Raveena Tandon says women in Bollywood comedies are reduced to glamorous catalysts: 'Heroine comic tracks have shrunk'

Raveena Tandon has addressed the diminishing role of heroines in doing comedy in Bollywood comic capers.

In the 90s, Raveena Tandon starred in some of the most iconic comedies of Hindi cinema, be it Dulhe Raja, Pardesi Babu, or Andaz Apna Apna. The actor returned to the genre with Welcome to the Jungle, the multi-starrer that released in theatres last week. However, as the film receives criticism for not giving many of its female characters much to do, Raveena has admitted that female actors have been reduced to ‘glamorous catalysts’ in Bollywood comedies.

Raveena Tandon with Disha Patani and Jacqueline Fernandez on the sets of Welcome to the Jungle.

Raveena Tandon on women in comedies

In an interaction with PTI, Raveena spoke about how Sridevi paved the way for female stars in comedy, calling her the ultimate "gold standard" for female comic performances in Indian cinema. “What she did in Mr India, the whole Hawa Hawai sequence, Charlie Chaplin act and Chaal Baaz was sheer genius. She proved that a mainstream, gorgeous heroine could twist her face, be utterly goofy, do slapstick, and still look absolutely mesmerising,” Raveena said. The actor also praised Juhi Chawla’s comic timing and the incredible ‘witty spark’ of yesteryear heroines like Geeta Bali and Madhubala.

However, she then admitted, “The space has changed, and frankly, we've lost some of that organic playground we had in the 90s. Today, comedy films have become highly structured and heavily plot-driven, or they are huge ensembles. In the process, the heroine comic tracks have shrunk.”

Raveena lamented that heroines are no longer ‘full-fledged’ comedians in films, like they used to be a couple of decades ago. “Today's girls are incredibly sharp, polished, and have fantastic timing, but the scripts often confine them to being glamorous catalyst characters rather than full-fledged comedic dynamos. We need writers to intentionally create flawed, chaotic, and downright hilarious female protagonists without worrying about making them look perfect or politically correct all the time,” the actor added.

Raveena in Welcome to the Jungle

Raveena is currently starring in Welcome to the Jungle, the third instalment in the Welcome franchise. The series began in 2007 with the Akshay Kumar-starrer Welcome. The sequel, Welcome Back, starring John Abraham, was released in 2015. Both films also starred Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar and were directed by Anees Bazmee. The new instalment, directed by Ahmed Khan, is doing well at the box office and has already earned over ₹100 crore worldwide since its release last Friday. The film also stars Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, and a large ensemble cast of 34 actors.