How leading roles for women in Bollywood have evolved over the years

In its almost 70-decade long history, Bollywood has seen the female lead take on many forms, from the sacrificing mother, whimpering damsel in distress, to a woman in charge of her own destiny. But the one thing that becomes clear when you set out to chart the evolution of women in Bollywood is the role of the viewers’ gaze, which in turn has informed by a variety of factors, including politics, socio-economic structure of the society at that particular time, and evolution of culture.

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