Women-led films have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to connect with audiences, earn critical acclaim and occasionally deliver impressive box-office returns. Yet, when it comes to generating a bumper opening at the ticket windows, Hindi cinema continues to rely heavily on its male superstars. Even as actresses take centre stage in increasingly diverse narratives, the question remains: why does a film headlined by a woman often have to work harder to draw audiences into theatres?
From Mother India, Sujata and Bandini to ChaalBaaz, English Vinglish, Mardaani and Crew, Hindi cinema has a long history of female-driven narratives. While several of these films have enjoyed commercial success, the industry’s opening-weekend economics continue to favour films driven by established male stars, particularly those mounted as big-screen spectacles.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh believes that the challenge is not restricted to women-centric cinema. In an increasingly competitive entertainment landscape, every film needs a compelling reason to attract audiences to theatres. “For any film, it could be a women-centric, it could be a male-centric film, it has to have that definite USP to drag the audience out of their homes,” says Adarsh.
With streaming platforms offering a wide range of content, he feels audiences have become more selective about what deserves a theatrical outing. “If you are watching the same thing on a web series, on TV, then you probably won’t shell out 400 or 500 rupees per ticket or more for tickets,” he points out.
Adarsh also notes that strong female characters are hardly a recent development in Hindi cinema. Even during decades dominated by male superstars and multi-starrers, films featuring powerful women found an audience. He recalls actresses such as Rekha and Zeenat Aman, and films like Insaf Ka Tarazu, as examples of an era when female characters could occupy a commanding position in mainstream narratives.
However, he acknowledges that the ability to carry an entire film independently remains a challenge for actresses. “Carrying a film solely on one’s own shoulders is still difficult for a heroine today, we have to accept this,” he says.
Citing Deepika Padukone’s Chhapaak, Adarsh draws attention to the difference between an actress’s popularity and her ability to guarantee theatrical collections. Despite Padukone’s standing as a leading star and the appreciation for her performance, the film did not generate the box-office numbers expected of a major star vehicle.
“Despite Deepika being at her peak and delivering a good performance, the Box Office collections did not match expectations,” Adarsh observes. According to him, the commercial equation changes when an actress is paired with a major male superstar, highlighting the industry’s continued dependence on established star combinations.
For veteran distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal, the issue also comes down to the economics of theatrical exhibition, particularly the difference between multiplex audiences and mass-market circuits.
“The biggest challenge for a women-centric film is the initial footfall. In many single-screen and mass-market centres, audiences are still more inclined towards larger-than-life heroes, action and commercial entertainers. A female-led film may receive appreciation, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into a strong Friday opening,” Bansal explains.
He believes the opening weekend is especially important for distributors, who must assess a film’s ability to recover its investment within a relatively short theatrical window.
“Ultimately, distribution is a business. A film has to be made at the right budget and bought at the right price. If the opening is weak, the recovery becomes difficult. That’s why the economics of women-centric films have to be planned carefully. A good film can grow through word of mouth, but the financial risk has to be controlled,” he adds.
Bansal’s assessment also points to a broader imbalance in the industry. While male stars frequently command enormous remuneration and production budgets, female-led projects are often expected to operate within tighter financial limits. Their commercial performance is consequently judged against a different set of expectations.
Trade analyst and producer Girish Johar, however, cautions against treating women-centric films as commercially unviable. He points to films such as Mardaani and Crew, along with successful female-led projects featuring Yami Gautam Dhar, as evidence that audiences are willing to support stories driven by women.
“I don’t think women-centric films cannot work at the box office. We have seen films like Mardaani and Crew find their audiences. Ultimately, what matters is the concept, the storytelling and how the film has been presented. If the content is engaging, audiences will come, irrespective of whether the protagonist is male or female,” Johar says.
He also emphasises that budgets can determine whether a film emerges as a commercially viable proposition.
“Budget is extremely important. You cannot mount every film on an unreasonable scale and then expect it to recover the investment. Even films featuring big male stars can struggle if the costs are too high. With women-centric films, strong content, effective execution and sensible budgeting can make all the difference,” he adds.
While trade experts examine the issue through the lens of contemporary theatrical economics, film historian Dilip Thakur believes the roots of this imbalance go back several decades.
“Women-centric cinema is not a new phenomenon in Hindi cinema. If you look back at its history, films like Sujata, Bandini and even Guide had strong female characters at the heart of their narratives. There was a time when such stories received tremendous appreciation. But the real question is whether an actress has ever consistently commanded the kind of opening-day box-office draw that a male superstar enjoys,” Thakur says.
According to him, the distinction between an actress receiving appreciation and generating an initial box-office draw has always been significant.
“There’s a difference between an actress being appreciated and audiences rushing to theatres on the first day of film’s release just because she is headlining a film. In Hindi cinema, heroines have always received appreciation for their performances, but that has rarely translated into advance bookings or massive openings. More often, women-centric films depend on positive word of mouth,” he explains.
Thakur traces the growing dominance of male star power to the emergence of Rajesh Khanna as a superstar, followed by successive generations of leading men who cultivated loyal audiences.
“From Rajesh Khanna onwards, Hindi cinema increasingly became hero-oriented. Later, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan built their own loyal audiences and sustained their box-office appeal over decades. Actresses like Kajol, Juhi Chawla and Rani Mukerji were immensely popular, but their individual box-office draw was never comparable to that of the Khans,” he observes.
Nevertheless, Thakur acknowledges that certain actresses managed to develop a distinct box-office identity.
“Hema Malini had her audience, as did Rekha. Then came Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit, who enjoyed tremendous popularity. Look at ChaalBaaz. Even though the film had two male leads, it is remembered primarily as a Sridevi film. That tells you something about her star power. But such examples have been exceptions rather than the rule,” he says.
He also believes that changing audience preferences have altered the way films are discovered and consumed.
“The audience has changed, and so have its preferences. But I wouldn’t say women-centric films cannot work today. English Vinglish worked, and films like Mimi have also received appreciation. If the story is compelling, people will watch it. The challenge is that a female-led film often has to prove itself through its content, whereas a male superstar can attract an audience even before the film is released,” Thakur adds.
The success of films such as Crew, Mardaani and English Vinglish suggests that women-led cinema is far from commercially irrelevant. At the same time, these films illustrate the importance of genre, positioning, marketing and audience expectations in determining theatrical performance.
The debate, therefore, is not simply whether audiences want to watch women-centric films. It is also about how these projects are financed, promoted, distributed and positioned as theatrical experiences.
For an industry that has historically invested heavily in building male superstars, creating comparable commercial opportunities for actresses may require more than strong scripts and acclaimed performances. It may also demand sustained investment in female-led star vehicles, marketing strategies that build opening-day anticipation, and a willingness to recognise different models of box-office success.
Until then, women-led films may continue to face a familiar paradox: they can win over audiences through their performances and storytelling, but converting that admiration into an immediate rush at the ticket counters remains a considerably harder task.
