Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya has belted out some of the biggest romance and family dramas in Bollywood. He last directed the Salman Khan and Sonam Kapoor starrer ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo‘ in 2015, before going on to work on television series and the buddy adventure film ‘Uunchai’. In his latest interview, the director and producer shared his thoughts on making films for a new audience.

Sooraj Barjatya on the depiction of women onscreen

Talking about how storytelling has grown, Barjatya said in an interview with Hindustan Times, that stories centred only around women being limited to household duties no longer reflect today’s reality. Opening up about the changing role of women in society, he shared that today’s audience may not connect with a film like his 1994 hit ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!’ because society and the roles of women have evolved significantly since then. He believes cinema now needs to present women in stronger and more independent roles that match modern times.

The changing role of women in cinema

The ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Paiyo’ director, who is known for making films based on traditional family values, said that many of his movies in the 1990s showed women mainly as homemakers.Shedding light on how times have changed and how today’s women are more career-focused and independent, he said that this shift is also visible in modern films, where female characters are written with more depth, ambition and individuality compared to earlier decades.The filmmaker explained, “Where stories are concerned, agar main aaj bhi sochoon ki ghar pe baithengi ladies (if I think that the women will sit at home), that is over. You cannot make a ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’ where everybody lives together, because it’s not possible today. But the values remain the same.”Barjatya also noted the transformation of his film sets, saying, “My sets have more women than men today. This is a big change. When I started, the only women (on set) were the actresses, their mothers, and hairdressers.”He said that having more women on set has a difference in the creative process. “The energies are different. The way to look into a scene is different. We never used to pay so much attention to costumes and production design. The number of kitchen sets and temples I have put on screen that no one else has. That is where women come in with new ideas.”