I've experienced discrimination: Actor Gouri Kishan on cinema's gender problem

Actor Gouri Kishan spoke candidly about patriarchy, misogyny and the lack of agency women continue to experience in the film industry while speaking at the India Today Roundtable Keralam on Wednesday. Appearing as part of the Sthree Shakti panel alongside IUML MLA Fathima Thahiliya and Panchayat Secretary Gouri R Lalji, Gouri acknowledged Keralam’s reputation as a progressive state but said that progress cannot be discussed without confronting the patriarchal attitudes that remain deeply ingrained.

“Keralam is one of the most progressive states, but I don't think we can forget the patriarchy that's still evident. It doesn't change overnight. These are ingrained social conditioning and that's just how our generation was brought up. That sort of takes time, and it's just how it gets trickled down to each generation,” she said.Patriarchy across generations

Gouri stressed that these attitudes are not restricted to older generations. “It's not just the old generation. There are men who I meet from the industry who are still backward. Even my father and grandfather wouldn't have an issue with it. You'd think youngsters are woke and progressive, but I don't think so,” she said, before adding, “There's a Malayali men sort of an attitude. I don't know how to explain it.”

She said this mindset is particularly visible in the way women’s presence and achievements are treated. “The misogyny is still there – that we're letting you do it, we're allowing you to. They don't understand that nobody is doing anyone a favour here. Women are equally, if not more, able and capable of performing in every line of work. In my industry, I've seen it still exist,” she explained.

Speaking from personal experience, Gouri said discrimination often extends beyond representation to the question of whether women are actually given a voice in professional spaces.

“I've experienced that kind of discrimination. But, representation aside, how much agency do we have? In most rooms, I feel invisible? I don't know if its a mindset thing or a conscious choice,” she said.

She described herself as privileged to have grown up in a city and received a good education, but said that even that has not insulated her from dismissive attitudes.

“I consider myself privileged, as I have been brought up in a city that had the best education. But everything you do, sometimes people think women don't have a brain. There are rooms where you are given eye contact,” she said.

She said it took her time to recognise and respond to such behaviour. “Initially, it took me time to see through it. Now, maybe it's unsolicited. If it's something that I am not able to keep to myself, I say it. And when I do, there are women who'll look down the floor,” she added.

Gouri then recalled a recent incident that made her realise how visible such reactions can be.

“Very recently, I was in a similar situation. My co-actor came to me and asked if I noticed how everyone looked down on the floor when I spoke out. I asked, ‘Do you think I didn't see that?’ As women, we're used to just being brushed aside. But, I think we need to fight that," she said.

She said her own response to such moments has changed with time. “The old 'me' would have felt alone thinking about how people don't want to listen to you,” she said.Women behind the camera

The actor also questioned how genuinely women are involved in filmmaking, arguing that having a woman at the centre of a story does not automatically mean women have agency behind the scenes.

“There are projects where people might not be included. There are films where you're so involved in. But, how many times are you consulted, or how do they make you feel involved? It could be a women-centric film. If there are no women on the set, then there's a male gaze situation happening,” she said.

For Gouri, the lack of women behind the camera remains another pressing issue.

“I think we've ignored it for far too long. Women are visibly present in the industry. But, behind the camera, there are few," added Gouri.

She recalled an incident involving a woman working in the camera department on a recent film.

“In a recent film I was working on, there was an assistant camerawoman. She felt relieved to see another woman on the film set. Being the associate camera person, she was ordering around. But, after a while, the 'boomer' 60-year-olds couldn't take it and said she was being too arrogant. She was just doing her job," said the 27-year-old.

Gouri said the situation was made worse by the tendency to sexualise women in professional spaces.

“Sadly enough, being a part of the industry, the talkers bring a sexualised context to pin you down.”

She added that the woman was supported by a senior colleague. “Being a technician who is a woman, it's even difficult. Thankfully, the senior camera person, who is a 70-year-old progressive man, stood for her,” she said.The need for collective change

Gouri also called for men to take an active role in changing these attitudes, saying the responsibility cannot continue to fall on women alone.

“Men should take equal part in dismantling the mindset because we have been carrying this burden for far too long. There's a lot of unlearning and undoing that needs to happen. We should do it together.”

She was clear that the conversation should not become a gender battle.

“It's not a man vs woman debate. It's about access to equal opportunity and not letting my gender be a prerequisite to box me.”Challenging the image of the ‘perfect’ woman

The actor also spoke about the way women are portrayed in Malayalam cinema, contrasting the industry’s characters with what she sees as the restrictive expectations placed on female characters elsewhere.

Having worked across Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema, she said, “But, in Malayalam films, women characters are real. I have done films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Even when I see Bollywood films, the characters in Malayalam cinema are raw.”

She questioned why women on screen are so often expected to be perfect.

“Most characters in the film who are women are too perfect. Why can't women be flawed? The policing is still high,” she said.

Ultimately, Gouri said the restrictions extend beyond the industry and into the way women themselves are conditioned to think about the roles they can take on.

“Today, I love a story because of a character. But, at the back of the mind my mother would say that if you do this character, you'd be branded a certain way. But, a man won't have that problem,” she said.- EndsPublished By: K JananiPublished On: Sep 17, 2026 12:57 IST