While Jyotika struck a fine balance between content-driven films and commercial cinemas in the early stages of her career, after her comeback she has consciously stuck to women-centric scripts like 36 Vayadhinile and Magalir Mattum. “I got a lot of offers but I wanted to do movies like this because for me money isn’t a criterion anymore. I am a mother and a wife and I have a family to manage. But yes, I want to do films like these because it’s important to show powerful and independent female characters. Our production 2D Entertainment has consciously made it a point to support such scripts,” she said in a statement.
However, she says there is a dearth of such roles. “But I am happy that Nayanthara is choosing women-centric stories. Back then, Simran, Laila, Sneha and Meera Jasmine made the best use of the limited good roles we were offered,” she candidly remarks.
She adds, “But you don’t see roles being written for them now. Actresses are utilized only until they turn 27 or 28. Beyond that, they’re relegated to doing insignificant roles. It’s very unfair. We need to have strong roles being written for female artists and portray them like regular girls and working women. Filmmakers need to stop clinging on to the idea that the audience will not watch a married actress playing the lead. The audience will watch and be influenced by what you offer them. It is also the responsibility of the lead actors to carefully choose their work and make it a point to ensure their female counterparts are treated with dignity. Because we as artists need to be responsible. Millions of people get influenced by what they see on the big screen. If you show a lead actor hitting a woman or cheating on a girl, the youth will think it’s okay to do it. We need to be careful of what we choose to show the future generation.”