Are women-centric Bollywood films opening new doors?

Of the many films featuring strong female protagonists that have come and gone few have been etched onto our collective memory It may be pointed out that box office success in Bollywood is attributed mainly to male stars and filmmakers spend big bucks to cast known actors in their films But on the occasion of International Womenrsquos Day hitlist explores how some films were exceptional as they defied all trends and norms in BollywoodSridevi in English VinglishIf we go back half a century films like Mother India and Pakeezah mdash considered two of the finest classics of Indian cinema mdash were pathbreaking movies Nargis played Radha a poor village woman who fights against odds to raise her two sons while Meena Kumarirsquos Sahibjaan was the epitome of heartbreak The former killed her evil son for the sake of preserving justice while the latter sacrificed her love in the film Both characters set the tone of their respective films and ended up being huge hits tooNargis in Mother India andVidya Balan in KahaaniBut some things changed in the rsquo80s and rsquo90s While parallel cinema still dared to dabble in films dealing with feminist issues commercially they were duds however genuine the intention of the filmmaker Films like Prakash Jharsquos Mrityudand and Rajkumar Santoshirsquos Lajja come to mind While these movies dealt with the bold subject of womenrsquos triumph they didnrsquot work at the box office Most women oriented films surprisingly recieved poor responseAs if on cue films with women playing the ldquoherordquo of the film failed miserably and consistently Soon producers feared investing in these filmsPakeezah centred around the life of Meena Kumarirsquos character Sahibjaan who sacrifices her love in the filmHowever more recently the tide seems to be turning in favour of these films with womenoriented scripts gaineing acceptance in the industry On their part actresses too are more open to playing protagonists for a changeFilmmaker Gauri Shinde who made a successful directorial debut with English Vinglish vouches for the same ldquoIt was difficult for me to pitch the film I was a firsttime director and I was not making a film about a young woman It didnrsquot have any item numbers in it so there were doubts in peoplersquos mindsrdquo she says adding that it takes a while to draw audiences into cinema halls but once people start liking a film word spreads and the filmrsquos collections pick up as wellRekha in Rajkumar Santoshirsquos film Lajja which was based on the plight of women in IndiaWhile Shinde found it difficult to convince studios with her film it was a cakewalk for Santoshi He says ldquoI was a successful filmmaker and nobody had any problem with my subject During those days films with women doing rona dhona worked well with the audiences My films Damini and Lajja took the revolutionary road as they shocked audiences with their treatment of a womanoriented themerdquoAnd while he concedes that multiplex audiences want to see all kinds of cinema he is quick to point out that they charge higher ticket rates for maleoriented films and not womenoriented ones ldquoIt is important to market the former in a manner where audiences connect with yourdquo he saysGauri Shinde admits that pitching her debut film English Vinglish to producers was not easyShinde explains that ours is a maledominated country and the film industry in particular is no different ldquoMost of the audiences are men they buy tickets at the counter Besides there is this perception that womencentric films will be boring and righteous Unless more women get out on their own and decide what they want to watch things will not changerdquo she saysActorproducer Dia Mirza who is now making the film Bobby Jasoos with Vidya Balan playing the main lead agreesldquoAs our audiences evolve so do our filmmakers and their ability to tell stories showcasing women in interesting avatars The new India is eager to celebrate women characters that are nuanced entertaining and most importantly real Eventually it will always be the story that is the clincher and itrsquos great to see that we find more and more women now taking our stories forwardrdquoShabana Azmi known for playing a formidable woman in her films believes that audiences love a wellmade movieVidya Balan who is known to do women centric films seconds her ldquoA good film will irrespective of its theme People react to human beings and their stories The only criterion is how well a story is told How else can you explain that Gravity bagged seven Oscars besides being the sixth highest grossing film of 2013rdquo she saysPrakash Jha who has featured strong women characters in films like Mrityudand blames the society for its negative approach He says ldquoOurs is a male oriented industry and society but things are changing now If a film is promoted well it works I donrsquot think a film will work only because it is star orientedrdquoShabana Azmi known for playing a formidable woman in her films asks both filmmakers and audiences to be patient ldquoI think this is a misconception Vidya Balanrsquos womencentric films have had commercial success and in the past too films of Meena Kumari and Nutan were very successful Irsquove had a fairly decent stint myself We underestimate our audiences they warm up to a good film What sometimes fails is the budget not the filmrdquo she emphasises