Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; December 16, 2018)

Swara Bhasker’s bold attempt at expressing women’s sexuality in Veere Di Wedding, through a masturbation scene was trolled badly. She, however, shut them down with a fitting reply. Since then, things have changed and three more actresses have enacted scenes of pleasuring themselves on screen.

While Kiara Advani and Neha Dhupia did it in Lust Stories, Shweta Tripathi’s introduction in Mirzapur was with a similar scene. “Hindi cinema is finally able to depict women in all their humanity and not just as sexually chaste, angelic heroines or promiscuous vamps. The binaries are dissolving and we are seeing some positive and empowered female characters on screen, which is great. Masturbation scene is a sign that Hindi cinema is finally waking up to showing women’s desire in an open manner. Earlier, it was shown in a concealed way with metaphors and songs,” says Swara.

The actress is also happy that writers are scripting female characters that are real with all their flaws. “So far, only male protagonists had the freedom to be flawed, but that’s not the case anymore. Women are also shown making the wrong choices or being confused. They are writing interesting roles with multiple layers for women,” observes Swara, who plays a divorced single mother in It’s Not That Simple 2.