Meet actress who made her debut with a superstar, was slapped by director on the set, thrown out of many films, she is..

This Award-winning actress highlights that deeply rooted gender biases in place of market value are the foremost reasons for the less than-representation of females in cinema—both in the narratives created and in production roles.

In an industry where 90% of films flop on the box place of job, she questions the notion that male actors are inherently more bankable than their female counterparts. “What then prevents you from telling stories centered around females and transgender individuals?” she emphasizes, shining a lightweight on the gender disparities in filmmaking.

Padmapriya, who has made her mark in films across seven languages, began her journey in the Malayalam industry with Kaazhcha (2004) alongside the legendary Mammootty. On Tuesday, she delivered the third MR Narayana Kurup Memorial Lecture at Government College, Madappally, near Vadakara.

Reflecting on her own experiences, Padmapriya remarked that once a lady addresses issues, she often becomes the foremost target of controversy. She recounted an incident at some point of the filming of the Tamil movie Mirugam (2007), where director Samy slapped her on the last day of production, claiming she “did no longer emote” adequately. After bringing the matter to the eye of industry organizations, she faced a backlash that cost her several promised roles. “For an extremely long time, I believed I used to be once the issue,” she admitted. Alternatively, her outstanding performance in Mirugam, where she portrayed a tomboy who changes her violent husband, in the pinnacle earned her the Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actress.

Drawing from academic research, she highlighted a tremendous disparity in how male and female characters are represented in films. “Characters with agency—like executives, militia officers, lawyers, and gangsters—are predominantly male, while females are often depicted as beautiful young girls, heartbroken individuals, or dancers,” she explained.

She emphasized that the subjugation of females extends beyond cinema; it permeates all aspects of society and ought to be challenged on every front. “We should always consistently address gender bias and strive for greater representation of females,” she urged the target audience. “If we ignore micro-aggressions, they will inevitably resurface and result in greater harm.”