[Vogue India, 2022 September]

You began working at 15. Since then, the reality of Indian cinema has shifted. How much has the industry changed for women and what do you envision for the future?

T: I think one of the biggest changes is that I can only now finally see characters written for women that lead full lives. They have their own personalities and idiosyncrasies. But back in the day, it was either being the glamour quotient, the girlfriend, or the accessory in the film. But now, female characters actually impact the events of the plot in some way or the other. So, I’m hoping we only move upwards from here. It’s not a complete unknown path—there was a phase in the Indian film industry where women were given rounded characters in films like the 1989 film Chaalbaaz with Sridevi or 1993’s Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke with Juhi Chawla. And then somewhere in the middle, this notion was lost.

Vogue