Despite changing times, female-led big-budget films remain a rarity in the Indian film industry. In a recent interview with News18, Malavika Mohanan spoke about this gap and shared how many producers and actors believe that female-led films do not have the same box-office pull and therefore hesitate to cast a woman in the lead of a high-budget film.
Malavika Mohanan says producers don’t cast woman in lead roles in films like Lokah.Malavika Mohanan says producers don’t cast women in big-budget films
Explaining why very few people have backed big-budget films led by female stars, Malavika said, “What a lot of male producers and actors have said in the past is that if there’s a female-led film, it won’t have that sort of pull, which is why they can’t invest more than ‘x’ amount in it. That’s why very few people have bet on a big-budget film led by a female star. Only a handful of such films have been made.”
She added, “Lokah was a big-budget film compared to Malayalam film industry standards. It was headlined by Kalyani [Priyadarshan], a relatively young woman actor. The film happened because its producers bet on it — on its content. They had faith in Kalyani, that she would be able to carry it off. It went on to make so much money at the box office. It’s just that not enough producers dare to place a woman in this kind of high-budget film. Such films are usually headlined by a male protagonist.”
About Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra
Helmed by Dominic Arun and produced by Dulquer Salmaan under his banner Wayfarer Films, the Malayalam-language superhero film stars Kalyani Priyadarshan in the title role, along with Naslen, Sandy, Chandu Salim Kumar and Arun Kurian in supporting roles.
The story revolves around Chandra, a mysterious woman who arrives in Bengaluru after being summoned by Moothon to fight evil. Her life changes after she meets a young man named Sunny and his friends, and gets entangled with the corrupt inspector Nachiyappa and the gang associated with him.
The film received positive reviews from both critics and audiences and emerged as an all-time blockbuster, collecting ₹303.86 crore worldwide and ₹157.02 crore at the domestic box office.
About Malavika Mohanan’s recent and upcoming work
Malavika was most recently seen in The Raja Saab. The fantasy horror comedy, starring Prabhas in the lead role, failed to connect with audiences and has been struggling at the box office. So far, the film has collected over ₹200 crore worldwide.
She will next be seen in the Tamil film Sardar 2. The spy action thriller also stars Karthi and Rajisha Vijayan in the lead roles, along with S. J. Suryah and Ashika Ranganath in supporting roles. The film’s release date is yet to be announced.