Perception about women in cinema should change: Nadiya

Chennai: Southern actress Nadiya Wednesday said that women in cinema would be considered as equals to their male peers only when the perception of audiences changes.

"Women who have returned to cinema a few years after marriage are only offered mother or sister roles. Even heroes who`ve worked with these actresses before marriage don`t prefer working with them because in the eyes of the audience they`re now old," Nadiya said. She was talking about the evolution of women in films on the second day of the Media and Entertainment Business Conclave (MEBC), a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) initiative. "Times have changed and women today are heading several departments in cinema, which once used to be a male-dominated industry. We can still take up heroine roles provided the audiences welcome us," Nadiya added. The actress, who ruled the industry between 1984 and 1994, made a comeback in the role of a mother to actor Jeyam Ravi in Tamil romantic drama, "M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi" in 2004. She is currently busy filming for Telugu action film `Vaaradhi`. IANS