Shom Calls for Neutral Language When Discussing Female‑Led Movies

Mumbai, July 19 — In a candid interview, actress Tiloottama Shom challenged the habit of linking a movie’s financial outcome to the gender of its protagonists. She pointed out that the Indian film industry frequently subjects women‑centric movies to harsher judgment than comparable male‑oriented projects.

Shom, who has recently garnered audience appreciation for her performance in the upcoming Sunny Deol vehicle “Ikka,” said that the moment a film with a female lead underperforms, headlines question whether people are uninterested in women‑focused narratives. The same scrutiny, she noted, is rarely applied when a male‑led film fails.

“The success of any picture depends on its story, direction, screenplay, music, marketing and many other factors,” she explained. “To blame the lead actress or to claim that women’s cinema is inherently less appealing is a reductionist view.”

She cited the successful careers of Kangana Ranaut, Taapsee Pannu, Vidya Balan and Alia Bhatt as evidence that women can headline hits without male co‑stars. Likewise, she reminded that numerous male stars have also seen their films flop, demonstrating that box‑office performance is not gender‑specific.

Shom also criticized the persistent use of qualifiers such as “female director” or “female producer,” highlighting that the industry never prefixes “male” before a man’s title. She advocated for a shift to gender‑neutral terminology – simply “director,” “producer,” or “actor” – mirroring practices in many other nations.

According to Shom, credit and accountability for any film belong to the entire production team and the viewing public, not to a single gender group.

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