Present day actresses used for "glam quotient and sizzling item numbers", complains Sudhir Mishra

Director Sudhir Mishra is such a name in the history of Bollywood with whom we can identify strong women characters in his films likeHazaaron Khwaishein Aisi,DharaviandChameli. But the eminent filmmaker holds a strong grudge in his mind that the present industry is not in hunt of actual talent but actresses are displayed on screen for "glam quotient and sizzling item numbers" only.

At the Centenary Film Festival while talking about the 'Depiction of Women', theInkaarhelmer regretted, "I really miss those days when directors like Guru Dutt, Satyajit Ray and Vijay Anand used to select actresses on the basis of their talent. But, today, we look for actresses in models. They have the glam quotient and film's budget being managed by their sizzling item numbers.” He also shared his feelings that the women characters of the 80s and 90s have faced degradation since the film industry became entirely commercialised by the trading companies. According to Mishra, "Hindi cinema has been showing strong women characters since 1950.’Guide' and 'Mughal-E-Azam' are the best examples of films of that era.” He further stated, "But, the retardation of women took place when trader companies took over the cinema in. But parallel cinema didn't change its track and filmmaker like Shyam Benegal used his actresses as a strong character in his films.”

The critically acclaimed director, who started his journey as an assistant director and scriptwriter in KundanShah's comedy classicJaane Bhi Do Yaaron, forayed into the direction job with serious issue-based films. He also thanked his upbringing in helping him understand the importance of women, as told by Mishra, "My upbringing helped me to portray women in a strong light. I was very much attached to my mother and grandmother and I have seen how they used to balance everything in our house. That inspired me always to show women stronger in my scripts.”