Mysore/Mysuru: Feminism has taken a back-seat with women being portrayed as villain in most of the Kannada tele-serials. Women viewers must shoot letters to TV channels for creating anti-women feeling in society, opined Rameshwari Verma, a veteran theatre artiste.

She was speaking after inaugurating a Kannada play ‘Kododilla? Bidodilla!!!’, staged by trainees of ‘Padma Shri R. Nagaratnamma Theatre Workshop for Women’ at Rangayana in city recently.

“Women are portrayed as criminals in Kannada soap operas and they give supari to eliminate enemies. Poisoning and killing are shown as an easy task. These serials have made people to see women with contempt. You must write protest letters to TV houses for telecasting such anti-women serials,” she said.

Rangayana was just like a boys club. It was men who organise everything and take decisions. Seeing this, it would give an impression whether women are backward? However, it was happy to note that training had been exclusively arranged in acting for women. Along with acting, they should be trained in dress design, stage design and lighting, she noted. 

Like society, women were ill-treated in theatre too. They were being looked down upon right from training to managing roles. For this reason, parents hesitate to send their girl children to theatres. Besides, income is very negligible in theatre whereas it was more in serials. So, parents prefer serials than theatre, she observed.

On this occasion, Rangayana Mysuru Joint Director V.N.  Mallikarjunaswamy, playwright Krishna Hebbale, play ‘Kododilla? Bidodilla!’ Director Apoorva Anagalli and others were present.