Over the years Bollywood has undergone a tremendous change in the way they project female actors. Nowadays, many author-backed female-centric films are being made and the big male superstars are not shying away from lending their name to a project or even getting associated with it even though they might not have the central role. Shah Rukh Khan was seen opposite Alia Bhatt in Dear Zindagi in which he did not play the central role; in fact he went as far as keeping his name second in the film credits of another film. Aamir Khan produced Secret Superstar with Zaira Wasim which had the young actress in the lead role. Akshay Kumar, in lent his support to Taapsee Pannu’s Naam Shabana which was a spin-off of her role in his film Baby.
Of late, actresses like Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Vidya Balan, Anushka Sharma and Deepika Padukonehave started calling shots and demanding meatier roles in films and often pick characters that are author-backed. Talking about this change, Akshay wants to make a film with a strong woman-oriented subject. He said that it’s time the industry as a whole started giving respect to our actresses. For Akshay, the way a film is not complete without a hero; similarly it is incomplete without a heroine and he would be happy to play second fiddle in such films. The actor who has made a name for himself with his string of patriotic films, even his last release PadMan spoke about menstrual hygiene and had a strong pro-women voice. The actor revealed that he was in talks with his Airlift co-star Nimrat Kaur for a project but that didn’t materialize.
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Talking about the female-oriented film that he would like to make, Akshay said, “As an actor and a producer, I get a lot of scripts every day. Some of them are good while some aren’t. Recently, I came across a script on dowry, which I really liked. However, you have to get everything right, and that hasn’t happened yet. It’s almost like fishing where you cast your net and wait. Sometimes you get something outstanding, sometimes you don’t. But yes, my team and I have discussed the idea of making a powerful film with a strong female character.”
Akshay, has been very vocal about the status given to women in society. He has a martial arts school and promotes self-defence among young women and girls. He had also openly condemned the Bengaluru New Year Eve incident last year where women and girls were molested. Recently, Alia Bhatt's Raazi and Kareena Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor's Veere Di Wedding have been ruling at the box office dispelling the myth that women-oriented films do not work.
