Definition of heroism has changed, feels Kanika

Rather than great time, it’s about time,” says writer Kanika Dhillon, as she makes a poignant point while talking about the changing trajectory of Hindi cinema’s narrative, where women and the middle-class Indian have come into focus after long.

“Women are way more heroic than men in day-to-day lives. The choices they make and their struggles are tougher than what men have to make, and there’s no debate around that. So, why shouldn’t we see that exhilaration, that freedom or that weakness on the big screen? Why shouldn’t we celebrate the ones who are trying to live a life of their choice, and giving us some goals to do so?” asks the writer, whose work includes films such as Manmarziyaan and Kedarnath (both 2018).

It’s also because India’s pop culture revolves heavily around cinema that we have strong female characters, avers Kanika, who believes, “Kids and youngsters who’re watching this content in smaller towns, are drawing a lot of inferences, knowingly or unknowingly, from what they see in the stories being told...the tribe of great female characters should increase.”

Kanika, who has also penned novels and co-wrote the superhero drama Ra.One (2011), is herself looking forward to a slate that includes diverse projects in the film and digital space — Haseen Dilruba, a mystery thriller starring Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey, and a web film, Guilty, which deals with the subject of rape.

She says there’s space for such stories to come to the fore because filmmakers are going beyong set formats of love triangles and storytelling. “We’re looking at emotions that we feel very strongly about, but we’ve not really seen them, applauded or appreciated them on screen,” she adds.

But what has changed, Kanika feels, is how we’re looking inwards for a heroic inspiration. She elaborates, “The hero is not someone who’s coming out and saving the world. Heroism is coming in from within, where the person is overcoming one’s own failings and weaknesses.” She also attributes the change to the society’s “collective consciousness” and that the audience isn’t looking for “heroes who are running across the world or jet-setting on choppers”.

The hero is not someone who’s coming out and saving the world. Heroism is coming in from within...

KANIKA DHILLON WRITER