The Malayalam film industry is riding a wave of success thanks to blockbusters like Manjummel Boys, Avasham, Premalu and Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life). All the films crossed the Rs 100 crore mark at the ticket counter. However, despite so much success, female actors are still missing from the Malayalam cinema landscape. After Parvathy and director Anjali Menon raised questions about this, All We Imagine As Light actress Kani Kusruti has also spoken on the subject.

Speaking to News18, Kani said, “I can’t speak specifically about Manjummel Boys, where perhaps the story didn’t demand female characters. Having said that, I do recognise the lack of beautifully written strong female characters and ones who are not the object of the male gaze.”

“How women think, what their sense of humour is, how they tell jokes and what they really are like – these portrayals are lacking in most stories these days. There are so many kinds of women. Why are our best writers not able to write them? Why are we not able to play them? I really think about these things. I am sure many of my co-stars think the same. It seems we have to write such characters even if we are not good at writing! I don’t know how we will get there,” the actor concluded.

Directed by Payal Kapadia, All We Imagine As Light focuses on the lives of women and won the top award, the Grand Prix, at the prestigious Cannes Festival this year.