Why no heroine oriented commercial entertainers in BW anymore? - Page 2

Then, cinema is one of the few entertainment available.

Then, women also regularly went out to watch cinema.

Then, actresses had star power and people who willing to spend money.

Then, director and producer had guts and worked hard to make good cinema no matter who acts in it.

Then, talented music directors and lyricists made good music, not to mention singers.

Last but not least, the movies provide entertainment×3.

That’s because just like the male actors the female actors also need the popular actors as their counterparts to draw big at the BO. All the movies that you have mentioned have superstars or the upcoming superstars as their male leads.

All the so called Male lead movies have superstar heroines as their female leads which continues even now. But somehow somewhere their egos have become so bloated that the male superstars have stopped working in the female lead movies. Either the egos or the exorbitant prices.

Yes.

Khoon Bhari Maang is a masala film replete with villain, vamp, dukhi parivar, damsel in distress turned avenger and that too as a hot model.

It is a typical masala potboiler and has an OTT plot unlike more subtle Queen and English Vinglish that have NO hero, villain, vamp or glamour or action scenes.

EV looks like a piece of art in front of out and out entertainer like Khoon Bhari Maang.

Mother India is also not an artsy or offbeat film. It has all popular tropes of that era - villain, greedy oppressive money lenders, bandits and sons who go divergent paths as one is good guy and other turns a bandit/vigilante.

They have solid male cast too who are not props the way men are in English Vinglish and Queen. That lala and Sunil Dutt have substantial role in that film. Sunil did brilliant job despite being new.

English Vinglish and Queen are no way as commercial as the films I mentioned. Only Queen has more entertainment value as it is more fun, light hearted and has dhol dhamaka songs. Unlike English Vinglish which is more subtle, toned down film and actors have given controlled, measured performances. Never was EV promoted as a commercial entertainer.

I agree with Rekha_ji's POV. I don't think it was ever a trend in the industry.

Don't get me wrong. I wish what you're saying was true.

The films you mentioned were certainly highly successful as they were brilliant entertainers in general.

The audiences were aware that these films had the female lead in the focus, but they didn't approach those films as "women-oriented" films. They were anyways great films.👏

It's not like BW had a trend of having dozens of women-oriented commercially entertainers every year jo ab chala gaya.

If anything, things have changed for the better for women in the industry. There are so many things wrong today, but at leas today the producers/directors don't hesitate in putting female actors in the forefront. Women are at a much better position in the industry.

In the last decade, TDP & Kahani did well...and some other Vidya Balan films did good too.

As much as I hate Kangana now, her success in TWMR is unparalleled. She is trying really hard to repeat her success, but have been failing to do so.

Raazi and Veeray Di Wedding did well too.

Taapsee's films are also getting attention, and they do good enough business if they're good films.

There are several female-centric films being made on OTT.

Now whether these films make money like Housefull series or Singham series, is an another issue.

They may not be 100 crore blockbusters, but they have quality.👍🏼

If we're talking about female superstars like Hma, Sridevi or Madhuri who had a certain level of BO pull.... then I agree. That trend is certainly gone now.

There are so many actresses doing solo leads today.

I disagree with only one point. Women did not go to watch cinema more than men in old days. Rather cinema was looked down upon or something that only adults or married people or college grads should be allowed to watch. I have heard from elders how they were discouraged from watching films in theatres or doing fangiri for film stars. Anyone who watched too many films was called filmi, spoilt or awara.

Some families had strict rules that one can go to cinema halls only after marriage with husband or after completing college as older people saw cinema as a corrupting influence on youth.

Way more people watch films now compared to that era. And way more people are comfortable watching films, open to going to theatres with or without family compared to those days.

However I feel people maybe skip films in theatres if they are not mega budget larger than life stuff and perhaps watch films more online or on TV, DVD than theatres which is why films do well but do not shatter records easily.

That is 100% true.

Nowadays even newcomers show attitude and do not like to act in films where heroine has dominant role.

Established stars stay away from films where heroine has better role.

Too insecure and fragile egos. None of them have guts of Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Shatrughan Sinha, Sunny Deol, Rajinikanth, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Amrish Puri, Rishi Kapoor, Kabir Bedi to do a heroine dominated film like Nagina, Seeta Aur Geeta, Khoon Bhari Maang, Chaalbaaz, Mother India or Jai Santoshi Ma.

For that matter Nagina is also one of top grossers of its year of release and the only film with epic heroine vs villain clash between Sridevi and Amrish Puri. I miss why such heroine vs star villain clashes are seen so rarely now.

Most heroine oriented films made in last 30 years are about rape, domestic violence or neglected wife or battered woman or woman rejected in marriage, marital disputes type stuff. Rare to see commercial entertainers where heroine has also thrashed or shot villains.

I never said there was a TREND of female oriented BBs earlier. I just said we earlier HAD such films even if occasionally.

Commercial entertainers dominated by heroine are getting less and less now despite society being more open to feminism in this era.

Films of Taapsee are hardly commercial or potboilers. They are medium budget films. And if they were made in 90s they would be called critics type or offbeat films. I do not see her doing a Nagina, Naagin, Khoon Bhari Maang, Chaalbaaz, Seeta aur Geeta type entertainer, commercially oriented film with potential to appeal to masses.

However I agree. Audience of that time simply watched what was given to them. They never had preconceived notions of whether it was hero or heroine who dominated the film or if film had a message. They watched Chandni and Nagina without pre conceived judgement of whether it was heroine oriented or not.

And even makers focused on entertainment first. I am sure Rajiv Rai made Kajol the killer in Gupt only as surprise element and not with intention to give heroine something more substantial to do.

Today's filmmakers often market the film in a certain way which often makes it seem like a niche 'woman oriented category' or a 'message', which may be counterproductive as it reduces catchment of potential audience.

Originally posted by: atominis

Rare to see commercial entertainers where heroine has also thrashed or shot villains.

You need to take a look at historical movies for the past 15-20 years. Heroines in those movies come in only one flavor -Warrior Princess. Whether it's Hollywood or Bollywood. For them a strong historical heroine is automatically a Warrior Princess. Nevermind that women trained in martial arts were a minority at that time. Granted these are not solo heroine projects.

This is true. But if audience can watch most of Salman masala films which are also revenge plots then why not revenge plots with heroines?

Ghajini was also a revenge plot but with a hero.

Revenge plots do have an audience. Even on TV, Ekta has already had 5 seasons of naagin in quest for revenge. Hehe.

Almost all Rajinikanth films even till date have a revenge angle.

People are always game for revenge plots IMO because sucb plots give outlet to their own repressed anger and feel karmic justice as they relate to character on quest for justice (viewer sees it as justice and not revenge when cause is justified through the story).

How many of them are heroine dominated or blockbusters?

I mean we all know fate of Manikarnika. Or films like Drona where PC played a warrior. Deepika's action scenes also got ignored as CCTC failed. Mardaani series are average grossers and hardly for a mass audience.

Bajirao Mastani is successful but cannot be called only a heroine dominated film as hero has title role as well as a very solid, defining role. Whereas heroine in title role is sharing screen space with another heroine.

I do not expect Kangana's Dhaakad to do that well either. I mean, not the level of Nagina or even her own TWMR type success.

I am not aware of full fledged warrior princess or queen films killing it at the BO with heroine dominating the story.

For that matter even serial on Razia Sultan flopped on TV and Jhansi ki Rani did only moderately well.