Is Tollywood warming up to female heroes yet?

Bollywood is currently celebrating it's women big time. After all, there's a treasure trove of actresses for directors to rely on. But what is the status of actresses in Tollywood? Are female heroes a vanishing tribe?
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VISIBILITY LOST IN DISTRIBUTION
Though his Family Album got a lukewarm response, Mainak Bhaumik is known for his woman-oriented movies in Tollywood.He stresses that there is no dearth of talent here. His Take One with Swastika Mukherjee did average business, but the director says stamping experimental ventures as `plex films' is doing the industry no good. ���We've had films like Charulata, Abohomaan, Paroma and Unishe April in the past, while woman-oriented films in Bollywood are a recent phenomenon. I don't think Queen or The Dirty Picture ran on the merit of Kangana or Vidya; the content was key . Here, we have far stronger actresses like Rituparna Sengupta, Raima Sen and Paoli, among others. It's strange that we still tend to worship Bollywood, while the latter continues to idolize Holly wood,��� he says. Trade analyst Pankaj Ladia feels that women-oriented films are few and far between.���Though Goynar Baksho was a superhit, films like Kadambari and Chotushkone, both hits, got good support from Konkona Sen Sharma and Paayel Sarkar. In Bollywood, Piku, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, NH10 and Queen have done very good business. Tollywood too, needs more woman-oriented films,��� he tells us.
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Mainak identifies distribution patterns as one of the key reasons why woman-oriented films don't work in Bengal.���Queen released in plenty of theatres, but our projects get screened only at plexes. While there's still an urban-rural divide in Bengal, Bollywood has managed to bridge that gap. So, a Kick and a Tanu Weds Manu Returns get almost the same number of shows. Here, filmmakers and distributors are averse to taking risks,��� he adds.
AFTER RITUPARNO, WHO?
Srijit Mukherji, who finds the coinage `female hero' rather sexist, admits that female-driven subjects are fewer in the post-Rituparno Ghosh era.���Both Rituda and Rinadi (Aparna Sen) had addressed such issues beautifully . Even today , there are a few honourable examples like Muktodhara and Take One.Though I don't think womanoriented films in Bollywood were made with an agenda, a lot of them have been huge successes. On the contrary , Bolly potboilers like Welcome, Dabangg and Grand Masti have reduced women to cardboard cutouts. In Tollywood, the number of equitable films -where men and women have almost the same share -are far more. Be it Autograph or Hemlock Society, women in my films have had an equal importance as the male leads.The only exception was Baishey Srabon,��� says Srijit.The directors' next, Rajkahini with a handful of powerful actresses, is the current buzz of town.
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EQUITABLE FILMS ARE WELCOME
Arindam Sil too is all for equitable films. In his directorial debut, Aborto, as well as the next, Ebar Shabor -a hit -women played important roles. Even then, the director feels there's a `big' dearth of female heroes in the industry .���I haven't seen an actress after Rituparna and Koel Mallick, who is able to carry a film on her shoulders. Neither have there been many women-oriented films by directors other than Rituda or Rinadi. The next name that comes to my mind is Swastika Mukherjee.It's a fact that we are a little patriarchal in this part of the world. This year at Cannes, I saw many films celebrating womanhood, Hou Hsiao-Hsien who was adjudged the best director for Nie Yinniang, beautifully etched out the character of his female lead.While the world is celebrating womanhood, we are busy making Feluda, Byomkesh and Shabor,��� he rues.Arindam asserts that actresses also need good scripts to prove their mettle. ���Both Parno Mittra and Sohini Sarkar are strong actors, but then, you need to give them the opportunity ,��� he says, hinting at casting Sohini in his next.
Aniruddha Roychowdhury says it's the films that create female heroes. ���If the content is good, even an apple can be made to act. Rituparna, Paoli, Koel, Paayel, Ananya and Srabanti, among many others, have done good roles in the past. To make Deepika shine, you need a Piku and what is Kangana without a good script? Also, we are slowly doing away with the stereotypes associated with the female lead. Bhumi Pednekar in Dum Laga Ke Haisha has already proved that,��� says the director.
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WHERE ARE THE SCRIPTS?
Rituparna, whose last screen outing, Belaseshe, had an ensemble cast and is a hit, says there's a dearth of good scripts with female leads.Not long ago, she shared the screen with Paoli in Parapaar and though the film was appreciated, it tanked at the box office. ���The Dirty Picture was mounted on a huge scale, but here logistics are a huge issue.Every film needs to be publicized well, but often there's no money for that. My films like Alo, Paromitar Ekdin, Muktodhara, Alik Sukh, Charulata 2011 and Trishna have all done well in the past.But it all depends on the script. When Madhuri DixitNene made a comeback with Aaja Nachle, she was appreciated, but not her film. Even Gulaab Gang failed to make a mark. But it doesn't make her any less an actor,��� she explains, adding that a lot of money and energy was spent on introducing Vidya Balan in Bollywood with Parineeta.
Bangladesh's National Award-winning actress Jaya Ahsan, who is part of Srijit's Rajkahini, says she needs good roles to showcase her talent. ���Sadly , we live in a male-dominated industry.After Aborto, I got offers for similar roles. Nothing too challenging has come my way since then. Right now, ensemble cast films are working well in Tollywood, but I would love to play the female hero in a powerful film.���