Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt Sara Ali Khan, Tabu: Girl power rules the box office in 2018

2018 in the film industry will be remembered for a lot of reasons, one being the powerful performances delivered by female actors which propelled their respective films to box office success.

Films fronted by women have defined the new norm in Indian cinema, and 2018 will go down as a year that saw several brilliant performances by female actors. They not only led their respective films to win at the box office but also left an impact on audiences’ minds. Be it Deepika Padukone in Padmaavat or Alia Bhatt in Raazi, their onscreen portrayals reaffirmed that female stars are getting parts at par with their male counterparts.

Alia Bhatt danced her way to the 100 crore club with Raazi

Give it up for female stars

Sonam K Ahuja – PadMan

Deepika Padukone – Padmaavat

Rani Mukerji – Hichki

Alia Bhatt – Raazi

Janhvi Kapoor – Dhadak

Taapsee Pannu – Mulk

Shraddha Kapoor - Stree

Tabu – AndhaDhun

Sara Ali Khan – Kedarnath

Actor Shraddha Kapoor experimented with a new genre, a horror comedy and impressed audiences with her nuanced performance, propelling the film to touch the ₹100-crore mark. Calling 2018 a “great year” for female actors, she says, “I feel honoured to be a part of a film like Stree, which is a great story. I didn’t think much about how it’ll do at the box office, but it’s the unique content that nailed the show and made it an unprecedented success.”

Among the best performers, Tabu’s effortless act in filmmaker Sriram Raghavan’s AndhaDhun won her a lot of praise. The actor says one can only deliver noteworthy performances if “writers and directors have an open mind” when it comes to writing female characters. “It’s one of the best and most challenging characters I’ve played. It’s a privilege to get such a role and any actor would love to do it,” says Tabu, adding, it’s the “combination of the character and director’s direction” that made the film work.

Raghavan says he is “thrilled” to see audiences’ reaction to Tabu’s role in his film. “Her uninhibited yet nuanced performance added layers to the character of the femme fatale. 2018 definitely has been a year of strong and varied characters for actresses proving that women-centric films can also make big money. Hopefully, this will encourage more writers and producers,” he says.

Looking at the kind of films and roles written for female actors, trade analyst Joginder Tuteja feels 2018 has set new benchmarks. “Films are not being sold as female centric; they’re sold as films. That’s what the audiences want. Even though Rajkummar Rao was leading the show in Stree, Shraddha wasn’t insecure,” he says, adding that it’s great to see how newcomers Sara Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor “took the unconventional route and it paid off”.

Trade analyst Atul Mohan shares that the likes of Deepika, Alia, Shraddha and Sara have proved this year that given a great script they can make an impact and at the same time, provide the much necessary great support to their male co-stars. “2018 proved that heroines, too, can become heroes and emerge triumphant with the support of great writing,” he says.

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