I started out to write this book on my own but the research involved was so daunting that I sought the help of two wonderful writers’ authors Jigna Kothari and Supriya Madangiri. We began brainstorming and enjoyed each other’s company so much that we decided to write the book jointly.
Jigna and Supriya have done many creative projects in partnership but this was my first experience as a co-author and there was not a trace of conflict amongst us from the first meeting to the final draft of the book. The only time we argued was when we could not agree on the title of the book but when one of us came up with Mother Maiden Mistress we collectively cheered and screamed Yes!
The book is a guide, an archive and an interesting study, the book documents and reviews the significant women characters – the mythical, the stereotypical, the rebel, the avant-garde and the contemporary – over a period of six decades.
It is a chronicle of the journey through different eras and ethos, where seemingly the more things have changed, the more they have remained the same.
Placing the characters in the social milieu of that particular decade, the book gives contemporary readers a nuanced understanding of the subject and the history of the nation and of Hindi cinema. It also connects the characters with the directors of the films and records how these images were also inflected by the costumes