Avoiding flower-pot roles: Samantha on fair representation of women in films

Actor Samantha underscored the importance of choosing roles that reflect the ‘fair representation of women in society’. The actor spoke at the Business Today’s Most Powerful Women in Business 2024 event in Mumbai, on Friday, November 8. Samantha, who is seen in the Prime Video series, Citadel: Honey Bunny, opened up on making a conscious choice as a female actor in the industry today.
During a session at the event, Samantha mentioned that all of her choices represent a part of herself. “When I speak about authenticity, it needs to translate into everything I do. I feel very responsible while picking roles, and I feel there needs to be a fair representation of women in society today. More often than not, there is a false representation of women in films, because mostly, women’s roles in these films are defined by the male actor or the male protagonist. They are not really about a woman’s journey and her strengths and weaknesses,” she said.
The 37-year-old added, “She’s mostly defined by her relationships, not by her experiences. I have made a conscious decision to pick roles that fairly represent women, as well as the brands that I represent.”
Samantha referred to the Raj & DK series, which also featured Varun Dhawan, and talked about the way she has been portrayed in it. The actor expressed her excitement about performing an equal character in an action genre which is largely male-dominated all over the world.
Samantha explained, “Citadel has me throwing and taking equal punches, saving the day as much as the hero is, and being given an absolutely level playing field in an action genre, which is hardly the case. We are looking forward and it is important. Having said that, the number of roles that I am offered and the number of projects that I am doing have become so far apart, simply because of this conscious decision of staying away from flower-pot roles.”
The popular pan-India star concluded the session by highlighting that this is the best time to be an actor today. She talked about facing challenges as a female actor in the industry, and overcoming them step by step.