‘Women in my shows are role models’

While the film industry is riding high on female-fronted films being churned out one after another, small screen has been ruled by a woman for as long as most people can remember. TV czarina Ekta Kapoor, who made iconic shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, which revolved around strong women, says it was a conscious decision to highlight the contribution of women in our society.

“Just because they wear saris or salwar-kameez, we didn’t give importance that they are feminist in nature. What many failed to notice is that these characters were strong natured, opinionated and inspiring. Two Columbian students have done a research on Indian psychology and it has been proven that between 2001 and 2005, women in India got a chance to speak at their homes only because their role models did [on TV],” says Ekta, who backs projects in Bollywood and for the web, too.

She believes that the audience enjoys hard-hitting stories. The success of her latest web series, Bose: Dead/ Alive — starring Rajkummar Rao — is proof. It’s based on the life of Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose, who is believed to have died in a plane crash in 1945. “We’ve got such interesting political stories, but as a country, we’re scared talking about them thinking someone will say something... We expect our leaders to follow our idea of them, which is wrong because in a way we take away their individuality. I hoped to do that with the show. I decided to take on all wrath, but, in no way, changed the history,” she concludes.

PHOTO: AMAL KS/HT Ekta Kapoor has made iconic shows such as Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, which revolved around strong woman protagonists