Often when the characters of maids are shown in Hindi films or web series, their complexion is always dull and dark. This set standard still does not seem to be broken. Know, which actresses have played such roles of maids on screen.
Have you ever noticed that no matter how big the companies making Hindi films and Hindi web series are, their thinking about the maids working in the houses is the same, usually so small that they see all ‘maids’ as dark-skinned and size zero. Casting directors also have a set standard to play these characters, there are only 10-12 selected dark actresses and after going around, the first call for such roles comes to them. And, the icing on the cake is that once an actress has played such a character, then she has to go through a lot of trouble to get another character in another film or series. Let us introduce you to some such strong actresses who play the role of domestic helpers in recent years but only one of these actors was fair skinned
Monsoon Wedding- Tillotama Shome (2001)
Tillotama Shome started her career with the film ‘Monsoon Wedding’. The director of this film is Mira Nair. She plays the role of a maid named Alisa in this film, who falls in love with a wedding planner named Dubey (Vijay Raj) while searching for her dreams and existence in the glitz of a Punjabi wedding. A different story of her character is shown in this film. This film, directed by Mira Nair, has beautifully described human emotions in society. Alisa’s role as this maid was highly appreciated.
Nimisha Sajayan – Dabba Cartel (2025)
From the time Shonali Bose was directing Excel Entertainment’s series ‘Dabba Cartel’ to now when the series was released under the direction of Hitesh Mehta, the only character whose description the casting directors kept the same is that of the maid involved in this dabba gang. This role has been given to Nimisha Sajayan. She is playing the role of a maid. She has played the character very seriously and she could have been praised too, but for a typed character, the typed colour, look and dialect made the series and her character weak.
Lust Stories 2 – Amrita Subhash (2023)
The series ‘Lust Stories’, made by Karan Johar’s company Dharma Entertainment for Netflix, shows four stories, one of which is ‘The Mirror’. In this story directed by Konkona Sen Sharma, Amrita Subhash plays the role of a domestic help, who not only works but also uses her mistress’s (Ishita) bed to have sex with her husband when she is not at home. Seema’s own house is small, there are children there too, so she faces difficulty in doing all this there. When the mistress comes to know about this, she uses it to satisfy her sexual desires. Amrita Subhash’s acting here is not as effective as it usually is, but her casting as a domestic help seems to be the result of the same thinking under which these roles are given to actresses of a particular colour, look, height and figure.
Sir- Tillotama Shome (2018)
Sir is a unique story that explores relationships and social discrimination. The film stars Tillotama Shome and Vivek Gomber. Tillotama plays the role of a domestic maid named Ratna, who wants to live her dreams but is bound in the chains of society. In this film, architect Ashwin, who has returned from America, falls in love with his widowed maid Ratna, who dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Director Rohen Gera has brilliantly portrayed the emotional relationship between the servant and the master in this film. Tillotama also received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for playing the lead role of a domestic maid in this film, but after this, she had a line of such roles. And, this film also came to Tillotama probably because of her film ‘Monsoon Wedding’.
Ajeeb Dastaan - Nushrratt Bharuccha (2021)
This one film definitely tried to break the cliche of domestic help because here this role was given to the powerful actress Nushrratt Bharuccha. Minal is shown here as a street-smart domestic maid who lives in the slums with her younger sister Binni. She tried to put her heart and soul into this role and her character, who tries to build a bridge with the mentality of rich families while living amid the mentality of small settlements, was also very effective in this film.
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