India’s Women Filmmakers in the Age of Netflix: Female Lead

This book uncovers the history of exclusion and erasure of women's work within the Mumbai film industry and highlights the challenges women face at every stage of filmmaking, from pre-production to distribution. Drawing on semistructured interviews with women and men working in the Mumbai film industry, as well as observations of industry events, film festivals, and film shoots, the book provides a comprehensive examination of the effects of streaming platforms on the creation and distribution of Hindi films made by women and about women. Through analysis of the obstacles and battles that a female filmmaker faces at every level, the author explores the factors that hinder women’s entrance and tenure in the contemporary Mumbai film industry and the impact of streaming platforms on these barriers. In addition to this ethnographic research, the author employs close textual analysis of selected films to demonstrate how women’s interventions in cinema function as acts of feminist epistemology, not only bringing new stories to life, but also transforming how films are made and how meaning is created. This book will be of interest to scholars working on gender in Indian Cinema Studies and will broadly speak to academics in Film & Media Studies, Women & Gender Studies, South Asian Studies, and its intersections.