The portrayal of women in literature consistently mirrors the ideological and cultural awareness of society. In Indian literary traditions, women are often depicted through a patriarchal lens as embodiments of beauty, sacrifice, desire, morality, or emotional dependence, rather than as intellectually independent beings. Such portrayals frequently depicted women as “muses”, living solely for the emotional, spiritual, or narrative gratification of male characters. Modern Indian literary awareness has seen a notable transition in the depiction of gender, especially with the rise of women authors who have begun to reclaim female subjectivity from patriarchal narrative frameworks. Female characters in modern literature are increasingly shown not as mere embellishments but as intellectual, defiant, emotionally complex, and socially aware individuals. This research analyses the ideological distinctions between male-authored and female-authored portrayals of gender in contemporary Indian literature and storytelling mediums. This study examines how literary consciousness is gendered through authorship and representation by utilising feminist literary theories, including Simone de Beauvoir's notion of “The Other”, Laura Mulvey's “Male Gaze”, Elaine Showalter's Gynocriticism, Judith Butler's Gender Performativity, and Kate Millett's Sexual Politics. The research contends that patriarchal narratives often objectify women or marginalise their narrative significance, while female-authored narratives typically depict women and men via relational equilibrium and emotional intricacy. The research broadens the comprehension of literature by integrating film and curated digital storytelling as extensions of contemporary literary expression. This study conducts a comparative examination of the works of Anita Desai, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, and Mahasweta Devi, juxtaposed with overarching patriarchal literary and cinematic traditions, to examine the transition of women from being aestheticised “muses” to being intellectually and emotionally central characters. The study contends that contemporary Indian literary awareness progressively reinterprets women not as passive figures but as dynamic focal points of narrative, identity, and struggle.