The Indian movie industry has changed a lot over the years and it won’t be wrong to say that the advent of digital platforms has played an important role in bringing these new changes. Earlier, the majority of the movies used to be male-centric and actresses were roped in just for romance, singing songs in rain and shedding some tears in emotional scenes but nowadays we get to see many women-centric movies and web series and the good part is that the audiences are also interested in watching them.
In the older times, when an actress used to cross the age of 32-35 yrs or got married, her career was considered to be finished but now, there is no such criterion and actresses are playing lead roles even in their 40s and 50s.
The actress Madhoo Shah who made her debut in Bollywood in 1991 with “Phool Aur Kaante” opposite Ajay Devgn recently attended an event in which she talked about her journey in the film industry and also told why she chose to quit the industry when she was at the peak of her career.
Madhoo stated that in the 90s, the industry was dominated by action movies and heroes and heroines didn’t have much to do other than dancing, saying some romantic lines and crying with parents. She said that though she loved dancing yet after doing a solid role in “Roja”, she felt that she is not happy working in male-centric movies and her true passion is in being an artist and doing some meaningful acting roles.
Madhoo Shah added that she was having a feeling of dissatisfaction after working for 9-10 years and when she realized that she wanted to start a new phase of life by getting married, she chose to quit the industry and she wrote a letter to the industry people telling them about her decision to quit. Madhoo added that at that time, there was a sense of arrogance in her because of which she felt that the industry did not deserve her. However, she also said that somewhere in her heart she always knew that she wanted to achieve more in her career.
Talking about ageism in Bollywood, she says that she is not at all interested in playing the role of mother of the lead actor and she stated this by referring to Ajay Devgn as they both debuted at the same time and are of the same age.
She also says that she is happy that the industry is changing now in a positive manner. Madhoo also talked about actress Tabu who played lead roles in some recent movies opposite Ajay Devgn.
What do you think of the changes that have come in the movie industry over the years? Do let us know.