Exploitation of Girls in the Film Industry

Jiah Khan's death on June 3, 2013, at 25, put an uncomfortable question back on the front pages: what happens to the young women who arrive in Mumbai with Bollywood dreams? Within weeks, a filmmaker announced he was turning that question into a movie.

What is Bold Bollywood about?

Debutant director Rikshhit Matta's film Bold Bollywood follows three young women who come to Mumbai to build acting careers. Matta said media reports around Khan's death had moved him, and that one of his film's characters resembled her — a sincere attempt, he said, to expose the underbelly of the film fraternity. The film is produced by Shabana Hashmi under the Zahara Productions banner, with a cast including Hazel Keech, Sandeepa Dhar and Shweta Bhardwaj.

Has cinema ever turned the camera on itself before?

Yes, and that is the uncomfortable part. Priyanka Chopra's Fashion (2008) and Kareena Kapoor's Heroine (2012) both dramatized how the industry consumes young women. Everyone watched. Nothing changed. Year after year, thousands of newcomers still arrive, and only a handful ever get a foothold. An industry built on looks keeps the supply of hopefuls far larger than the demand — and that imbalance is where the exploitation breeds.

Why does it keep happening?

The pattern is bigger than one industry. Film industries everywhere have a long history of sidelining women on screen and off, even as other fields — medicine, law, sports — have opened up. The "item number" became a commercial formula; strong women-led films like Kahani (2012) were exceptions that proved how rare the rule was. And in Bollywood's own private conversations, veteran insiders have long admitted they would not want their daughters in the business — which tells you everything about what the insiders know.

What can families actually do?

The hard truth is that parents cannot choose their children's careers. But they can choose how the door is opened: researched, gradual, and with an exit plan. A newcomer who arrives with skills beyond acting, a financial cushion, and family who visits the sets is far harder to exploit than one who arrives with nothing but a dream. Talent matters. So does having somewhere to go back to.

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available — in India, the iCall helpline (9152987821) offers free counseling.