Veteran actress and filmmaker Renuka Shahane has voiced her disappointment with the current state of television content, calling out its repetitive and regressive portrayal of women.In a recent interaction with IANS, Shahane revealed that while she regularly receives offers for television roles, the nature of the content often keeps her from accepting them.
The 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun'..! actress highlighted a recurring trend in TV plots, particularly the stereotypical conflict between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. When asked if she still receives offers from television and whether they include any special kinds of roles, Renuka stated, “I do get offers very regularly for television, but unfortunately television today is just full of daily soaps and it's not possible for me to manage my home, my writing direction, and my acting and then, you know, kind of balance that, and unfortunately most of the stories on television today are very regressive.”
“They show women in a very regressive manner even if, on the face of it, it's about something that is, you know, talking about women of substance or this, that, and the other. it's the same thing over and over again, and I've got offers where I've been told that, oh, you're the mother-in-law and you don't get along with your daughter-in-law and I said I don't even want to hear beyond this because let's go beyond.”
The veteran actress went on to point out, “There are so many shades of mothers-in-law, so many shades of daughters-in-law, and they're all you know women are doing so many things today, and none of that is reflected on our television, which is unfortunate because there was a time when television was a potent way of social change and progressiveness, and that I don't think, I think it's given up that aspect, and I think that aspect has been taken over by films, web series, and, you know, short films.”
On the professional front, Renuka Shahane’s third project as a director, a Marathi animated short titled “Loop Line,” is all set to be showcased at the 2025 New York Indian Film Festival. Scheduled for screening on June 21, the film delves into the neglect and emotional struggles often endured by Indian housewives within rigid, patriarchal family structures.