Bollywood, of recent, has followed the Hollywood lead. Everything must be as big and expensive as humanly possible. Big action scenes, big explosions, you name it has to be big. Only problem is, the returns on these films are actually quite small, and the Hindi film business has started to suffer as a result. There is hope, and of recent, it is smaller-budgeted, female-led films which are hitting with audiences.
Two recently released films are prime examples that bigger is not always better: Piku, starring Deepika Padukone and Tanu Weds Manu Returns, starring Kangana Ranaut. Both have big time female stars in the lead roles, and both have been smash hits at the box office. It is, though, part of a growing trend in India that can only be ignored for so long. The smaller, actress-led films are making money.
In 2014, there were seven such films. In an article found here, Padukone and Ranaut were particularly singled out for praise, because they have bucked tradition and are providing a blueprint for the future of cinema in India. With really bankable male stars in short supply (Sorry Ranbir), the two have stepped into the void and began to change the tone of Indian cinema away from the action-oriented 1990s.
As well, in tradition-laden India, where the actors lineage to other actors runs back to the beginning of cinema, both actresses' roots are but superficially deep. They have made themselves successes without the aid of nepotism.
Strong women, the both of them, they have weathered tough times and criticisms from the press and became greater human beings as a result. It will be interest to watch the evolution of the two actresses and whether or not female led film can continue to do good box office in a conservative country.
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