India’s first feminist film collective, Yugantar, was founded in 1980 by Abha Bhaiya, Navroze Contractor, Deepa Dhanraj and Meera Rao during a time of radical transformation. The group blazed a trail by working directly with the communities they were depicting, and their creative agitation ultimately inspired political change.

Female labour rights are a focus in Tobacco Ember (Tambaku Chaakila Oob Ali, 1982), which features factory workers in Nipani.