Good time for women in Bollywood, says Madhuri Dixit

Lauding "Gulaab Gang" director Soumik Sen for scripting a woman-centric film, actress Madhuri Dixit Friday here acknowledged that women have risen to prominence in the film industry and are essaying diverse roles from scripting to direction.

Madhuri also noted the changing trend of directors perceiving women in unconventional roles.

"I see lot of women in script-writing, lot of women directing movies, so I think the women have not only been relegated to those jobs considered women's jobs like say hair-dresser or an actress - these were the only two women seen on the set but today we see a lot of them and that is what is happening," she told the media here while promoting "Gulaab Gang".

"Gulaab Gang" is directed by Soumik Sen and produced by Anubhav Sinha. The film also features Huma Qureshi and Juhi Chawla.

"There is an emergence of new sensibilities - directors like Soumik who write films for women who have that respect and different way of looking at women and we are fortunate to have such directors to write scripts for us and this is a great time for women and films in general," she said.

The actress highlighted the film's relevance as it deals burning topics related to women's rights.
"I never imagined a film with both roles, good and evil both being played by women... I think that's wonderful and of course it's so relevant in today's time. You see, you look around what's happening in Delhi and Mumbai.... women's safety and there are so many issues that have come to light about how women are treated in society and I thought this was the right time for a film like this to be made because it talks of women's empowerment," she said.

"It talks about educating women and this has been written by a man and I am optimistic that there will be a time when the way a man looks at a woman will change and it is already happening," she explained, adding that women must be taught self-defence.