Actor Gouri Kishan spoke about patriarchy, misogyny and women’s limited agency in the film industry during a panel discussion at the India Today Roundtable Keralam. While acknowledging Kerala’s progressive image, she said patriarchal attitudes remain embedded across generations and can still influence professional spaces.
Gouri said she has personally experienced discrimination and questioned how much women are actually heard in rooms where important decisions are made. She recalled instances where speaking up was met with dismissive reactions and said women often become accustomed to being overlooked.
The actor also highlighted the limited representation of women behind the camera. According to her, even women-led stories can reflect a male gaze when there are few women involved in filmmaking roles. She recalled an incident involving an assistant camerawoman whose professional assertiveness was reportedly labelled as arrogance by older male colleagues.
Gouri said women can also face sexualised treatment in professional environments and argued that men must participate equally in challenging such attitudes. She stressed that the issue should be viewed as a question of equal opportunity rather than a conflict between genders.
Discussing women’s portrayal on screen, she said Malayalam cinema often presents more grounded female characters but questioned why women are frequently expected to be “perfect”. She also noted that women may face social pressure over the kinds of roles they choose, while similar scrutiny is less often applied to male actors.
Conversation
Be kind and stay on topic. Comments are moderated; abuse, spam and personal attacks are removed. Report a problem