Call for papers

29 July 2025

Special Issue: Contemporary India and Hindi Cinema

Journal: Women Studies International Forum

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/324617/contemporary-india-and-hindi-cinema

Submission of abstracts: 30 September 2025

Submission of full manuscript: 31 July 2026

This Special issue unravels the ways in which nation, nationalism, and women’s empowerment are projected in recent Hindi cinema, and to identify the power relations embedded in the increased representation of empowered female protagonists.

Guest Editors:

Abhijit Maity, amengvu@gmail.com
Assistant Professor, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi, India

Karuna Rajeev, karunarajeev@gmail.com
Assistant Professor, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi, India

Special issue information:

Hindi cinema has always shaped narratives and influenced public perception around politics, gender, and social issues. From early classics, which depicted the nurturing woman as a metaphor for the newly independent nation, to contemporary films that showcase women as warriors - defensive, assertive, and even offensive - the evolution reflects broader societal changes and shifting gender dynamics. The past two decades witnessed an unprecedented surge in film productions that focus on female characters coming out of their traditional role and playing the active role often reserved to male characters: Queen, Mary Kom, and Mardaani to mention a few. Films released in 2024 -- Jigra, Crew, Stree 2, Article 370, Bhakshak, Laapataa Ladies -- undermine the traditional representation of female characters as struggling against gender discrimination in a patriarchal structure, and project a diverse range of new roles such as a proactive cop, leading operations against Maoists, or spying for India. In addition, the traditional trope of the macho cisgender male as the saviour of the endangered “female” victim is challenged by the emergence of strong cisgender and transgender female protagonists. By breaking the stereotypical representation of transgender women in popular media, Sushmita Sen, the lead actress in the web series Taali: Bajaungi Nahi, Bajwaungi based on the real life of transgender activist Gauri Sawant, challenges the binary representation of gender and compels us to rethink the third gender. Further, a New Renaissance rooted in radical humanism challenges a neoliberalism that prioritizes market-driven reforms. In an alternate “postcolonial renaissance” identity becomes a commodified asset. Within this framework, Naari Shakti interrogates prevailing notions of authenticity, representation, and cultural ownership. This special issue attempts to critique such binary claims, to unravel the ways in which nation, nationalism, and women’s empowerment are projected in recent Hindi cinema, and to identify the power relations embedded in the increased representation of empowered female protagonists - whose apparent agency within state-sanctioned or market-friendly narratives often masks deeper subversive tensions or complicity with dominant ideological frameworks. We seek contributions that aim at understanding to what extent representational politics i) challenges the dominant mis/representation of female characters on screen ii) equate women’s empowerment and India’s image as a global economic power, and iii) revitalise India’s incomplete New Renaissance which reclaims on screen the lost glory of women revolutionaries. This special issue intends to address these questions in a comprehensive way:
Themes:

Political cinema and gendered spaces 
Contemporary cinema and political discourse
Violence, resistance, and cinema
Hindi cinema and counter-politics
Gender, Cinema, and muscular nationalism

We invite abstracts of 300 words, accompanied by a title, the name of the author, affiliation and contact details, as well as a short bio of about 200 words. The authors of the strongest abstracts will be invited to develop them into full articles (up to 30 pages, double spaced, including references). We anticipate that the special issue will include around eight research articles.

Manuscript submission information:

Please submit your abstracts to Guest Editors (Abhijit Maity, amengvu@gmail.com and
Karuna Rajeev, karunarajeev@gmail.com) by 31st Sep 2025

Please mention 'VSI: Contemporary India and Hindi Cinema' as the article type.

In case of any queries, please contact the above Guest Editors directly.

Timeline:

Submission of abstracts: 30 September 2025

Submission of full manuscript: 31 July 2026

Reviewing and revising: August – November 2026

Publication: December 2026

References:

Banaji S. (2013). Slippery subjects: Gender, meaning, and the Bollywood audience. In Carter C., Steiner L., & McLaughlin L. (Eds.), The Routledge companion to media & gender (493–502). Routledge.

Banerjee, S. (2016). Gender, Nation and Popular Film in India: Globalizing Muscular Nationalism. Routledge.

Banerjee, S., Williams, R. V., & Hirji, F. (2021). Bollywood, Politics and Power: An Introduction. Global Media Journal: Canadian Edition, 13(1).

Chakravarty, C., & Chaudhuri, S. K. (2024). Centring Women in Bollywood Biopics: Empowerment and Agency in Contemporary Indian Cinema. Taylor & Francis.

Chakravarty, Sumita S. (1993) National Identity in Indian Popular Cinema, 1947–1987. University of Texas Press

Chaudhuri M. (2014). Gender, media and popular culture in a global India. In Fernandes L. (Ed.), Routledge handbook of gender in South Asia (145–159). Routledge.

Ciotti, Manuela (2012). Post-colonial Renaissance: 'Indianness', Contemporary Art and the Market in the Age of Neoliberal Capital. Third World Quarterly, 33 (4), 633–651. Taylor & Francis, https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2012.657422.

Gopal, Sangita. (2009) Conjugations: Marriage and Form in New Bollywood Cinema. South Asian Popular Culture, 7(2), 105–118.

Gupta S. (2015). Kahaani, Gulaab Gang, and Queen: Remaking the queens of Bollywood. South Asian Popular Culture, 13(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746689.2015.1087107Kamble, C., & Biswal, S. K. (2023). The Changing Role of Marginalised Women in Hindi Cinema: A Shift from Cinematic Negotiations to Empowerment. Media Watch, 14(3), 386-402. https://doi.org/10.1177/09760911231191266

Khan S., & Taylor L. (2018). Gender policing in mainstream Hindi cinema: A decade of central female characters in top-grossing Bollywood movies. International Journal of Communication, 12, 3641–3662.

Kumar, Shanti (2020). Cinema at the End of Empire: A Politics of Transition in Britain and India. Duke University Press.

Mehta, R. B. (2020). Unruly cinema: History, politics, and bollywood. University of Illinois Press.

Mehta M. (2019). The realities of ‘reel’ life: Representation and portrayals of gender, sexuality, and sexually transgressive behaviour in the Hindi film industry in the 21st century. South Asian Popular Culture, 17(3), 305–317. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746689.2019.1673542

Menon, P. (2018). Whose Feminism Is It Anyway? The ‘Empowered Woman’in Bollywood (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois Chicago).Ray, Sibnarayan (1998). A New Renaissance. Minerva Associates.

Ray, Sibnarayan (1998). A New Renaissance and Allied Essays. Minerva Associates.

Schneider, N. C. (2022, March). Nari Shakti and the Nation: Visual Imagery and Mediation of ‘India’s New Daughters’ in the Framework of Muscular Patriotism. In F. M. Titzmann & N. C. Schneider (Eds.,) Conference Publication: How to Live Together? Circulatory Practices and Contested Spaces in India. PubPub. https://doi.org/10.21428/f4c6e600.efc48099

Shekhawat, S. (2019). Shifting Images of Women in Contemporary Indian English Feminist Fiction and Indian Hindi Cinema. Literary Voice, 1(10), 81-85.

Vanita, R. (2018). Dancing with the nation: Courtesans in Bombay Cinema. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Yadav, Sheetal and Jha, Smita (2023) Bollywood as a Site of Resistance: Women and Agency in Indian Popular Culture. Journal of International Women's Studies 25 (3), 1-13

Films:

Ae Watan Mere Watan. Directed by Kannan Iyer, performances by Sara Ali Khan, Alexx O'Nell, and Emraan Hashmi, produced by Karan Johar, Amazon Prime Video, 2024.

Article 370. Directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, performances by Yami Gautam, Priya Mani, and Vaibhav Tatwawadi, produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar, and Lokesh Dhar, Jio Studios, 2024.

Bandit Queen. Directed by Shekhar Kapur, performances by Seema Biswas, Nirmal Pandey, and Rajesh Vivek, Kaleidoscope Entertainment, 1994.

Bastar: The Naxal Story. Directed by Sudipto Sen, performances by Adah Sharma, Indira Tiwari, and Vijay Krishna, produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Sunshine Pictures, 2024.

Bhakshak. Directed by Pulkit, performances by Bhumi Pednekar, Sanjay Mishra, and Aditya Srivastav, Netflix, 2024

Crew. Directed by Rajesh A. Krishnan, performances by Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Kriti Sanon, produced by Ekta Kapoor, Rhea Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, and Digvijay Purohit, Balaji Motion Pictures and Anil Kapoor Films & Communication Network, 2024.

Darlings. Directed by Jasmeet K. Reen, performances by Alia Bhatt and Shefali Shah, Red Chillies Entertainment, Eternal Sunshine Productions and Netflix, 2022.

English Vinglish. Directed by Gauri Shinde, performances by Sridevi, Adil Hussain, Mehdi Nebbou, and Priya Anand, Hope Productions, 2012.

Gulaab Gang. Directed by Soumik Sen, performances by Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla, Benaras Media Works; Sahara Movie Studios, 2014.

Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. Directed by Sharan Sharma, performances by Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, and Angad Bedi, Dharma Productions and Zee Studios, 2020.

Jigra. Directed by Vasan Bala, performances by Alia Bhatt, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, and Vedang Raina, Viacom18 Studios, Dharma Productions, and Eternal Sunshine Productions, 2024.

Kahaani. Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, performances by Vidya Balan and Parambrata Chatterjee, Boundscript Motion Pictures and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, 2012.

Laapataa Ladies. Directed by Kiran Rao, performances by Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, and Sparsh Shrivastava, produced by Aamir Khan Productions, Kindling Pictures, and Jio Studios, 2023

Lipstick under My Burkha. Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, performances by Ratna Pathak Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma, Aahana Kumra, and Plabita Borthakur, Prakash Jha Productions, 2016.Mardaani. Directed by Pradeep Sarkar, performances by Rani Mukerji, Yash Raj Films, 2014.

Mary Kom. Directed by Omung Kumar, performances by Priyanka Chopra, Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions, 2014.

Mother India. Directed by Mehboob Khan, performances by Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, and Raaj Kumar, Mehboob Productions, 1957.

No One Killed Jessica. Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, performances by Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan, UTV Spotboy, 2011.

Parched. Directed by Leena Yadav, performances by Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte, Surveen Chawla, Adil Hussain, Shivalaya Entertainment; Ajay Devgn FFilms; Reliance Entertainment; Seville International; et al., 2015.

Parzania. Directed by Rahul Dholakia, performances by Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika, Shailja Productions, 2005.

Patna Shukla. Directed by Satyanshu Singh and Devanshu Singh, performances by Raveena Tandon and Manav Vij, produced by T-Series and Shreyansh Innovations, 2024.

Queen. Directed by Vikas Bahl, performances by Kangana Ranaut, Phantom Films and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, 2013.

Raazi. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, performances by Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions, 2018.

Savi. Directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, performances by Ananya Panday and Vijay Varma, produced by Dharma Productions, 2024

Sister Midnight. Directed by Karan Kandhari, performances by Radhika Apte, Ashok Pathak, Chhaya Kadam, and Smita Tambe, Film4, BFI, Wellington Films, Griffin Pictures, 2025.

Stree 2. Directed by Amar Kaushik, performances by Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, and Pankaj Tripathi, produced by Maddock Films, 2024.

Taali: Bajaungi Nahi, Bajwaungi. Directed by Sukeshaditya Shukla, performances by Sushmita Sen, Disney+ Hotstar, 2023

Thappad. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, performances by Taapsee Pannu, Benaras Mediaworks and T-Series, 2020.

Keywords:

Cinema, Women, Politics, muscular nationalism, gendered space, naari shakti, women empowerment