In a candid sit‑down with Variety India, Fatima Sana Shaikh pulled no punches about the stale tropes that still haunt Bollywood comedies—women reduced to punchlines, their looks and humiliation as the punch. Yet she insists the problem isn’t the number of comedies churned out; it’s the kind of characters being written.
She pointed out that the industry’s recent pivot toward thrillers and dark dramas has left little room for the kind of light‑hearted, character‑driven humor that once thrived. "We need good comedy shows," she said. "We lean toward thrillers and dark films. Lighter films just aren’t being made these days."
Looking back to the 1990s and 2000s, Fatima recalled how actresses like Vidya Balan and Juhi Chawla carved out varied, memorable roles. "Vidya Balan’s comic timing is amazing. Juhi Chawla is great," she said, noting that those actresses brought depth and flavor to their performances, unlike the one‑dimensional characters that dominate today.
She also mused on the family‑friendly comedies of yesteryear, comparing her own last light‑hearted film, "Aap Jaisa Koi", to the current trend of A‑rated releases. "Before, even comedy was PG‑13. Now it’s mostly A‑rated," she observed. Her new show, "Hunkkaar: The Roar", released on Sept. 25 on JioHotstar, is a clear attempt to bring back that PG‑13, family‑oriented spirit.
What Fatima wants is a cinematic space where women can be more than punchlines—where scripts give them agency, nuance, and the chance to shine on their own terms. The next test will be whether filmmakers can pivot from slapstick to substantive, female‑centric comedy.