Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
Tags:
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the success of Mardaani and Mary Kom has opened up doors for film-makers to make more women-oriented films. Such films were being made earlier as well, but on a limited budget. Even though there will still be budget constraints, film-makers are now more likely to go ahead and make such films as they know that they will be successful. In fact, it has now become a genre that film-makers are eager to explore.
I really don’t think that women-oriented films will be limited to biopics and issue-related subjects. Television is the best example where almost every show is woman-centric, and there are so many subjects out there that we can choose from. Having said that, I guess a biopic is based on true events, and the audience relates more to it as they may have experienced something similar.
Frankly, a film is a film, and I would really not categorise it in specific slots, and give a tag to it. The moment this tag: ‘women-oriented’ films is chucked, things will change, but if you look at the opening figures of Mary Kom (over 7 crore) you will understand that a change has already set in.
All of us associated with the film were wondering about the fate of the film at the box-office, and when it got the biggest opening for a female oriented movie, we knew we had made history! The weekend collections also crossed 20 crore which is almost the same as some of our hero-centric films.
I really cannot comment on whether the film did well because it had an A-lister star like Priyanka Chopra, playing Mary Kom. I also cannot predict that had I not taken Priyanka, the figures would have been the same. But I wanted people to see my film, and it was a tough role which only a few could have done justice to. Besides, the notion that only a few directors are adept at handling such subjects is a fallacy.
But of course, some sensitive subjects like child trafficking which was the central theme in Mardaani, does require an imaginative director. In fact, even, I was not aware that I could make a woman oriented film, and I did it! While making Mary Kom, all that I focussed on was the character, and not the gender of the protagonist.
It is important to mention here that the supporting cast in such a film is extremely important. In Mary Kom all the other actors like Darshan Kumar and Sunil Thapa made Priyanka’s character look more real and convincing.
As told to Geety Sahgal
Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
