WOMAN POWER RULES BOLLYWOOD
As the box-office graph of female-centric films shoots up, the industry welcomes the changing trend
Women-centric ventures in Hindi cinema aren’t new but the interesting development is that such films have been coming thick and fast in recent years. Over the next several Fridays, a number of films fronted by women will be released. The list includes Anushka Sharma in Phillauri, Taapsee Pannu in Naam Shabana, Swara Bhaskar in Anaarkali Of Aarah, Sonakshi Sinha in Noor, Vidya Balan in Begum Jaan, Shraddha Kapoor in Haseena: The Queen of Mumbai, and Kangana Ranaut in Simran.
EMBRACING THE CHANGE
With several powerful roles being written at the same time, strong female characters seem to be the new norm. The film fraternity is delighted with the development with many embracing it.
Recently, Sushmita Sen and Sonakshi Sinha said that this was a great time for female actors in the industry because of the substantial roles being offered to them and the increasing exploration of women-centric movies. Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt was also quoted as saying that Bollywood was opening up to strong female leads.
As someone proud to be part of this change, Taapsee Pannu says, “The quantum and the quality of the films and scripts have certainly improved. With more womencentric films coming up, we definitely have a new Bollywood to look forward to. Audiences who’re going to see such films are growing yearon-year.” Taapsee Pannu who got lauded for her performance in Pink (2016), will be seen playing the lead in Naam Shabana that releases next month.
MOOLAH MATTERS
Critically acclaimed for her performance Gangs Of Wasseypur (2013), Richa Chadha says, “There have always been films with female protagonists, but today, even mainstream actors are opting for scripts that are challenging and proving themselves at the box office. I do hope this trend continues, and we break this myth that movies with female protagonists don’t earn well.”
However, budgets for women-centric films still aren’t comparable with those for films with a big male lead. Actor Sayani Gupta, who starred along side Kalki Koechlin in Margarita With A Straw (2014), says, “Women characters are getting highlighted, but it’s still insignificant compared to the West. A handful of scripts get made into films, and the budgets are probably one tenth of the films with a male star. That’s the reality, though it’s changing.”
Director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, who helmed the award-winning film Nil Battey Sannata (2016), feels that Mother India (1957) is a classic example of how our culture always had films with women as the hero.
“Audiences see what we as writers and directors offer. If we encourage more stories where the woman is celebrated, then more such films will be made,” she says.