Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Tahira Kashyap launch cinema collective Indian Women Rising
Film producers Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and author-director Tahira Kashyap have joined hands to launch Indian Women Rising (IWR), a cinema collective to support and empower Indian female talent in the film industry. Spearheaded by Kapoor, Monga and Kashyap, the initiative is aimed at discovering, nurturing and bringing spotlight on Indian women in cinema across the world. IWR has been launched with the sole purpose of disrupting the status quo and amplifying the voice of Indian female filmmakers.
Kapoor said when Guneet and Tahira told her about the idea of launching this collective, she instantly agreed to it.
"It is always exciting to collaborate with like-minded individuals. I have always believed that women create wonders when given the right opportunity and the support. Through IWR, our vision is to do that and empower independent women filmmakers and creators and give them a platform to showcase their talent. We are hopeful that our collective will encourage more female directors to come forward with their work and lead the way in our industry," Kapoor said in a statement.
She also took to her Instagram and wrote "Indian Women Rising - A Cinema Collective Of - By - For Women! With an endeavour to bring forth the unseen and unheard stories by imperative women creators of India, we present to you, @indianwomenrising, because when YOU shine, WE shine! Let’s rise, together! #IndianWomenRising #IWR @guneetmonga @tahirakashyap"
Monga noted that less than five per cent of the directors in India are females and she believes it is about time to bring a change in the industry.
"I strongly believe that India is a gold mine of talent and with this collective we wish to shine the spotlight on many amazing women that can benefit from our humble support. The intent is to use our collective resources to amplify independent women creators," the producer added.
Kashyap said representation of women and their stories has been traditionally limited in cinema and Indian Women Rising aims to bridge this disparity.
"Either we have revolutionaries on one end of the spectrum or tragedy stricken damsels on the other extreme end. I mean we can be all of that but there is so much more to us.
"Our bandwidth is broader than the general assumption which perhaps will surface if we have more women working not just in front of the camera but behind as well. This collective intends to disrupt the boxed notions about women," she added.
