Volume VI Special Issue V June 2026

Name of Author : Dr. Reehana Abdullah

Title of the paper : Reimagining Nature and Gender through Cinema: An Ecofeminist Analysis of Hindi film Sherni

Abstract: This paper examines Sherni through an ecofeminist lens, positioning cinema as a powerful medium for reimagining the relationship between gender, nature, and power. It argues that the film not only critiques the marginalization of women and the environment within patriarchal and bureaucratic systems, but also offers an alternative ecological and ethical vision. By foregrounding female agency and environmental conflict, Sherni demonstrates how cinema can inspire critical reflection on dominant models of development and conservation. Using ecofeminist theory, the research analyzes how the film represents the forest as a contested space shaped by both ecological concerns and patriarchal state structures. It argues that environmental governance in the film is deeply embedded in gendered power relations, where decision making authority is predominantly male dominated, and ecological crises are entangled with political and administrative hierarchies. The female forest officer at the center of the narrative becomes a crucial figure through whom institutional bias, bureaucratic resistance, and ecological responsibility are negotiated. The study further explores how Sherni portrays human wildlife conflict not merely as an environmental issue but as a socio political struggle involving marginalized rural communities, gendered labor, and competing definitions of development and conservation. The forest and its wildlife are not presented as passive entities but as active participants in a fragile ecological system disrupted by human intervention. The research concludes that Sherni functions as a significant ecofeminist text in Indian cinema, highlighting the interconnectedness of ecological degradation and patriarchal governance. It ultimately calls for a more inclusive and ethically grounded approach to environmental management that recognizes both ecological interdependence and gender equity.

Keywords : Ecofeminism, Cinema, Wildlife, Ecocriticism,Marginalisation,etc.

DOI :

Page Number : 254-259