Strees in the streets. Gendered engagement with the urban space in Hindi films: a quantitative study

Abstract

Cities represent intense battlefields where patriarchal norms are simultaneously defied and reinforced. In India, as elsewhere, the presence of strees [women] in the streets persists as a ulturally contested phenomenon. Movies shape our perception and experience of the city, even outside the cinema hall. This paper explores how contemporary Hindi cinema portrays men's and women’s engagement with the urban space. Borrowing analytical tools from urban geography, it uses movies as a medium to map and quantify the extent to which activities, attitudes and experiences in urban spaces are gendered. The sample consists of 10 movies released between 2010 and 2020, set in cities of different types, and comprising at least one pivotal female character. Leveraging more than 3,000 minutes of footage, it identifies statistical trends in the way female and male characters navigate the city. This study introduces original methodological tools to carry spatial analysis in movies. It also sheds light on recent transformations in Hindi cinema vis-à-vis the place of women in the public space.