Portrayal of Women Characters in OTT Platforms: A Gendered Analysis

Abstract

Use of digital platforms accelerated in India much later than the west but gained prominence in a much shorter span of time, transcending various metrics in the world of digitization. The portrayal of women in cinema has always been a point of contention. The participation, performance and portrayal of women through the male gaze has raised questions of concerns time and again. With the advent of streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, Zee5 and many others streaming services, along with their original content, web series culture in India is seen as a fresh way of narrating women’s stories, showcasing their realities. The emergence of OTT platforms has been able to break gender stereotype notions and have presented a new and refreshing way of presenting women characters and their stories. Women have struggled to find a space for themselves in every field and cinema has been no different. This paper has analysed some of the women-centric web series and parallel cinema through a gendered lens.