Powerful women of Bollywood who are changing the narrative

These dynamos are transforming the world of entertainment, winning at the box office and pushing for parity

As she held the Emmy for outstanding performance by an actress in a limited or anthology series for her role in Mare of Easttown last September, Kate Winslet started addressing the crowd by acknowledging her fellow nominees, “This decade has to be about women having each other’s backs.” While entertainment continues to very much be a man’s world, women in industries across the world are working towards this collective goal. Women are opening more doors, and often are confident enough to enter those doors without an invitation. It’s no different in Bollywood where women actors, producers, directors and creative heads at streaming platforms are using their positions of influence to build circles of trust. These are women, both in front of and behind the camera, who wield box office clout and/or play a key role in empowering storytellers.

From small screen to big screen

For more than two decades now, Ekta Kapoor has been influencing desi pop culture. She revolutionised Indian television with her popular saas-bahu serials in the early 2000s and since then has been the force behind some of the biggest TV shows across major channels and in multiple languages. As a film producer, though, her choices have been anything but mainstream. She’s put her might behind films like Love, Sex Aur Dhoka (2010), The Dirty Picture (2011), Lootera (2013), Udta Punjab (2016) and Pagglait (2021), to name a few. “Ekta is a rare producer in the industry who has created a complete ecosystem of her own. She works in television, film and also streaming. Rather than just creating content for other streamers, she has her own platform,” says Gautam Jain, Partner, Ormax Media. As a producer, Kapoor’s slate includes Anurag Kashyap’s Taapsee Pannu-starrer Dobaaraa (2022) and an untitled film helmed by Hansal Mehta starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, which will also mark the actress’s debut as a producer. There’s also a five-film deal with prolific Hollywood producer Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity; Glass) and genre label Dark Hell’s Armaan Zorace to produce films in the thriller-horror space.

Between tradition and modernity

Directors Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar’s Tiger Baby Films that launched with Gully Boy (2019) is a much younger outfit. The duo, though, have established themselves as creative powerhouses as writers and directors of films such as Luck By Chance (2009), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) and Talash: The Answer Lies Within (2012). For their maiden streaming series, Made in Heaven (2019-), the duo trained their lens onto contemporary Indian life that’s struggling between modernity and tradition, giving Amazon Prime Video another bonafide hit. Coming up next for them is the Netflix original film The Archies and a road film titled Jee Le Zara, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt, which Akhtar-Kagti have written. There’s also the much awaited second season of Made in Heaven.

More than just acting

Being a producer translates to the ability to tell the kind of stories one wants to, and no one knows this better than actresses like Anushka Sharma, Chopra Jonas and Deepika Padukone. While it’s not new for female actors to launch production houses, in the past they were mostly attempts at re-launching downward spiralling careers. Turning producer hasn’t just given actresses complete control over the process but also bring about changes in the power dynamics within the industry. Chopra Jonas’ Purple Pebbles offers a range of benefits for working mothers including a crèche and flexible working hours while Richa Chadda hopes to have more women on the sets of Girls Will Be Girls, her maiden production.

Raking up the numbers

Nothing spells power in the entertainment business like getting ‘bums in seats’ as they say. It’s no secret that Bollywood’s been reeling from the after-effects of the pandemic. The only bright spark in this rather dull season has been Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi that’s racked up impressive numbers at both the domestic and international box office. Since it opened in late February this year, the film’s worldwide gross collection is ₹196.86 crores. “Gangubai ran on the strength of Alia’s star power. You have to remember that pre-release there were doubts both in the industry and among the fans about her being too young or didn’t have the personality to play that character. And yet, the film got an opening. She got fans into theatres even before there was any word-of-mouth publicity,” says trade analyst Komal Nahata. It was Vidya Balan’s Kahaani (2012) and its commercial success that encouraged filmmakers to tell more women’s stories. In the years in between, the female lead has finally gotten her due and proven her bankability at the box office many times over. Pannu’s filmography that includes Pink (2016), Mulk (2018) and Thappad (2020) is a testament to this.

Behind the scenes

Joining forces with these ladies in front of the camera in a bid to tell more diverse stories are directors like Farah Khan (Om Shanti Om, 2007), Meghna Gulzar (Raazi, 2018 ), Gauri Shinde (Dear Zindagi, 2016) and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (Bareilly Ki Barfi, 2017). The number of female directors employed in the global entertainment business continues to be abysmally low and it’s no different in Bollywood. If you narrow it down to the biggest grossing Bollywood films, unfortunately the figure drops further. There is a lot more genre parity when it comes to OTT platforms that are at the forefront of changing what we watch and how we watch it. Of the top five streaming services in the country, three have female executives–Aparna Purohit (Amazon Prime Video), Monika Shergill (Netflix) and Ashima Awasthi (Zee5), who greenlight original content for each of their platforms. Between them they’ve given us blockbuster content that includes The Family Man (2019-), Aranyak (2021-) and Abhay (2019-). “There’s been a democratisation of content consumption in the last decade or so which has resulted in there being an audience for any and all types of stories. Having more women as a part of the process in different decision-making roles has meant that we now tell stories with a more holistic gaze, instead of just the male point of view,” explains Dhruv Chitgopekar, one of the founding partners at one of Bollywood’s premiere talent agencies, The Collective Artists Network.

In the 100-plus years of Indian cinema, of which Bollywood is the most predominant industry, there haven’t been these many women in positions of power, effecting change and impacting the industry with inclusive storytelling. But one still has to go down multiple layers on a film’s or show’s credits to find a woman, let alone one in a position of power. According to O Womaniya! 2021, a study conducted by Ormax Media and Film Companion on the gender disparity in Bollywood, less than 10 per cent of Head of Departments of films between 2019-2020 were women. A lot more still needs to be done to keep the doors propped open for the next generation of female creators.

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