International Women's Day: Small screen sheroes who were harbingers of social change

In the golden era of Doordarshan, director Basu Chatterjee gave audiences a firebrand, feisty homemaker who took on corruption, red tape, government laxities, price rises, inept policing, and much more. Starring the late Priya Tendulkar in the title role, this 1985 classic is still remembered for giving us Indian television's first woman change maker whose passion for social justice sparked conversations in living rooms and inspired people to raise their voices against all that was ailing society.

With ratings that reportedly surged to about 94 percent in July 1985, the show was both a critical and popular success and one episode even featured a yet-to-be-discovered star, Shah Rukh Khan.

If there was one show that way ahead of its time – it is writer Vinita Nanda’s world of Tara – a young woman who navigates life with her friends, breaking stereotypes, building relationships, challenging norms; all at the same time. Tara from the show was played by Navneet Nishan, who became a household name with her powerful performance as a woman who dreamed of getting it all. 

Directed by Raman Kumar, Tara follows the lives of four friends, their lives set in urban spaces and how they dealt with friendships, love, ambition and secrets. 
 

Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon or I (A Woman) Can Achieve Anything was created by Population Foundation of India in synergy with the National Adolescent Health program, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. At its heart is the passionately committed Doctor Sneha Mathur (Meinal Vaishnav) who fearlessly disseminates information about taboo subjects like family planning, Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) and takes on social ills like domestic violence, child marriage, sanitation, and more.

Not surprisingly, its three seasons on Doordarshan reached a viewership of over 150 million. It is now available on YouTube.

The recent demise of the pioneering writer, director, and actor Kavita Chaudhary brought back into focus the first-ever television show that introduced a woman in uniform to the audiences in India. The year was 1989, the show was Udaan in which Kavita played Kalyani Singh, a profoundly inspirational female character modeled on her sister IPS Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya who was the first woman to become the Director General of Police in a state. The journey of Kalyani Singh was credited with inspiring a large number of women to join the Civil  Services. In the span of just 13 episodes, we saw how a young woman, tired of systematic oppression, gender discrimination, corruption, and social inequities, decides to transform herself from a supplicant to a powerful IPS officer.  

The precursor of shows like Delhi Crime and Dahaad, Udaan remains an iconic story about a woman who chose never to give in or give up.

Neena Gupta as Priya in Saans made way for emotionally strong protagonists, who while dealing with difficult circumstances at home, knew what they wanted and worked towards it. An indian Tv show written and directed by actress Neena Gupta premiered on Star Plus in 1998. The story focused on the accidental love triangle between the characters Priya, Gautam, and Manisha. 

A modern take on adultery, relationships and broken marriages, Saans was a breath of fresh air for the TV audiences at the time.