The business of Bollywood is hero-centric: Bipasha Basu
Actress Bipasha Basu says the notion that the Hindi film industry is making more female-centric cinema now is not entirely true. She reveals her desire to do 'a film like Bridget Jones’s Diary'.
Bipasha Basu’s last Bollywood hit came nearly two years back, with Raaz 3 (2012). She hasn’t had much to write home about, since. However, the actor is pinning her hopes on her upcoming release, Creature 3D, in which she plays the protagonist. Yet, ask her if Bollywood suddenly has more scope for female-centric cinema, and she realistically says that’s not quite the case.
We seem to be suddenly making a bunch of films with women protagonists. Do you see this as a change in the way Bollywood portrays its leading ladies?
The question crops up every time films like Chandni Bar (2001), Corporate (2006), Fashion (2008), and The Dirty Picture (2011) hit screens. Every year, people say, ‘Oh! It’s a great time for women’, because two or three women-centric films do well. But the scenario is still the same. It’s changing very, very slowly. There is a positive movement, but it’s slow.
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Why do you think it’s slow?
The business is hero-centric. They can deliver the numbers, that’s why they’re paid so much. There’s a huge disparity between what a hero and a heroine charges. And this will be the situation till the audience doesn’t change.
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Will the recent success of some women-centric films help?
Yes. These films are going to be made, but in very controlled budgets, so that they have proper recovery. A Corporate is not made in `80 crores like a Kick, or in `70 crores like any Akshay Kumar film. It’s business at the end of the day. Yes, we’re making quality films with women as protagonists, but they (producers) have to also play it safe. I don’t blame the producers because they have to make money to make more films like these. If none of them work, then nobody will make films with heroines as protagonists.
Watch: Creature 3D trailer
Is there a particular kind of film you’ve never done, and would like to?
I’m quite crazy in real life, but that side to me hasn’t been explored on screen. I’m blessed with a good sense of humour... I would like to tap that. It’s always been my dream to do a film like Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), where I could laugh at myself. I’d like to do a comedy, which is realistic, but talks about how women are quirky in their own way.
Your film got a U/A certificate. But, of late, the Censor Board has faced a lot of criticism over ratings.
It’s always been tough, and sometimes it’s ridiculous, but there are times when big production houses manage to get everything passed very easily, whereas people who don’t have so much influence have to suffer.
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