Media consulting firm, Ormax Media, and entertainment platform, Film Companion announced the launch of the second edition of their initiative on female representation in the Indian entertainment industry, titled O Womaniya! Releasing in June this year, the O Womaniya! 2022 edition will be the first female representation report to witness industry-wide collaboration and receive support from multiple entities. It is supported by the Producers Guild of India, Active Telugu Film Producers Guild, Amazon Prime Video, ZEE5, Voot, hoichoi and SonyLIV.
Launched in 2021, O Womaniya! is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at starting conversations and enabling change in how women are represented and perceived in the Indian entertainment business. The idea behind the initiative is to move the needle from intention to action as well as evaluate practices in the industry to minimize and disrupt biases.
The 2021 edition of the report focused only on films released in 2020, but the 2022 edition will also cover the streaming category extensively, analysing major digital-series and direct-to-OTT films, along with theatrical films, released in 2021, across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam entertainment industries. Additionally, the current edition will also analyse female representation in the boardrooms of the top media and entertainment companies in India, and how the industry can work towards creating a nurturing environment that helps women grow into leadership roles.
Speaking about the second edition of the report, Anupama Chopra, Founder & Editor, Film Companion, said: “I believe that cinema can shape the world. Which is why inclusivity and diversity is paramount. O Womaniya! is our attempt to push the needle to move faster. We hope that data will trigger conversation, which will trigger change. We are happy to collaborate with industry bodies like the Producers Guild of India and Active Telugu Film Producers Guild, and streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, an important part of India’s rapidly evolving creative ecosystem, to take this conversation forward meaningfully. With multiple industry players joining hands with us for the second edition of O Womaniya! we believe we are moving the needle, slowly but significantly on this important subject.”
Speaking on the expanded scope of analysis, Shailesh Kapoor, Founder & CEO, Ormax Media, said: “With every edition, we want to expand the ambition of this report, such as covering digital series this time. But the section of the 2022 report that I’m keenly looking forward to is on the representation of women in the senior management of Indian entertainment companies. These are the decision-makers who have the ability to shape the industry’s future, and hence, the analysis must start from the top.”
To enable a deeper socio-cultural analysis of the findings, the O Womaniya! initiative has associated with renowned gender expert, Sunitha Rangaswami, Independent Consultant – Gender and Women’s Economic Empowerment. Speaking about her association with the report, Sunitha said: “The previous report highlighted how we are missing a trick on promoting gender equality in the Indian Entertainment industry. I see this report more as a provocation (catalyst) on how each of us can engage in charting new pathways – through small actions and big – to make change possible. And motivate Indian entertainment companies to adopt a whole new gender paradigm in sync with the times we live in. The audience is ready for it…. are we?”
On the corporate side, the report will ask some hard questions on creating equitable opportunities and supportive environment, while on the creative side it will take a deep dive into the type of content being created, how women are being profiled in it and how it is being marketed. The report will employ various qualitative and quantitative methods including trailer talk time, Bechdel Test and more to report the findings.