THE POWER WOMEN
As big stars such as Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma get ready to play titular parts in their films next year, we talk to actors and experts about the trend
It goes without saying that as 2017 nears its end; next year is getting chock-a-block with multiple releases. But amidst all the biggies, 2018 is set to see another interesting phenomenon — a slew of films featuring women in titular parts.
THE STARTING POINT
To start with, if Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Padmavati starring Deepika Padukone in the title role is likely to release next year, Anushka Sharma will be seen in Pari. Also, Shraddha Kapoor is set to star in the biopic of badminton star, Saina Nehwal. To be directed by Amole Gupte, the film is titled Saina.
Obviously. actresses are kicked about taking up such “challenges”. For instance, Shraddha feels she is “really fortunate” to have signed Saina. “I think that’s going to be my hardest film till date, and it is going to entail months and months of preparation. It is a huge responsibility on all of us [who are involved with the film],” says the actor, who featured in Haseena Parkar earlier this year.
NEW CHALLENGES
On the other hand, Anushka — who starred in Phillauri earlier this year — is happy to have done “a different kind of a film”. Anushka says, “Every movie is tough albeit for distinct reasons but working on Pari has been a great experience. The film is creating the right kind of intrigue that we think it should have, so there’s a good feeling about it.”
Next year will also see Alia Bhatt starring in Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi (the film is based on a book titled Calling Sehmat, and Sehmat is the protagonist played by Alia. The word ‘sehmat’ also means ‘raazi’, or ‘in agreement’), while Kangana Ranaut will be seen in Manikarnika, based on the life of warrior queen of Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai. Also, Jacqueline Fernandez will star in the Hindi remake of the 2016 Hollywood film, The Girl On The Train.
ASKING FOR MORE
Interestingly, Deepika admits that despite films such as Mother India (1957) in the past, such films don’t “happen often and enough”. She says, “Maybe because it’s a marriage of a lot of things. At a creative level, you must have a subject that is worthy of all the effort. Then, you need to have a director who can do justice to that vision. He has to find a muse who will do justice to his vision. Then the finance part comes in. Producers must have faith in you to invest that kind of money.”