After Arkapaw’s historic Oscar win, Indian women cinematographers confront bias

When Autumn Durald Arkapaw accepted the Oscar for Best Cinematography at the 2026 Academy Awards, it marked nearly a century of exclusion for women — and women of colour — behind the camera. In India, where cinematography remains one of the most male-dominated departments on film sets, her win resonated deeply. Women DOPs, from National Award winners Anjuli Shukla and Savita Singh to Priya Seth, Modhura Palit, Kavya Sharma and Preetha Jayaraman, have gradually carved space in a guarded field.

Even as women DOPs’ work begins to reshape how Indian cinema looks, disparity persists. Talent is often sidelined owing to gender. Four cinematographers weigh in on how visibility, mentorship, and persistence will redesign the future for generations of women wielding the lens. They also shared a few trade insights. Seth, for instance, wishes to do away with overly dark visuals and Jayaraman despises the use of zoom lens for action sequences. Both Palit and Sharma are ready to retire the vertical format, “I don’t think it’s cinematic,” says Sharma. As for a shot they will never tire of, Jayaraman mentions the “dolly shot”, for Palit, it is the “close-up of faces”, and for Seth, “a well-crafted, well-rehearsed ‘oner’.”

Then there are “small-big wins” on set that only they would notice. Sharma gets excited anytime someone from her team gets a good idea that she hasn’t thought of, while for Palit, it is a “good camera operation in a shot”. For Jayaraman, it is “women feeling safe” on her set.

Kavya Sharma: ‘The director didn’t want a female DP’

The Waking of a Nation: Jallianwalla Bagh (2025) cinematographer Kavya Sharma.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Aarya Season 3 DOP Kavya Sharma.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

“Visibility and representation is powerful,” says Sharma (Aarya Season 3, 2023-24; The Waking of a Nation, 2025). “When art is created by a diverse group, it reflects a wider range of human experiences.” Jubilant about Arkapaw’s win, she stresses that recognition alone isn’t enough. “I hope it wakes up people in the industry to the gap in representation,” she says.

Sharma’s break came with Aarya Season 3, after climbing the ranks through second-unit work. She credits director Ram Madhvani for the chance: “Without hesitation, he works with women,” she says, noting that such support reshapes not just hiring but the filmmaking process itself. Madhvani, too, notes Sharma’s qualities: hunger, focus, and perspectives shaped by lived experience. “The many roles that women play enrich how they see a scene,” he says.

Sushmita Sen in a still from Aarya Season 3.

Kavya Sharma shooting The Waking of a Nation: Jallianwalla Bagh.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Sharma highlights how having women in the crew changes dynamics on set. “It’s not just about being seen; it’s about the energy, how scenes are imagined, the way characters are treated. That’s important for storytelling.”

Access remains the hardest part. Sharma has faced blunt bias: “I’ve been told to my face: the director didn’t want a female DP.” Misconceptions about physicality, she adds, are outdated. “It’s not that we can’t, it’s that people won’t move past their ideas.”

Priya Seth: ‘Where are you going to get experience if no one gives you a break?’

Airlift (2016) and Pippa (2023) cinematographer Priya Seth.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Arkapaw’s Oscar is inspiring but bittersweet for Seth. Within hours of the win, the Indian Women Cinematographers Collective (IWCC) chat, of which she is a member, had shifted from celebration to frustration. “Along with the great news, there were so many heart-breaking stories,” she says. A crowdsourced list of biases followed: “‘If I shoot with a woman DP, the work will be too slow’; ‘too many women on the crew already’.”

After 90-plus years of slow change, “the words haven’t changed; the approach hasn’t changed,” says Seth, who made her feature debut with Barah Aana in 2009 and navigates ad films, features, and web-series. “It is a male stronghold,” she concurs. Barriers are now less about technical skill or physicality than access and bias. Hiring decisions often cite lack of experience while denying women the chance to build it. “Where are you going to get experience if no one gives you a break?” she asks. Even after shooting large-scale action and war films like Airlift (2016) and Pippa (2023), momentum didn’t automatically follow. Physicality myths persist, she says. “It’s about skill, preparation, and focus.”

A still from Pippa (2023).

Ishaan Khattar in a still from Pippa (2023).

Shooting the film Pippa (2023).

Allyship is crucial, she says, crediting director Raja Menon for backing her consistently. “You cannot do this alone. Someone has to be willing to go out on a limb for you.” Menon their first collaboration. Once he approved a take, but Seth asked for another. “I like someone who owns up,” he says. Seth’s framing and empathy shaped the story in both Airlift and Pippa, he notes.

Seth stresses that perseverance, community, and networks like the IWCC are vital for long-term change: “It’s not just about one film or one win — it’s about visibility, solidarity, and building a path for those coming after us.”

Preetha Jayaraman: ‘We’ve always been aware that we are a minority’

Bad Girl (2025) cinematographer Preetha Jayaraman.

“We’ve always been aware that we are a minority, not just in India but globally,” says Preetha Jayaraman, noting that only four women had been nominated for cinematography in nearly a century of Academy Awards. With over 20 years in the industry, working across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films, including Abhiyum Naanum (2008), Vaanam Kottatum (2020), Tadka (2022), and Bad Girl (2025), Jayaraman believes that opportunity is the main barrier for women behind the camera, and says, “the calls don’t come”.

Jayaraman describes Bad Girl as “one of the most fulfilling experiences” of her life, reflecting on the rare alignment of a woman director, a female-led narrative, and her own visual approach. “If they want a woman to shoot it, that’s fine, but it shouldn’t be tokenism. They should come to you because they know you’re going to give something to the film.”

Anjali Sivaraman in a still from the Tamil film Bad Girl (2025).

Visibility matters beyond the crew, she says, “When the camera is in a woman’s hands, perspective changes. People see relationships, emotion, and nuance differently. That is powerful.”

Trained under veteran cinematographer P.C. Sreeram, she notes, mentorship is key. “We have to be visible, to speak up about challenges, to normalise women behind the camera. That’s the only way systemic change happens.”

Modhura Palit: ‘Staying seen and continuing to do my work, that is a triumph’

Cannes’ Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens award-winning cinematographer Modhura Palit.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Simply wanting to “do cinematography” landed Palit at Kolkata’s Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, where she was the only woman across three batches. Entering the profession, her awareness sharpened: “Nobody asked me about my work. They asked if I could lift the camera, if I could handle long hours.” The challenge was less proving skill than dismantling assumptions.

Opportunities are still filtered through bias. “Filmmakers decide what women can shoot,” Palit says, explaining how projects are often framed around notions of “sensitive handling,” narrowing both the work and perception of women DOPs. On set, authority matters. “If they see you know your job, they don’t care if you’re a girl or boy. Then they become your biggest supporters.” Palit rejects simplistic ideas of a “female gaze,” emphasising that differences in visual approach are often overstated. Endurance is key. “Staying seen and continuing to do my work, that is a triumph,” she says.

A still from Bahadur: The Brave (2023).

A still from Amar Colony (2022).

Palit’s filmography spans regional and feature films, including Ami O Manohar (2018), Amar Colony (2022), and Bahadur: The Brave (2023). She won the Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens award at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, a recognition she describes as “a reminder that women can lead visually, even in spaces historically dominated by men.” She stresses mentorship and visibility as crucial. “If young women see someone like me doing this work, it shows them it’s possible. That matters as much as the films themselves.”

The writer is a Mumbai-based freelance journalist who writes on cinema.