Kitu Gidwani has spent over four decades in Hindi film and television, giving her a front-row view of the industry’s transformation. Despite this long journey, she doesn’t shy away from calling out its flaws, especially regarding royalties, intellectual property rights, and the lack of substantial roles for older actresses. In a candid conversation, she compared how the West handles these very issues.

Kitu Gidwani calls Bollywood “not a real industry”

In a conversation with Screen, Kitu Gidwani touched upon the ongoing battle several musicians have waged over unpaid royalties, noting that actors grapple with the very same issue. Kitu said, “Bollywood is not a real industry; it’s a cottage industry. It’s a fake industry; it goes by its own vague rules. There is nothing like Hollywood’s Screen Actors Guild in India. I should have been able to work for 10 years and then live off my royalties for the next ten years, not slog for 40 years. Intellectual property rights and creative rights are zero in India. You don’t have rights over your work. The producer gives you and the director a one-time fee, and then he can do what he wants with the property. It’s not like that anywhere in the world.”

Kitu Gidwani slams lack of powerful roles for older women

Aside from the royalties debate, Kitu also didn’t hold back on how the industry writes, or fails to write, roles for older women. “My grouse against the industry is that older women are not getting powerful roles. We don’t want to play the generic mother or maasi. We want to play good, enduring roles with sex, love, power, comedy, and action. In daily soaps, once a woman hits 30, she becomes a daadi. She has no signs of aging on her face, but she gets such roles. This industry is very bizarre.”

Kitu Gidwani compares India’s system to the West’s

Gidwani’s comments highlight a stark contrast between how things work in India versus the West. Over there, actors have the backing of unions like SAG-AFTRA, while writers and directors are protected by the WGA and DGA respectively. Thanks to these unions, structured systems exist to ensure residual payments whenever a show gets re-aired after its original telecast. Reruns sold to local TV channels come with payouts based on a fixed-percentage formula, while residuals for shows licensed to major OTT platforms usually hinge on the specifics of the deal.