Madhoo, Malavika Mohanan, and others appear in the Chennai version of Prime Video’s Maitri: Female First Collective

Prime Video launched Maitri: Female First Collective last year in Mumbai where several eminent women personalities from the media industry opened up about their various challenges, experiences and gender equality. They have now come up with its Chennai version, which features eight women.

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Popular actors Madhoo, Malavika Mohanan and Aishwarya Rajesh are a few of them, while the rest of them include cinematographer Yamini Yagnamurthy, writer-director Swathi Raghuraaman, creator-producer Reshma Ghatala, Maitri creator & head of India Originals, Prime Video, Aparna Purohit, and curator of Maitri and Polka Dots LightBox founder Smriti Kiran.  

Aishwarya spilled the beans on how she was discouraged by different people when she forayed into the film industry as an actor, while Malavika Mohanan spoke about the need to be part of big ticket films featuring huge stars to give them a boost in their careers.

Madhoo opened up about how her male counterparts used to be insecure if their performances never matched that of hers, and that their adamant nature to reshoot those scenes would annoy her. Smriti got candid about how feminists are supposed to explain a lot to people before they actually begin talking about their problems.       

Aparna explained how gender discrimination is rampant in our society and the importance of having female representation in movies. Reshma said that whenever a female-centric movie is made, makers have to clarify that it doesn't have a men-bashing story. 

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Yamini shared her experiences of working in the industry and explained why she hates terms like female-centric and women-centric. Swathi, on her part, spoke about men who claim themselves to be feminists. The 35-minute video provides insight into the various issues women face on a daily basis.