IIFA 2025: Madhuri Dixit and Guneet Monga on ageism, gender disparity and pay gap

Madhuri Dixit and Guneet Monga
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

At the ongoing IIFA awards in Jaipur, veteran actor Madhuri Dixit and Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga sat down for a free-wheeling chat about the evolution of women in Indian cinema. Apart from sharing their personal stories on how it was to make it to the top in a male-dominated industry, the personalities also shared their thoughts on topics like gender disparity, the pay gap, and more.

Defining changes in the world of cinema

Madhuri Dixit: There used to be a time when the only women in a set would be me, my co-actors and hairdressers. There were no women in other departments and we had very few women directors; Sai Paranjpye is the only name I knew back then. When I came back, it was heartening to see women in all departments.

The personal impact of cinema

Madhuri Dixit: I often get asked how life was before I got married but I was working multiple shifts back then. I started living my life after getting married and having kids. I have a wonderful partner and we share a lot of things apart from cinema. All of life experiences make you a better actor and that’s what I felt when I came back.

Initial challenges

Guneet Monga: I come from a very humble Delhi family and we used to live in a Rs 5000 a month rented house in Faridabad. I moved to Mumbai just to become a producer. The idea was to fall in love with stories, find the money and the actors, make the film, release it, distribute it and take it to the world. I’m glad I was able to do it with films like Gangs of Wasseypur, The Lunchbox, Masaan, Pagglait, Kathal and recently Kill.

Something I definitely faced was ageism. As a 21-year-old, I had troubles finding people who would fund my movies. Being a woman was never something that I thought was a problem. Years later and thanks to the #MeToo movement, I learnt terms like gaslighting. Discrimination is not my problem, it’s somebody else’s problem that they don’t want to talk to me. I just wanted the job to be done. I remember colouring my hair white, and wearing sarees and spectacles when I was 26 just trying to push.

The plight of independent cinema

Guneet Monga: Nobody cares about the independent; because of lack of access, we don’t know our limits. What we believe is in the power of asking. With indie, you don’t care about the rules of the business. The space gave me the opportunity to work with incredible actors, great crew and a lot of first-time directors. Commercial cinema is bonded with its rules and to do indie films feel liberating. Anora winning at the Oscars is a celebration of independent cinema. It’s the era of such cinema.

Madhuri Dixit and Guneet Monga
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

To get more women to take up this profession

Guneet Monga: We live in an echo chamber filled with great work partners, aware and evolved men. There’s a world past this that’s not as empowered which we need to hold hands with and encompass. Be it Pagglait, Kathal or even Soorarai Pottru, many films are female-led and these films have wonderful women characters; even a testosterone-heavy film like Kill did.

Stats tell us that less than three per cent of filmmakers are female directors and in crew members, the number is about nine per cent. What’s more disturbing is how they opt for female cinematographers when the film’s budget is less. The craft is the same and it evolves with more opportunities. I think we all are born in patriarchy and we are learning feminism every day. This isn’t officially announced yet but we are building Women in Film India that’s funded by the Gates Foundation and Women in Film LA to set up the space and skill development plans. We need to double down on more women HODs and have more women’s perspectives as well as be aware of how women are shown on screen as that defines pop culture. The onus of paving the way for women should not be just on women.

From the pioneers to next-gen

Madhuri Dixit: In a way, we also created the path for them and I need to keep pushing the envelope on the kind of roles I pick. When I did films like Pukar (2000) or Mrityudand (1997), people were against the idea of it as I was a commercial actor. I felt if I didn’t try different roles and do strong women characters, maybe no one else would get the inspiration to do the same. If I’m successful then I could pave the way for other women to demand meatier roles.

Guneet Monga: I think we have to believe that we are not competitors but companions. The way we talk about each other in rooms we are not there defines who we are. So celebrate each other!

Please mind the pay gap

Madhuri Dixit: Women are made to prove every single time that we can draw an audience. But there’s still a disparity. It comes down to pushing the envelope a little every time and it’s like baby steps. We still have a long way to go and we have to work every day towards that.

Guneet Monga: Barbie last year and Stree 2 proved that there are full possibilities of breaking the box office.

Madhuri Dixit: When I did Raja (1995), people said it should have been called Rani and when I did Beta (1992) they said it should’ve been Beti. But they are all mere words. When will that actually happen is the question. It happened to me once in my career but if it’s a regular thing is a different question.

Guneet Monga: It comes down to doing more and taking more chances. There’s clearly a pay gap. Stree 2 is such a huge hit and there’s so much power in doing something similar. If we have more such examples over the years, I believe it will become the norm.