For Patralekhaa, it’s a season of firsts — from turning producer with Toaster and embracing motherhood with daughter Parvati Paul Rao, to now headlining her first women-led film, Heer Sara Aur Pondicherry. “I was sold even before reading it,” she laughs. The actor says she was surprised to learn that the movie revolved around women and had no love angle.

While female actors get to play varied roles, Patralekhaa feels that “women are always portrayed as somebody’s something”. “Love seems to be the centre of our being, at least in movies. While we have so many shades, I don’t see that reflected quite often.” Stories centred on female friendships, she says, are even rarer. “Those parts are not written. In my 10-year-long career, there have only been a couple of films that have been female-oriented,” she shares.