While wishing the very best to Kriti Sanon for her maiden production, Do Patti, streaming on Netflix from October 25, we only pray that it becomes the first of the game-changers: that is, a whopping success among productions of actresses!
Will Do Patti be the game-changer for actresses who turn producers?
We say this because, so far, there is an alarmingly high ratio of flops when actresses turn film producers. Even the few actress who have turned directors have had a dishearteningly high rate of failure at the all-important box-office (Simi Garewal’s Rukhsat, Hema Malini’s Dil Aashna Hai and Tell Me O Kkhuda besides the tele-film Mohini and five films directed by Pooja Bhatt from Paap to Jism 2).
The exceptions…
The exceptions in this list are negligible, as we shall see: Reena Roy’s home productions, Muqabla (1979) and Sanam Teri Kasam (1982) were both hero-driven movies, and Juhi Chawla’s co-production, Chalte Chalte, was co-produced with an actor—Shah Rukh Khan and its director Aziz Mirza. Yes, Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika did average business too.
With Priyanka Chopra Jonas, some of her regional films, beginning with her smash-hit debut production in Marathi, Ventilator, were successful, but not so her Hindi movie, The Sky is Pink.
…And the Rule!
The list of flops is indeed voluminous, extending from Shashikala’s Karodpati way back in 1961 (which, according to the late actress, “turned us into kangalpatis or broke!”), Nargis’ Raat Aur Din and Sharmila Tagore’s Tyaag to the aforementioned films as well as Neetu Singh’s Chorni, Raakhee’s Pugli, Taaqat (1982) and Zindagani, the Madhuri Dixit home productions, Dil Tera Aashiq (despite Salman Khan!), Yaraana (1996), Mohabbat (1997) and Gaja Gamini and Sridevi’s Shakti—The Power, Run and Bewafaa.
The Padmini Kolhapure productions, Dav Pech and Rockford and (as per buzz) the Zeenat Aman-bankrolled Baat Ban Jaye are more examples.
As per tradition, many of these films were “officially” produced by front-men like family members, relatives or secretaries. “But the money obviously came from the star concerned!” points out an industry source.
In the millennium, Lara Dutta’s Chalo Dilli (though a remarkable film), Raveena Tandon Thadani’s Stumped!, Manisha Koirala’s Paisa Vasool and Preity Zinta’s Ishqk In Paris also added to the list of debacles. And the list also includes Shilpa Shetty’s Dishkiyaoon, Anushka Sharma’s hyped NH10, Phillauri and Pari (after which she went the safe, OTT way with Bbulbul and Qala), Deepika Padukone’s Chhapaak and Taapsee Pannu’s Blurr and Dhak Dhak (again a well-made movie).
As can be seen in some of the cases above, it was not always obligatory that the actresses themselves featured in all their productions. But that did not change the scenario!
In a great case of exceptions proving a rule, Alia Bhatt made a smash debut with Darlings last year, which, like Do Patti, streamed on Netflix, and so expectations were sky-high for her next (this time theatrical) co-production, Jigra. But that film tumbled like a house of cards, alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan’s The Buckingham Murders.
The Trade View
Said veteran distributor-exhibitor Raj Bansal, “Actresses, generally, are not as familiar with the commercial aspects as they should be. Filmmaking is about bringing something good to the table, and they have their own ideas about this.”
He opined that there will always be stories that no one else wants to produce, but actresses feel that they can make the perfect film for them! “It is always content that will hold, and if that does not, no film is going to work, however big the star,” he said.
However, Bansal points out that budgeting can be the key. “A film like The Buckingham Murders has recovered its investment before the release through non-theatrical avenues and so it does not really matter if collections are not good!” he points out. “But the landscape should be studied and the target should not be just metro audiences. Also, if we carefully observe, men like Hansal Mehta (The Buckingham Murders) and Vasan Bala (Alia Bhatt’s Jigra) are directors who do not cater to mass pockets anyway.”
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh, however, has a different take despite the overwhelming evidence. He denies the fact that actresses only produce flops with the argument that so many actors and other filmmakers too make multiple flops! “Every producer wants to make money!” he argued. “Who will want to actually make a flop? With the passage of time, the present actresses will use the lessons they learn to make successful films.” About the OTT releases, he added, “Yes, they can release their productions on OTT, but who does not want theatrical revenues?”
Are such subjects chosen by these ladies mainly—or only—because they feel dissatisfied either with the roles they get outside or with the quantum of good scripts? “That can be the case!” he said. “Everyone wants to prove they are fine actresses!” He admitted that actresses could be so enamored of their roles that they do not see the bigger picture (pun intended), a point Bansal has also stressed.
Manoj Desai, managing director of Mumbai’s G-7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir, kept it simple. He said, “You have to have the knack to choose and make subjects that will attract the audiences. People are least interested in who has made a movie!”
One area of challenge we have seen in almost all the cases where leading ladies have been producers is the lack of a saleable male hero. It is an established fact that heroes (with very few exceptions) are scared to doing heroine-centric films, and most such productions fall in that category. Agreed Desai, “That is true! But then people simply lack any kind of interest to watch such films!”
And so, while it is almost axiomatic that a top hero will succeed best when he has a big-name female star opposite him, it is, perhaps, even more imperative for a heroine-produced (or oriented, which is the case in most such cases) movie to have a saleable hero besides a box-office friendly subject, like Muqabla and Sanam Teri Kasam did.
In these two home productions, Reena Roy clearly did not want to show herself as a great actress, but when she tried that in Lakshmi, she too failed to connect at the box-office.
It’s a tough call either way, and as we said at the beginning, here’s hoping that Do Patti will set the ball rolling for a change. Farah Khan changed the game for female directors with Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om, so let us hope that among actresses, Kriti Sanon follows suit.
Also Read: Kriti Sanon engages fans with new photos and asks for feedback on Do Patti trailer ahead of October 25 OTT release
More Pages: Do Patti Box Office Collection
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