Supreme Court’s ruling that women should not be banned from doing actors’ make-up comes as a relief after decades of injustice to women in the film industry.

Bollywood has always been unabashedly male-dominated. It’s a known fact that the actresses, successful or otherwise, if they are lucky, earn about one-fourth of what the actors are paid. In this sexist industry, top male stars get profit-sharing in films, which female stars are not considered privileged enough for. Female directors are mostly indulged and expected to do small, arty kind of films and big investors shy away from investing in films that have women at the helm. Stars and filmmakers might loftily talk about introducing female-oriented subjects on the screen, but no one really seems to care about the gross inequalities off the screen. For over 59 years, no one raised their voice against the preposterous rule by the Cine Costume, Make-Up Artists and Hair Dressers’ Association that women cannot do the make-up of stars.