Young actresses Ashika Ranganath and Dimple Hayathi have sparked an important debate on the portrayal of women in mainstream commercial films, adding their voices to a growing conversation that gained momentum following the release of Ram Charan’s Peddi.
Ashika Ranganath recently shared an Instagram story highlighting how actresses are often unfairly blamed when female characters are reduced to glamour elements or written without substance. According to her, the criticism is frequently directed at the wrong people.
“The problem is not the actresses. Female characters are often neglected or poorly designed at the writing stage itself. Actors perform within the boundaries given to them by the director and the script,” Ashika stated.
Joining the discussion, actress Dimple Hayathi described the ongoing debate as “long overdue” in the film industry. Without naming Peddi directly, she pointed out that actresses are often judged for the roles they portray, despite having little influence over how those characters are written and presented on screen.
Dimple noted that many women entering the industry accept the opportunities available to them while trying to establish their careers. Therefore, she argued, they should not be blamed when their characters lack depth or are reduced to decorative roles.
According to her, the quality and importance of female characters are primarily determined by writers and filmmakers.
Director Teja agrees that the issue is a reality in many commercial entertainers. He points out that several talented actresses have been shortchanged by poorly developed roles.
“This is a sad situation for many actresses in Tollywood since they are capable of delivering much more than merely looking glamorous or showcasing their dance skills,” says Teja.
He cites examples such as Janhvi Kapoor in Devara, Kavya Thapar in Double iSmart, and Priyanka Mohan in Saripodhaa Sanivaaram, where the actresses had limited scope to perform despite their abilities. “With heroism-driven narratives, action sequences and elevation scenes taking up most of the screen time, heroines are often left with very little to do,” he adds.
Several leading actresses, including Sreeleela (Skanda), Tamannaah (Bholaa Shankar), Shruti Haasan (Veera Simha Reddy), Ritu Varma (Mark Antony), and Anu Emmanuel (Ravanasura), have faced similar criticism for being confined to songs, comedy tracks, and supporting roles while the hero dominates the narrative.
Teja believes filmmakers can create a better balance between male and female characters without compromising commercial appeal. “Even stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth have worked in films where female characters were given significant importance. In Robo, Aishwarya Rai had a pivotal role alongside Rajinikanth. Similarly, the success of Baahubali was driven not only by Prabhas but also by powerful performances from Anushka Shetty and Ramya Krishnan. Directors must strive for balance rather than favouring only the hero,” he explains.
However, not everyone agrees that there is an industry-wide bias. A leading producer dismisses the notion, arguing that character prominence depends entirely on the story being told.
“The industry is hero-driven, and directors naturally give more screen space to stars because they are the biggest crowd-pullers. There is significant investment riding on such films, and filmmakers must cater to fan expectations. At the same time, there have been many films where heroines played substantial roles. Therefore, it would be unfair to label the industry as male chauvinistic,” he says.