Where are the female cops of Bollywood?
Cop films has been a reliable genre till date in Bollywood. Dabangg (2010), Singham (2011), Rowdy Rathore (2012) and Simmba (2018), have been proof that an action-packed cop drama rakes in moolah at the box office. However, one glaring omission from the uniform clad brigade are women — we have had very few films with a female cop in the lead in Bollywood.
In the earlier times, while there have been films such as Zakhmi Aurat (1988) with Hema Malini, Andha Kanoon (1983) with Dimple Kapadia and Rekha in Phool Bane Angaaray (1991) in leading roles, female actors as cops were relegated to a relatively less important role. Though we saw Madhuri Dixit-Nene as an undercover cop in Khalnayak (1993) afterwards, followed by Sushmita Sen in Samay: When Time Strikes (2003) and Bipasha Basu Singh Grover in Dhoom 2 (2006), female actors weren’t cast in the lead role until Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani happened in 2014. Then came Tabu in Drishyam (2015) and Priyanka Chopra in Jai Gangaajal (2016). Trade expert Joginder Tuteja feels this trend is a reflection of the society we live in. “When in real life, too, 95% of our cops are male, that’s going to reflect in the films as well. It’s like any other profession in films.”
Boney Kapoor, who produced Wanted (2009) starring Salman Khan as an undercover cop, says, “We need to have stronger personalities for women to play that kind of role. Today, one of the best candidates to play a tough cop is Deepika Padukone.”
Prakash Jha, who had directed Ajay Devgn in Gangaajal (2003) and Priyanka Chopra in the sequel, Jai Gangaajal, however doesn’t know why we haven’t made more cop films with a female actor. “I have no idea, mujhe kabhi dikkat nahi lagi. In my films, it wasn’t just about a strong female cop, but a strong female character. I can’t speak the mind of the industry, but of course, more such films should be made.”
Among other cop dramas in the pipeline are a sequel to Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani, Dabangg 3, and Sooryavanshi starring Akshay Kumar.
There was also a cop drama in the pipeline where Taapsee Pannu had reportedly replaced Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The maker, Shailesh R Singh says that there is a script but the film’s yet to go on floors. Commenting on the same, Taapsee says, “When I do a female cop story, it will be something special.”
Director Milan Luthria, who has directed cops in films such as Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010), says, “This industry has always been lopsided towards the men in any genre. I can’t think of a reason for not having female cops except for a generic tilt towards malecentric films.”