As the world celebrated International Women’s Day on 8 March 2022, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali marked the occasion by slamming the perceptions about investing in a hero-led film is safer, since the audience demands it.
The filmmaker, whose last two films were women-centric- Padmaavat and Gangubai Kathiawadi, is dejected to make a general observation.
that sees the success of the women-centric film as an exception while the men-led-films attracts the audience into the theatres.
Bhansali questions, while raging on the subject, the general narrative of believing that only male-centric film will work in the box office.
He believes that this narrative is false and that a women-centric film will run as well as a male-centric film.
He asserts a misunderstanding amidst the masses which has an otherwise perception for a woman as a hero. Nevertheless, Sanjay supports his arguments by stating the
“cultural examples” of the previous decades where Raj Kapoor worked in films like Ram Teri Ganga Maili and Bobby, Mehboob Khan worked with the making of Mother India and many more such examples.
Whose last two big projects have been focused on two very distinct female personalities around whom the stories revolved – Rani Padmavati of Chittor and Gangubai Kathiwadi of Kamathipura – Is dismissive of the idea that has succeeded in Bollywood over the past pair of decades.
That sees ‘women-oriented films’ succeeding at the Box Office as an anomaly, while the default setting is that you require a ‘hero’ to get the crowds in.
Sanjay questions the understanding about “hero ki picture” would work rose. However, this is not the scenario according to him. The industry has seen some of the biggest hits where a woman played the main role.
Nevertheless, he believes that there are many shades of women that needs recognition and one should take pride in celebrating the same.
