For years, women in cinema have been striving to make their presence felt on screen.
They have been working to establish themselves as individual characters with their own stories.
However, Rashmika Mandanna, one of the biggest actresses today, has single-handedly taken a huge step backward from the little progress women have been trying to make.
With her last few projects, Rashmika has delivered blockbuster films. Animal, Pushpa 2, and Chhaava were all successful ventures.
While the fate of Sikandar is yet to be determined, there is one recurring issue with Rashmika’s roles that is disappointing.
In every film, she has played a female character whose primary purpose is to highlight the strengths of the male lead on screen.
Her character Geetanjali in Animal was written to showcase Ranbir Kapoor’s power and intensity. Srivalli in Pushpa seemed to exist only to emphasize Allu Arjun’s stardom.
Her role as Yesubai in Chhaava was so one-dimensional that she was reduced to being a supporting character whose sole function was to serve her husband.
In Sikandar as well, her character appears grateful to be chosen by the noble male lead, despite the significant age gap.
None of her characters can be considered strong or independent. They are all written in a way that only serves to elevate the male protagonist.
While this issue stems from years of patriarchal storytelling in films, as a well-established actress, Rashmika’s continued choice of such roles has actively undone the progress that other women in cinema have been fighting for.
