Writer Juhi Chaturvedi: Women are sometimes included in films just to have the diversity check list

Female representation behind the screen is increasing, and writer Juhi Chaturvedi calls this a welcome sign. Having said that, she feels that there are many producers who include females just for the sake of it, and that is a problem.

Chaturvedi, who has written scripts for films Vicky Donor (2012) Piku (2015), October (2018) and Gulabo Sitabo (2020), tells us, “People are like, ‘We are making a ‘women- centric’ film, we have a female A-lister, so we need a female writer for the same’. Suddenly the sound of it is such that you know it is not genuine and just riding the wave. It is not coming from the right intent and purity. Don’t just include women in films just to have the diversity check list.”

But, the award-winning writer admits that there are genuine filmmakers who want to rope in females behind the camera just to get the female perspective right in their films.

“It is no more restricted to just men. If you see the younger guys whether it is Shoojit (Sircar) or Ronnie (Screwvala), and how they are collaborating with women talents behind the camera, it shows that the phase of ‘only men are good’ is gone. It used to happen in the 80s, 90s but not anymore,” she explains.

Elaborating further on the collaboration between men and women in the film industry, Chaturvedi says, “It will be a value addition if I am just asked to come on board by a male director to read his material. He can ask me if he has gone wrong anywhere or if I think he has crossed the line anywhere. That is called collaborative work. If they are hiring me for my point of view and my perspective, then I would welcome it because it makes the whole thing more open. It allows me to say what I think.”

But, she is quick to add, “It hasn’t disappeared completely because these people are small fractions of the larger industry. But if they partner with women more it just repositions the industry in a way that it seems like a lot of women are working. However, it is still a predominantly a male-driven industry.”