POWERFUL WOMEN OF BOLLYWOOD WHO ARE CHANGING THE NARRATIVE

POWERFUL WOMEN OF BOLLYWOOD WHO ARE CHANGING THE NARRATIVE

These dynamos are transforming the world of entertainment, winning at the box office and pushing for parity

As she held the Emmy for outstanding performance by an actress in a limited or anthology series for her role in Mare of Easttown last September, Kate Winslet started addressing the crowd by acknowledging her fellow nominees, “This decade has to be about women having each other’s backs.” While entertainment continues to very much be a man’s world, women in industries across the world are working towards this collective goal. Women are opening more doors, and often are confident enough to enter those doors without an invitation. It’s no different in Bollywood where women actors, producers, directors and creative heads at streaming platforms are using their positions of influence to build circles of trust. These are women, both in front of and behind the camera, who wield box office clout and/or play a key role in empowering storytellers.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Purple Pebbles offers a range of benefits for working mothers including a crèche and flexible working hours

Turning producer gives actresses like Deepika Padukone complete control over the process

Taapsee Pannu will be seen next in Anurag Kashyap’s Dobaaraa (2022)

From small screen to big screen

For more than two decades now, Ekta Kapoor has been influencing desi pop culture. She revolutionised Indian television with her popular saas-bahu serials in the early 2000s and since then has been the force behind some of the biggest TV shows across major channels and in multiple languages. As a film producer, though, her choices have been anything but mainstream. She’s put her might behind films like Love, Sex Aur Dhoka (2010), The Dirty Picture (2011), Lootera (2013), Udta Punjab (2016) and Pagglait (2021), to name a few. “Ekta is a rare producer in the industry who has created a complete ecosystem of her own. She works in television, film and also streaming. Rather than just creating content for other streamers, she has her own platform,” says Gautam Jain, Partner, Ormax Media. As a producer, Kapoor’s slate includes Anurag Kashyap’s Taapsee Pannu-starrer Dobaaraa (2022) and an untitled film helmed by Hansal Mehta starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, which will also mark the actress’s debut as a producer. There’s also a five-film deal with prolific Hollywood producer Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity; Glass) and genre label Dark Hell’s Armaan Zorace to produce films in the thriller-horror space.

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