"Mother Maiden Mistress: Women in Hindi Cinema" by Bhawana Somaaya, Jigna Kothari and Supriya Madangarli records and reviews the woman in Hindi cinema - the mythical, the Sati-Savitri, the rebel, the avant-garde and the contemporary.
According to Somaaya, the definition of the perfect Indian woman is changing and it has to.
"The women characters are individuals not just glamour dolls. It was inevitable they changed to suit into a changing society. At the same time it is important to say that there are no absolutes. In the past there were women who played progressive roles and now there are women who play regressive roles," the film critic-writer told PTI.
It's been a long hundred years since Dadasaheb Phalke had to settle for a man to play the heroine in India's first feature film "Raja Harishchandra
