Actresses given raw deal in Bollywood

Most women characters in Bollywood have one dimensional role. They are stereotyped as mother, sister, sister-in-law, lover, mistress, prostitute, girlfriend, wife or an item girl. Stuck to the stero-typed character, these actresses have cliché lines and behave in a pre-determined manner. For example, every prostitute has a heart of gold, a wife is honest to the core and sacrifices for the good of her love, the other woman usually dies etc.

Bollywood and more often Kollywood(Tamil film industry) and Kollywood(Telegu film industry) have actresses only to sing and dance. There seem to be some changes happening in Bollywood thanks to efforts by Madhur Bhandarkar to make women-centric movies but still the stereo-type thing exists. It is usually because in a male-dominated society that we have, people like to see the lead actors(heroes) punishing the bad and doing justice while women eitherwail or approve silently.