These actresses are busy raising their stature, Richa Chadha is carrying forward this tradition started by Anushka Sharma.

Superstars like Aamir, Shahrukh, Salman, Akshay, Ajay Devgan have been playing the double role of producer along with acting. Whereas, earlier this was not seen in the case of heroines. But now heroines of the youth brigade like Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Taapsee Pannu, Richa Chadha, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon are also playing the dual role of actor-producer. Recently, the new release date of Kangana’s banner film ‘Emergency’ has been revealed, while Richa Chadha’s banner film Girls Will is also making waves in the Girls Film Festivals. Special report on this changing trend: There was a time when usually only heroes could travel from being an actor on screen to being a film producer behind the screen. Be it the legendary Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Dharam Paaji or Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, most of the superstars of the industry have always played the double role of film production along with acting. But in the case of heroines, such examples were few in number. From Nargis, Nutan, Meena Kumari to Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Karisma Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Manisha Koirala, Rani Mukherjee, Katrina Kaif, the actresses of the previous generation limited themselves to acting but with the changing times, our new The thinking of heroines of this generation has also changed. She no longer wants to limit herself to just playing a character created by someone else on screen, but wants to have control over the entire film. This is the reason why most of the actresses of the young brigade like Anushka Sharma, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone to Kangana Ranaut, Taapsee Pannu, Richa Chadha, Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon have also entered film production.

Growing in stature, becoming powerful

The special thing is that these heroines, who have raised their stature as producers, are creating such strong roles for themselves in which other producers do not see them. Like, hardly any producer would have seen the beautiful Deepika Padukone as acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, but Deepika produced this film for herself. Similarly, Anushka Sharma was also seen in diverse and powerful roles as an actress in films like ‘NH10’, ‘Phillauri’ and ‘Pari’ made as a producer. Kangana will be seen in the role of Indira Gandhi in her film ‘Emergency’, while producer Alia Bhatt also made films for herself with strong roles like ‘Darlings’ and ‘Jigra’. At the same time, Kriti Sanon presented herself in a double role as an actress for the first time in her first film as a producer, ‘Do Patti’. Kriti says, ‘I was in a phase of my career where I wanted to be more creatively involved in films rather than just being an actor. Then I thought of becoming a producer. I was also looking for a role in which I would get to perform at an intense level, which I was not getting. So, for me this is a step towards creating opportunities. I believe that if you do not have opportunities in front of you and you can create them, then you should create them.

strengthening the entire community

By becoming producers, these actresses are not only strengthening themselves but also the entire community. For example, Anushka under her banner gave a chance to new actresses like Trupti Dimri to showcase her talent in strong roles like Kala and Bulbul. Taapsee Pannu brings a story of self-discovery of four girls in her production house’s film Dhak Dhak, starring Ratna Pathak Shah, Dia Mirza, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanjana Sanghi in different avatars. Richa Chadha even made the set of her banner’s first film Girls Will Be Girls women friendly. In this film directed by Shuchi Talati, most of the departments are headed by girls. Even when there was no female expert in the lighting department, Richa and her team trained about 10 girls and empowered them.

If heroes can become producers, then why not heroines?

Experts say that one of the reasons for stars like Aamir, Shahrukh, Salman, Akshay becoming co-producers of their films is their huge fees. Many producers, instead of paying this huge fee, make them co-producers by giving them business shares. Whereas, earlier the fees of heroines were not so high that they were forced to give profit share. In such a situation, is this also a reason behind the new generation of actresses becoming producers? When asked this, well-known trade expert Komal Nahata says, ‘No, it is not so. The fee of a big hero goes from 100 to 120 crores, so they take a percentage. Whereas, if the heroine’s fee is not 60 or even 40 percent of this, then that is not the issue. The main thing is equality. Today’s girls think that whatever boys can do, we can also do it. If boys can become CEOs, directors or producers, we can too. This change is being seen in the entire society.

Producer Anushka showed a new path to success

It is not that heroines did not try their hand in production in the earlier era. Earlier also Madhubala produced a few films like Naata, Mahalon Ka Khwaab, Aishwarya Rai Dil Ka Rishta, Preity Zinta produced a few films like Ishq in Paris, but these heroines could not taste success. Truly, Anushka Sharma’s hit film NH10 became a new ray of hope in this matter. Subsequently, Priyanka Chopra further strengthened the credibility of female producers by winning the National Award for the Marathi films Ventilator and Paani and an Oscar nomination for The White Tiger. In this series, Richa Chadha, who won awards at Sundance and MAMI Mumbai Film Festival for Girls Will Be Girls, is taking this tradition forward.

‘Don’t be limited to acting’

I wanted to be more involved creatively in the film instead of just being an actor. Therefore, I decided to produce the film Do Patti. I believe why should we limit ourselves to only one thing. – Kriti Sanon, actress

‘Heroines are no less than heroes’

In today’s era, equality between girls and boys is being seen in every field. In such a situation, female actresses have also started thinking that if heroes can become producers, then we too can become producers. – Komal Nahata, Film Trade Analyst