News and Bollywood are never far apart. One such headline confirmed a development in Yash Raj Films. Akshaye Widhani, YRF’s CEO, said at FIICI Frames, “I’ll share the worst-kept secret in the industry, which is that Alia Bhatt is headlining a Spy Universe film and that the schedule starts later this year.” He added, “I think the YRF Spy Universe is a financial and cultural juggernaut…. We’re going to see more and more films getting made under it…. But for now, I can just say that Alia Bhatt is headlining a Spy Universe film.”
Until now, films in the Spy Universe franchise have been headlined by male stars. The fact that YRF has decided to cast Bhatt as a super agent shows that the production house believes that an actioner with a female star in the central role can be a success story, too. If Bhatt’s masala entertainer becomes a blockbuster like its predecessors, other female stars will also get the opportunity to headline big-budget actioners in future.
While big-budget cinema in Bollywood is dominated by men, there has been an increase in the number of opportunities for women in central roles in Hindi cinema in general. That is a development in the right direction since cinema is ultimately a mass-friendly medium for telling stories. And, more stories in cinema can have female characters in central roles, if emerging producers and directors also make a conscious effort to contribute to the process of change.
Theatrical releases usually produced with a ‘controlled’ budget—in other words, a mid-size or an even smaller film—are being made with women at the centre. Their release on OTT platforms later is an additional source of revenue. Direct-to-digital films allow a greater possibility of making films with woman-centric subjects. Such films are widely watched by subscribers, who get and seek variety in cinematic content. Just as gifted male actors, who cannot get central roles in big-budget films, are getting such roles in OTT films these days, women, too, are getting more opportunities to explore interesting ideas in the present era.
There is a widespread belief among producers that making a female star headline a big-budget film is a huge financial risk, but the fact is: female stars have delivered commercial successes with mass-friendly big-budget projects. Even when Bollywood was struggling to attract audiences in 2022, Alia Bhatt played the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s absorbing drama Gangubai Kathiawadi produced with a reported budget of Rs 100 crore. The film became a critically acclaimed commercial success. Gangubai Kathiawadi worked for several reasons, such as Bhansali’s direction and music, cinematography, and, of course, Bhatt’s performance. Making more big-budget woman-centric films is possible, mainly because many viewers prioritize content in today’s times. They are ready to pay for movie tickets if the subject appeals to them.
Aditya Suhas Jambhale’s political action thriller Article 370’s narrative revolves around events preceding the much-needed abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. The modestly budgeted film stars Yami Gautam as a field agent, while Priyamani plays a bureaucrat in a well-written supporting role. Gautam’s performance is a major reason why the film, whose subject has been debated for a long time, is a box-office success. Writing a woman’s character for the central role of such a film is an uncommon creative decision. It is vastly different from casting Katrina Kaif as an action star in a biggie in which the film’s hero is Salman Khan, or having Deepika Padukone in a significant supporting role in an action drama headlined by Shah Rukh Khan or Hrithik Roshan.
The last couple of years have witnessed the release of several films whose stories revolve around their female protagonists. What is common between the past and the present is that producers have shown a clear preference for making such films with controlled budgets, which is also because their subjects target urban audiences.
Because of the sheer dominance of the big-budget action drama genre in recent times, most woman-centric theatrical releases have not fared well at the box office. Ashima Chhiber’s legal drama Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, a Rani Mukherji starrer, was modestly successful in 2023. Sarvesh Mewara’s action thriller Tejas starring Kangana Ranaut in the lead role crashed. Ranaut, who has delivered successful woman-centric films in the past, is looking forward to the release of the self-directed political drama Emergency to revive her career.
Also released in 2023, Tarun Dudeja’s road adventure film Dhak Dhak – a well-intentioned film revolving around female bikers from diverse backgrounds – could not attract significant viewership. Karan Boolani’s sex comedy Thank You for Coming was yet another failure. One film that made big news was Sudipto Sen’s controversial social drama The Kerala Story, a small-budget film about the conversion and radicalization of Hindu women from Kerala that became a surprise blockbuster.
In the OTT space, the gifted Tabu, who has made an impact with her performances in all kinds of films for years, headlines the well-knit Vishal Bhardwaj-helmed spy thriller Khufiya. Although Jaideep Ahlawat is the highlight of Sujoy Ghosh’s much-appreciated thriller Jaane Jaan, the story hinges on Kareena Kapoor Khan’s character of a single mother who ends up killing her husband. Pulkit’s social drama Bhakshak based on the Muzaffarpur shelter home case of 2018, in which the sexual abuse of many girls came to light, is driven by Bhumi Pednekar’s character of a courageous and principled female journalist who sets out to dig the truth.
A few modern-day female actors have carried the weight of woman-centric films and made them work both critically and commercially, notably Tabu, Vidya Balan and Kangana Ranaut. Opportunities for such actors are increasing by the day, while other gifted actresses with less experience are also benefiting from the changing situation. The question is: when will Bollywood start making more big-budget films in which men, not women, will play supporting roles? That will happen, slowly but surely, but we must remember that such a significant transformation will not happen overnight.
The writer, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature and pop culture. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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