Historically, Bollywood established a strict binary for women: the virtuous "heroine" and the sexualized "vamp".
Historically, Bollywood navigated strict censorship laws that forbade kissing or overt nudity by using metaphors, such as bobbing flowers or suggestive dancing in the rain. However, the 1990s and 2000s saw the rise of the "Item Number"—a high-energy musical sequence featuring a female star (the "Item Girl") whose primary role is to provide visual spectacle.