It altered their perception of Indian women

A decade-and-a-half ago, noted Belgian theatre director Michael Laub was scouting for footage from Indian films for his dance-theatre project Total Masala Slammer: Heartbreak No.5. in 2003. Historian Amrit Ganger and Laub’s artistic consultant suggested a scene from the 90s iconic comedy Chaalbaaz (1989). “We played out the whiplash scene where Sridevi lashes the villain into submission at a theatre in Berlin. The Europeans in the audience were surprised to see a woman in Indian cinema who was far from docile. It altered their perception of Indian women for the better,” says Ganger to The Hindu in 2018 about the film where the actor played a double role — of twins, Anju and Manju, one docile, the other feisty.