Portrayal of Sex Workers in Hindi Cinema

Abstract: This paper will study the different aspects in which prostitution has been portrayed in the Indian cinema. Bollywood has mostly been infamous in its portrayal of women characters in general. There is primarily a stereotypical, misogynistic outlook in the way female prostitutes are perceived in art, whether it be literature or cinema. Along with this, there has been an overt romanticisation of female prostitutes over the decades. This paper is an attempt to portray the different aspects of prostitution as reflected in the journey of Hindi cinema from as early as the 1950s. The criteria of analysis for this paper will majorly be two dimensional. Firstly, to contrast movies from different eras;from black and white movies such as Pyaasa1957 to movies as modern as Gangubai Kathiawadi2022. The motive to inculcate this criteria is to highlight the slight evolution in the representation of female prostitutes; from the continuous trope of ‘damsel in distress’ who has a heart of gold to the girlboss of modern Indian cinema.