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Vidya Balan, arguably the flag-bearer of change for heroines in Hindi cinema, had once remarked to a journalist, “All the reinvention — the interesting and exciting stuff [on screen] — is really being done by the women today.” Her assessment is being borne out of late and is indicative of a trend that beats universal skepticism in a male-centric business. Women are driving change, and for a change, they are also drawing audiences to the theatres. This year, myths around a heroine — her star power, her shelf life, her ability to bring in business — has been revised.
Hichki , Veerey Di Wedding and Raazi , have surged on the star power of their leading women alone. These films have become commercial successes, validating the idea that a non-formulaic story with a woman in the lead role can work. For content to qualitatively change, it needs to make profits. And their leading women have chosen the films for their hunger to play characters beyond the norm — each woman is flawed and grapples with issues without the overwhelming support of a strong male presence. In short, they get to play roles they’ve always wanted to.
In 2014, Anushka Sharma had launched her production company, Clean Slate Films, along with her brother Karnesh, with the aim of making the kind of movies that they loved to watch. Their commitment has also been to work with new talent both on screen and behind the camera. Her first production, NH10 , featured her in the role of a wife that bludgeons a group of murderers to death in cold rage. The film recovered its cost of production neatly — Anushka, the star of the project, didn’t charge a fee. Her adjustment for a home production made NH10 viable for distributors and exhibitors. It cost an approximate ₹13 crore to make, and made approximately ₹33 crore in theatres. Anushka’s latest production, Pari , has not done very well. But having been made on a cost-effective budget, it doesn’t risk sinking her indie banner. And it gave her a chance to play a possessed woman, one that looks damaged and completely unglamorous; unlike her roles in big-ticket projects with the Khans.
Sharma is not alone in taking a pay-cut to make a film feasible for business. Sonam Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan have reportedly adjusted their fees sizeably for Veerey Di Wedding , the wedding flick that is doing fairly well at the box office. The film has made about ₹68 crore in 12 days in India alone. To make this story of four female friends glossy and glamorous while keeping its theme of free-spiritedness intact, the leads had to make a few adjustments. Both play flawed characters, verging on the vacuous but somehow easy to relate to. Veerey Di Wedding might be in the news for its masturbation scene, but controversies and cheeky dialogues have definitely polarised viewers, ensuring that it gets a sizeable audience. It has also opened up room for women to be commitment-phobic and pleasure-seeking hedonists at times. That is a real shift in the larger moralistic narrative of Hindi cinema.
Similarly, Hichki , a film that can best be described as watchable and well-intentioned, came out with a favourable balance sheet because it was made on a shoestring budget. The film rode on Rani Mukerji Chopra’s performance alone who was making a comeback after marriage and motherhood. It’s shot in real locations, like crowded Mumbai basti s, on a swift start-to-finish schedule. The project was not impeded by the cost-intensive overheads, like luxurious hotel suites and fine health foods, that usually accompany your average film star’s involvement. Despite its faults, because it had a progressive theme at the heart of it and a popular leading lady, Hichki became a success.
Another myth that has been broken by these films recently is that a married heroine doesn’t work with audiences. Vidya Balan had long since upturned this unsaid rule with the Kahaani films and her latest hit, Tumhari Sulu . Balan has always placed emphasis on projects with a solid script and a challenging character. But she was viewed as an aberration. Now, with Kareena Kapoor Khan, Rani Mukerji Chopra and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, each being part of a successful film, their married statuses has not become a roadblock.
Acknowledging this, Kareena had recently stated to the press, “There always were [worthy] scripts. My mother-in-law, Sharmila Tagore, chose to act in an Aradhana when she was pregnant with Saif. Waheeda Rehman or Rekha, or Nanda, have all worked in non-formula films. What one needs to keep in mind is the fact that a film, headlined by a heroine, needs to be a viable project. Raazi was made on a shoestring budget, but look at how well it has done. For that matter, Vidya Balan, who does not fit into any stereotype clearly proves that a good script will find its audience.”
The fact that stories about girls taking charge of situations have found takers is a positive sign. It’s an indication that a good story, one that viewers can connect with, will always work.
Having worked in the film industry for two decades, Kareena hit the nail on the head with her reference to a viable project. When women are at the center of a film, it becomes essential to cut costs and to keep expectations realistic. The entire ecosystem in films is slanted towards its leading men. When a hero co-produces a film, he exchanges a sizeable stake in profits for a cut in his large fee; often he also saves tax by naming his wife as the producer. Their motive is primarily financial. For heroines though, the prime motivation is to make a film that they will love to look back at someday. Monies are not the bigger draw here, a meaty part is.
Which is why, adjusting fees to work with directors that give women a good role has been a norm in Hindi cinema. Now as heroines also take on a project as co producer, their say in shaping the film and developing its story increases. As producers, they can finally make their characters engaging and relevant to a film’s story. That has been the prime motivator in young heroines taking to film production today.
The Alia Bhatt–starrer Raazi is the best example of women-led cinema finding its place in the sun. Director Meghna Gulzar has made this taut spy drama set in Kashmir and Pakistan with a Spartan approach. Costumes, sets are minimalistic and the focus is entirely on its leading woman’s performance. Raazi has gone on to make over ₹100 crore, a coveted number for a film made with less than ₹40 crore and top-lined by a young and popular heroine. Audiences have loved it enough to give it positive word-of-mouth publicity, during a phase when major Hollywood franchise films like The Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2 have also been released. This clearly shows that Raazi has found takers because of it are content alone.
Successes in films led by women are not a mark of permanent change. For the clock to really turn, Hindi films will need a game-changer — a film in the mien of Wonder woman (2017). But, for now, the fact that stories about girls taking charge of situations have found takers is a positive sign. Beyond pushing feminist tropes, it’s an indication that a good story, one that viewers can connect with, will always work. Not many such stories can be told well unless half of the people in it, the women, are given their share of relevance and space. And if it’s up to the women with clout in cinema to make that change, then so be it.
