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Raveena Tandon Says Social Media Has Shrunk Space for Women in Bollywood Comedy

Her return in Welcome to the Jungle, which has crossed ₹100 crore worldwide, highlights how online scrutiny and big-ensemble plotting have narrowed opportunities for female comic leads

Overview

  • Welcome to the Jungle, the third film in the Welcome franchise, opened last week and has already earned over ₹100 crore worldwide, underlining the commercial pull of established comedy franchises.
  • Tandon told PTI that 1990s Hindi comedy was uninhibited and actor-driven, and that filmmakers today constantly second-guess jokes because lines can be clipped and judged on social media.
  • She argued that modern scripts often reduce women to 'glamorous catalysts' and that 'heroine comic tracks have shrunk,' limiting actresses from playing messy, full-fledged comic leads.
  • Tandon traced the change to two industry shifts: comedies have become heavily plotted or rely on very large ensembles, both of which leave less room for spontaneous improvisation and female-centered comic beats.
  • Pointing to 1990s role models such as Sridevi and Juhi Chawla, she urged writers to create flawed, funny female protagonists, a move that could push producers to change casting and scripting choices in future mainstream comedies.