler worth its salt, women rarely feature in critical thinking about Hindi films. Addressing women as directors, scriptwriters, and producers, Women Filmmakers in Contemporary Hindi Cinema opens up many doors for us to walk through. On women. By women. But not only for women.” —Madhavi Menon, Professor of English, Director, Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality, Ashoka University, India "Over the last three decades, the Bombay film industry has witnessed a significant rise in the numbers of women who, in different professional capacities, have contributed to the creation of films for theatrical release and streaming platforms. This anthology invites a range of scholars to reflect on this moment. The outcome is rich with ideas that promise to inspire a new set of conversations." —Shohini Ghosh, Sajjad Zaheer Professor, AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, India This book is a comprehensive anthology comprising essays on women film directors, producers and screenwriters from Bollywood, or the popular Hindi film industry. It derives from the major theories of modernity, postmodern feminism, semiotics, cultural production, and gender performativity in globalized times. The collection transcends the traditional approaches of looking at films made by women filmmakers as ‘feminist’ cinema, and focuses on an extraordinary group of women filmmakers like Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, Bhavani Iyer, Farah Khan, Mira Nair Vijaya Mehta, and Zoya Akthar. The volume will be of interest to academics and theorists of gender and Hindi cinema, as well as anybody interested in contemporary Hindi films in their various manifestations. Aysha Iqbal Viswamohan is Professor, Dept of HSS, IIT Madras, India. Her edited anthologies comprise Stardom in Contemporary Hindi Cinema: Celebrity and Fame in Globalized Times (2020), Behind the Scenes: Contemporary Bollywood Directors (2017) and Post-liberalization Indian Novels in English: Global Reception & Politics of Award (2013).