USR PUBLISHER

Tribal women have always played an important role in fighting governmental tyranny, preserving land rights, and engaging in radical political organizations. However, mainstream Hindi film has frequently overlooked their agency, presenting their political participation via pain, victimization, or emotional backstories. This study investigates the portrayal of tribal women participating in political struggle in two major Hindi films, Lal Salaam (2002) and Chakravyuh (2012). Both films depict tribal women's involvement in Naxalite conflicts, providing a cinematic platform for exploring themes of gender, brutality, and political awakening. The study uses qualitative content analysis to thoroughly evaluate important characters and moments from both films. It examines character development, agency, motives, and narrative placement via feminist and postcolonial theoretical lenses. The study investigates whether these depictions merely emphasize victimiza-tion or provide space for indigenous women's political subjectivity. It also looks into whether indigenous women are portrayed as leaders or remain submissive to male revolutionaries. By contrasting these two film depictions, the article demonstrates a contradiction between visibility and simplification: while these women are no longer invisible, their resistance is frequently personalized and depoliticized. The study advocates for more realistic and communal depictions of tribal women's actual responsibilities in India's socio-political conflicts. Bollywood must move beyond simplistic representations of indigenous women and address their complex, collective responsibilities in real-world political movements. Future representations should empha-size autonomy, leadership, and ideological clarity in authentic tribal situations.