Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor says her police character in Meghna Gulzar's upcoming film ‘Daayra’ challenges the usual stereotypes associated with women police officers.
Kapoor, who is returning to the big screen after a two-year break with ‘Daayra’, plays DCP Ajooni Kohli in the police procedural drama, which also stars Prithviraj Sukumaran.
Women police officers in films are often portrayed through a familiar stereotype — with masculine mannerisms, a tough walk and an image of someone who carries a gun and takes part in action scenes.
Kapoor said ‘Daayra’ takes a different approach to the portrayal of a female police officer.
"There is this stereotypical format kind of a version that we have that she is butch, she slightly has that particular walk, she's slightly manly, gun uthake action karti hai (she picks up a gun to do action)," Kapoor said in response to an NDTV question about how portrayals of police officers have changed over time.
She said Gulzar was clear from the beginning that she wanted a woman police officer to be at the center of the story.
Inspired by several real-life incidents from across India, ‘Daayra’ follows two contrasting approaches to justice through Kapoor's DCP Ajooni Kohli and Sukumaran's DCP Raman Kumar. The story revolves around a gang rape and the subsequent murder of the victim.
Kapoor said the sensitive nature of the subject influenced Gulzar's decision to make a woman police officer one of the film's central characters.
"In this film, because of the sensitivity of the subject, Meghna was clear that she wanted a woman cop. Somebody who is a woman, is feminine, who puts lipstick, but at the same time is quite stern but does everything with a smile," she said.
"Ajooni walks the straight rope but she does not pick up a gun and does her action chops. That's not her character as such," Kapoor added.
Gulzar, whose previous directorial film was the 2023 biographical drama ‘Sam Bahadur’, has developed a body of work that often examines institutions, accountability and the human impact of difficult events.
Her films ‘Talvar’, based on the 2008 Aarushi Talwar case, and ‘Chhapaak’, based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, also dealt with crime, justice and their wider social consequences.
Asked whether ‘Daayra’ forms part of a similar trilogy, Gulzar said the connection was coincidental.
"It's not by design. The attraction is for the story, what happens with the human quotient in it is more important for me," she said.
"The overriding arches of law, justice, crime, and punishment are coincidentally similar in the film. For me, the most crucial part of the story is the human quotient," the filmmaker added.
Written by Yash Keswani, Sima Agarwal and Gulzar, ‘Daayra’ is backed by Junglee Pictures and Pen Studios.
The film is scheduled to hit theaters Friday, where it will compete at the box office with Kunal Kemmu's ‘Vibe’.
Source: NDTV