There was a time when actors would essentially care about just one thing – acting, though that wouldn’t necessarily transpire on-screen but nevertheless. An actor venturing into the business side of proceedings isn’t an anomaly anymore and the graph suggests how the arrival of the 20th century led this occurrence to skyrocket exponentially. What has been a potentially novel happening in the context of judging the one and a half decade is the rise of female actors in the Hindi film industry turning producers.
The attraction is understandable but the logistics aren’t. The common belief of how ‘in order to earn the big bucks, you become a producer’ isn’t realistically true unless you have the business acumen or a team that possesses it and you can trust them.
While the male superstars have been at it for decades, female actors have seen a trial-and-error trajectory which is definitely encouraging if not entirely successful.
Back in the late 2010s to 2015, there was a sudden surge in the number of actresses-turning-producers which came as a surprise. But what was intriguing about this was how, for most of them, it became a one-time experience and didn’t necessarily prevail.
Apart from Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s attempt with Dil Ka Rishta (2003), it was Dia Mirza who tried her luck as a producer with Love, Breakups, Zindagi (2011) followed by Bobby Jassoos (2014). Then, the 2010 to 2020 period saw a slew of other female actors or former female actors trying their hands but necessarily continuing to actively produce films. Be it, Preity Zinta, with Ishqk in Paris (2013), Chitrangada Singh with Soorma (2018), or Twinkle Khanna with Pad Man (2018) – all these were applaudable attempts but never transformed into a recurrence.
Amidst this lot, there were also examples who sustained. Anushka Sharma, Priyanka Chopra and Madhuri Dixit understood the game better and have managed to successfully and consistently produce films and web shows that reaped returns and also became important chapters in filmmaking.
The other younger lot of actresses have now frequently adapted the idea of marrying the craft and business which include Taapsee Pannu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon.
What helps is how they have deciphered the needs of the hour going on to become entrepreneurs in other facets along with being film producers and actors as well. It allows them to distribute their funds in ways where it all runs as a well-oiled machine. Bhatt produced the well-received Darlings (2022), and most recently, Jigra (2024) while also being a kids clothing brand owner in the form of Ed-A-Mama. Similarly, Sanon has diversified into being the founder of Hyphen, a beauty care brand, The Tribe, a fitness studio and now a producer. One might make the debate that this leads to distracted decision-making but when the teams are in place and the vision is aligned, it is rarely a factor.
The million-dollar question now is, is it worth the buck? The front-runners here when it comes to content are undoubtedly Anushka Sharma’s Clean Slate Filmz and Priyanka Chopra’s Purple Pebble Pictures, which have produced some of the finest films and web shows in the past decade and continue to do so.
NH10, Paatal Lok, Kohrra, Qala, and Bulbbul are all Clean Slate’s projects, while Ventilator, Paani, The Sky is Pink, and The White Tiger are Purple Pebble;s films. So, the bucks are indeed worth it, and with further diversification of avenues in terms of language, reach, and possibilities, having more and more female actors turn producers and thus having their own say in the industry is welcoming and perhaps inevitable.
