In the age of pan India Films, and reducing screenspace for women, it has become even more necessary for the actresses to take charge of the stories they are part of.
In the last few years, many Bollywood actresses have turned producers. They have produced films either starring themselves in lead roles or having new talents in prominent parts.
This trend of actresses turning producers proved to be a healthy change, giving them greater control over their roles, and allowing them to explore more challenging roles which mainstream cinema doesn’t always provide. While the box office figures for these movies aren’t massive, there is creative satisfaction.
It is a well-known fact that in today’s age of pan-Indian cinema, actresses are getting reduced to mere dolls with very little to do. Even the romantic track with heroes has become all about the male gaze.
In the recent big-budget film Devara (2024)—Janhvi Kapoor’s Tollywood debut, the actress makes her appearance only in the second half that too for a brief while. She is reduced to a person lusting after the hero and dancing to the sensuous “Chuttamalle”.
In this scenario, it becomes even more necessary for the actresses to take charge of the stories they are part of. Here is a list of actresses turning producers and the projects they undertook.
Anushka Sharma
One of the actresses who turned a producer early on was Anushka Sharma. She launched her own production company Clean Slate Filmz in the year 2013.
The first movie produced under her banner was NH 10 (2015), a gripping thriller. The film is about honour killings, in which a city couple find themselves witness to a brutal incident of honour killing leaving deep scars. In the film, Anushka Sharma portrays a wide range of emotions, from confidence to despair, to finally rage.
After the intense NH10, the actress did a complete U-Turn with her next production Phillauri (2017). In 2018, she produced and acted in yet another milestone film in her career— Pari.
While Philauri dealt primarily with superstitions in a comic tone, it also spoke about long-lost love and the culture of music and poetry in Punjab.
In this movie, she played a strong-willed woman with a flair for writing poetry. Later in the movie, she plays the role of a friendly spirit giving Anushka ample scope to demonstrate both her comic and dramatic chops.
Post Phillauri there was the horror movie Pari in the backdrop of satanic cults. Pari was a challenging part both physically and emotionally for Anushka. She was in equal parts scary and also emotionally vulnerable delivering a knock-out act.
All these movies are not major grossers at the box office but they showcased Anushka’s versatility in taking on challenging roles.
Roping in new talents
Apart from the above-mentioned ones Anushka has also backed movies featuring young talents, a case in point being Bulbbul (2020) and Qala (2022).
Both these movies featured young actress Tripti Dimri in author-backed roles. They opened to great reviews marking Tripti as a promising young talent which unfortunately the actress has not been able to capitalize on. Bulbbul also had another upcoming actor Avinash Tiwary making a strong impression.
Anushka also produced the critically acclaimed Amazon show Paatal Lok (2020).
Paatal Lok had the Raazi actor Jaideep Ahlawat in a breakthrough performance. The show gave Jaideep space to display his talent and he didn’t disappoint.
The show was also a breakthrough for Abhishek Banerjee, generally known for comic roles in the Stree franchise, the actor was extremely convincing as the deadly assassin.
Priyanka Chopra
Another prominent actress Priyanka Chopra has also backed hatke movies under Purple Pebble Pictures. Apart from the likes of Sky Is Pink (2019) and The White Tiger (2021) Priyanka has produced movies in Marathi as well.
Ventilator (2016) had director Ashutosh Gowariker in a major role. The movie opened to rave reviews apart from being a commercial success. Director Rajesh Mapuskar who also wrote the screenplay won awards for best screenplay and best debut director.
Speaking about her Hindi film, Sky Is Pink featured the actress in a multi-layered character. Her role as a determined parent spans from a young mother to an older woman. As a strong mother who wants to make sure that her child lives life to the fullest amidst a life-threatening disease, Priyanka‘s performance touched a huge chord with the audience.
The grief along with her inner strength is palpable in every scene.
In the English/Hindi movie The White Tiger Priyanka’s role was more of a supporting one, nevertheless, the actress made a striking impression.
The White Tiger had Adarsh Gaurav in the lead role, who got into the skin of his character. The movie opened new doors for the young talent.
Alia Bhatt
The national award-winning actress Alia started her own production house with the movie Darlings (2022).
The film is a dark thriller/comedy about two domestic abuse survivors, with her character Badru representing the numerous housewives who put up with their husband’s abusive behaviour in the hope that they would change one day. This doesn’t happen and eventually, Badru is forced to take things into her own hands.
The transition of Alia’s Badru from a battered housewife to a stronger woman was exciting to watch though the process could have been better etched. It was brave of Alia to choose a subject like Darlings for her debut venture and by playing a domestic abuse survivor she represented numerous Indian women whose patience is mistaken for submissiveness.
Darlings was followed by presenting the Malayalam web series Poacher (2024). Poacher was a crime drama based on the real-life incidents of Elephant poaching. The series had Nimisha Sajayan in an intense performance giving her new fame.
After Poacher came Jigra (2024) which she produced along with Karan Johar.
Jigra is a story about a fiercely protective elder sister, who would do whatever it takes to save her brother from the death sentence. There are intense combat sequences with an ally turned foe in a jungle.
Keeping aside the box office numbers, Alia showcased a different side to her in this movie proving that she can pull off action as well. Apart from being an emotional drama Jigra also touched upon the consequences of a delayed justice system where innocent prisoners are forced to take extreme measures in order to find freedom.
Deepika Padukone
In the year 2020 Deepika produced and starred in the flawed yet gutsy Chhappak movie under her banner Ka Productions.
Deepika took a huge risk with her stardom to play an acid attack survivor. In spite of falling short in a couple of sequences, Deepika was mostly competent in making the viewers feel the agony of Malati Agarwal based on the real-life Lakshmi Agarwal.
Taapsee Pannu
Pink (2014) actress Taapsee Pannu turned producer with the female buddy film Dhak Dhak (2023) under the banner Outsider Films. The movie focused on four women of different age groups and their journey of self-discovery on a long bike trip. It was a well-made feel good movie.
Kareena Kapoor Khan
Kareena Kapoor Khan also turned into a producer with a Hansal Mehta directorial The Buckingham Murders (2024). The name of her production house is Mahana Films.
Unlike her general glamorous roles, Kareena was seen in a very different avatar, a detective going through huge emotional turmoil while investigating a case. Kareena delivered a stunning performance, showcasing her versatility.
Kriti Sanon
The last in this list is Kriti Sanon who co-produced the recently released Do Patti (2024) under her banner Blue Butterfly Films. The core concept of domestic abuse and the character graph of Kriti’s Saumya in this is similar to what Jasmeet K Reen already explored in Darlings.
Having said that it has to be mentioned that director Shashanka Chaturvedi brought his aspects too like post-traumatic stress and a jealous identical twin who undergoes a transformation. Playing two vastly different characters Kriti pushed herself as an actress coming up with a good performance.
Through the double act, Kriti showed that she can easily play a grey-shaded or a completely negative role.
Becoming decision-makers
In a way, this is a good trend as actresses are becoming decision-makers in showcasing women’s talent and pushing boundaries.
On the other hand, it is also a sad commentary on the film industry that actresses had to bankroll movies to display their talent, something which mainstream cinema is not giving them enough.
