India, April 3 -- One of the finest actors of Indian Television's golden period, Kitu Gidwani, revisited a time when TV was not just watched, but deeply felt. Her memories trace an era when women-led narratives weren't just common, they were the backbone of storytelling.

In a conversation with Oka Boka TV, Kitu said, "With Indian women characters, we don't see any strong ones on TV like we had Rajni, Shanti, my Svetlana in Swabhiman. I don't see them. We don't see that central woman character, driving the whole serial," Kitu said, pointing to a shift in how female protagonists are written today.

The 1980s and 90s were marked by powerful, central female characters who drove entire narratives. Rajni (1985) was directed by Basu Chatterjee ...