Malavika Mohanan says ‘not enough producers dare’ to back women-led big-budget films like ‘Lokah’ |

Malavika Mohanan highlights the industry’s reluctance to greenlight big-budget, female-led films, citing producer concerns over box-office pull. She points to the success of Malayalam’s ‘Lokah’, starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, as proof that content-driven, high-budget films can thrive with women in lead roles, despite the prevailing trend of male protagonists.

Malavika Mohanan has weighed in on how female-led big-budget films continue to be a rarity in Indian cinema. The actor who has recently delivered ‘The Raja Saab’ with Prabhas was talking about the industry bias on backing women-led films.

Malavika Mohanan says producers hesitate to cast a woman as the lead in big-budget films

In a recent interview with News18, Malavika Mohanan expressed that many producers believe that female-led films do not have the same box-office pull. So they hesitate to design a big-budget film led by a woman.

“What a lot of male producers and actors have said in the past is that if there’s a female-led film, it won’t have that sort of pull, which is why they can’t invest more than ‘x’ amount in it. That’s why very few people have bet on a big-budget film led by a female star. Only a handful of such films have been made,” Malavika Mohanan told the publication. The actress further pointed at ‘Lokah’, the Malayalam film which was mounted on a massive budget, featuring Kalyani Priyadarshan. ‘The Raja Saab’ actor explained how the producers bet on its content, and it emerged as a blockbuster. “Lokah was a big-budget film compared to Malayalam film industry standards. It was headlined by Kalyani [Priyadarshan], a relatively young woman actor. The film happened because its producers bet on it — on its content. They had faith in Kalyani that she would be able to carry it off. It went on to make so much money at the box office. It’s just that not enough producers dare to place a woman in this kind of high-budget film. Such films are usually headlined by a male protagonist,” she said.

What you should know about ‘Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra’?

‘Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra’ is directed by Dominic Arun and produced by Dulquer Salmaan’s home production banner. The Malayalam superhero film featured Kalyani Priyadarshan in the lead role, and actors Naslen, Sandy, Chandu Salim Kumar, and Arun Kurian in pivotal roles. The film, despite not having any star vehicles (except for the cameos) performed well at the box office. The film’s domestic box office collection was Rs 157.02 cror,e and it collected Rs 303.86 crore worldwide. The film also received positive reviews from the audience and critics.

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