When she rules the silver screen...

Feminism in cinema

A feminist would throw an all-female party for this unprecedented happening in Hindi cinema, possibly, even Indian cinema! After all, between March 24 and April 21, within 30 days, there has been an overdrive in female-centric films. Last year (2016) was nowhere as high in quantity, with some 12 films in as many months. But there has been a steady increase over the last four years, with about eight to nine films that could be classified that way in 2014 and 2015.

The trade view is a shade cynical. “Filmmakers are getting desperate,” notes trade analyst Amod Mehra. “They do not realise that audience wants content, and whether hero- or heroine-oriented or both, a movie should be worth their time and money. While looking for stories, they cannot compromise on this, as even women will not go to watch these movies then.”

Agrees trade analyst Vinod Mirani, “People think that since there are only six heroes who pull in audiences, a heroine is as good as the rest of the heroes. They can be paid less and so the films cost less to make.”

For the record, the nine films are Phillauri and Anaarkali Of Aarah (March 24), Naam Shabana and Poorna (March 31), Begum Jaan alongside Ek Thi Rani Aisi Bhi (April 14) and Noor and Maatr alongside Sonata (April 21). The female actors include a range from current top names Sonakshi Sinha, Anushka Sharma, Taapsee Pannu and Vidya Balan, to yesteryear’s Raveena Tandon, Hema Malini and Shabana Azmi. Add child artiste Aditi Inamdar as Poorna, the 14-year-old Adivasi girl from Telangana who climbed Mount Everest, and we find a complete range of female actors.

Notes Mehra, “Poorna cannot be called a female-centric film technically, though the protagonist who emerges as a real-life heroine is a young girl. It is a real drama that is meant theoretically for multiplex audiences but, in fact, has been killed by the multiplexes and their attitude. These kind of inspirational biopics need sufficient screens, economical tickets (like for Rs 100) of the kind the multiplex chains have always falsely promised us, and affordable snacks too. Only then will people go to watch such movies.”

Entertainment & identification

However, what differentiates a flop from a hit film are the entertainment quotient and the identification factor. “Why should audiences go to watch a brothel madam fighting Partition for her own reasons?” Mehra asks. “Why should they be interested at all?”

We will obviously not consider the other films that stood absolutely no chance too — the excessively real Noor that lacked drama or punch, Maatr, which made a sick farce of a serious subject like punishment for rape, the antique Ek Thi Rani…, in which Hema portrayed Vijaya Raje Scindia, and the niche Sonata.

Phillauri, Anushka Sharma’s home production, was too Punjabi-heavy for a pan-Indian Hindi film. It had potential — being about a ghost haunting a tree in rural Punjab to which a manglik (a person with a fault in his horoscope that can bump off a spouse!) NRI has to be married off to alleviate the planets. Punjabi superstar (Diljit Dosanjh) only had a cameo in it. “So, yes, the film performed better in Punjab than in the rest of India, but not enough to be called a hit,” notes Mirani.

Small, star-less movies like Anaarkali Of Aarah can break even only on positive word-of-mouth, like its heroine’s last film Nil Battey Sannata did, but here there was no chance. The film was based in Bihar and its strong local flavour prevented general resonance. Strangely enough, both these films had loads of music and lyrics with excessive regional flavours, all in the misguidedly spurious name of ‘authenticity’ that alienated listeners from all other regions.
That leaves us with the only film among these that worked with the audiences: Neeraj Pandey’s action thriller Naam Shabana, starring Taapsee Pannu as the middle-class girl who is chosen and trained to be a spy, and embarks upon a crucial first assignment. This film was a fresh genre for India — a spin-off (an established genre overseas) on a hit film, the 2015 Baby — the back-story of one of the main characters. The unusual first-half of how spies are chosen and trained was engrossing, and the second-half was all action.

Many observers attribute the success of this film to Akshay Kumar’s presence in a guest appearance, and to Baby’s success. But this is skewed logic. Word-of-mouth is always stronger than a movie’s opening, which is based on the vibe a film gives. Those who watched the film and spread the good word knew that the top star was only around for about 10 minutes, and he did not even need to protect the heroine. As for the Baby brand, do all sequels become hits? Yet, Mirani adds a footnote, “There was no other movie of consequence when the film released, which helped the film too. But it was sold at an expensive price, and will not break even because of that. Yes, every film here is a loser.”

Future prospects

So, what is the future of female-centric films now? Padmavati on the Rajput queen with Deepika Padukone, Simran (Kangana Ranaut) on a real con-woman, Haseena (Shraddha Kapoor) on Dawood’s sister, biopics on Saina Nehwal (Shraddha Kapoor), gangster Sapna Didi (Deepika again) and Kashmiri lass Sehmat who married a Pakistani soldier and spied for India (Alia Bhatt) are all coming up. Each one is a clear biopic, dramatised or otherwise. Will they reach the level of a Mary Kom, The Dirty Picture or a Neerja?

It is not for nothing that Mary Kom, Piku and Pink have been hits, and people have ensured ‘superhit’ status for The Dirty Picture, Kahaani, Queen, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Neerja by giving them rousing endorsements. In most cases, the critics have been kind too. Thus, if female-centric films have to make the grade, and the latent dreams of many female actors to eliminate disparity in paychecks be realised sometime in the foreseeable future, the script has to be on the level. As Mehra points out, “Gender is immaterial. Could Maatr have done well if it was made with a strong male star and the same atrocious script?”