Mumbai, Mar 7 (PTI) Despite women-led films repeatedly proving their mettle at the box office, their presence in the 2026 theatrical release calendar has dwindled to a trickle -- with only Rani Mukerji's
"Mardaani 3", Taapsee Pannu's "Assi", and Alia Bhatt's "Alpha" headlining the year. The paradox is hard to ignore.
According to trade website Sacnilk, women-led films have shown considerable box-office resilience between 2024–2026, with "Crew", "Article 370", "Stree 2" and "Lokah Chapter One" performing well at the ticket window. However, leading actors admitted encountering difficulty in getting meaningful roles and hoped things will change soon.
Pannu, who has anchored women-centric dramas like "Thappad", "Mulk", "Pink" and "Saand Ki Aankh", has sounded the alarm bluntly.
She recently starred in Anubhav Sinha's "Assi", a courtroom drama that follows the story of a lawyer who takes on a powerful case involving sexual assault.
"We are on the verge of becoming an extinct species, we mean films like 'Assi'. There is a certain template that our so-called commercial cinema abides by, we don't conventionally fall in that template of sorts," she told PTI.
She described the process of making and releasing such films today as a "battle".
"It's difficult for a female actor who is headlining a film, no matter how many successful films you've given in the past. I've to prove myself with every film. I'll never be given the leeway that, 'You've given success so we know that you will be able to get one (film) this through'. I'll not get that on a platter. I've to fight for each and every film," she said.
Most recently, Mukerji's "Mardaani 3" released in January and has already earned Rs. 50 crore nett in India, surpassing the lifetime earnings of both its predecessors -- "Mardaani" (2014) at Rs 35 crore and "Mardaani 2" (2019) at Rs 47 crore.
The data makes the thinning theatrical slate harder to explain and, for the actors living it, harder to accept.
Konkona Sensharma, whose National Award-winning career spans theatrical films like "Mr and Mrs Iyer", "Page 3" and "Life in a Metro", echoed Pannu’s dilemma.
"It is true that very few offers come for theatrical nowadays to me. By and large I've to say that these (offers) are usually web series," she told PTI.
"Why should we only watch epic action-based or war films? I would've loved to watch all kinds of films in theatres like how it used to be. Unfortunately, that is not the trend right now. I hope things will change," she added.
Industry voices, however, push back on the idea that audience appetite is at fault.
Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR INOX Pictures, argues that viewer taste remains broad.
"I don't think the audience goes by whether the film is big or small or who is in it. If something excites them, they go to cinemas. Audiences have diverse taste, we've seen varied kind of films working like 'Saiyaara', 'Mahavatar Narismha'. So, any film that's well-made will do well in theatres," he told PTI.
Dipti Jindal, CEO and Associate Producer at Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, said even though the theatrical ecosystem has undergone major shift after the pandemic audience is open to watching anything that excites them.
“Large-scale action films and spectacles are having a theatrical moment, but that doesn’t necessarily mean other narratives have disappeared,” Jindal told PTI.
“Rather than seeing these trends, focus should be on writing stronger characters. Women shouldn’t exist only in so-called women’s films. They should be integral to every genre, whether it’s action, drama, romance or thriller," she added.
Trade expert Girish Wankhede points to a long lineage of female-led blockbusters -- from Rekha's "Khoon Bhari Maang" and Sridevi's "Chaalbaaz" to Vidya Balan's "Kahaani", Kangana Ranaut's "Queen", "Tanu Weds Manu", and Alia Bhatt's "Raazi" and "Gangubai Kathiawadi".
"People like to watch heroism on screen, be it portrayed by men or women. The market will never go out of fashion for women-led films," he told PTI.
Mukerji herself hopes "Mardaani 3"'s performance sends a signal upstream.
"To get this kind of love from audiences for a female-led film in this entire environment is a healthy thing for the industry. I think it will inspire other producers to bring out such stories," she said at a promotional event celebrating the film's success.
But Bihar-based exhibitor Vishek Chauhan offers a more cautionary read of what that success means in today's market.
"Audience is watching Rani's 'Mardaani 3' because they've liked it, while 'Assi' is OTT kind of film. Had 'Assi' released one year after 'Pink', it would've done Rs. 100 crores as at that time such films were doing well," he told PTI.
In the interim, streaming platforms have quietly become the primary home for women-led stories.
Sensharma and Pratibha Ranta's "Accused" recently debuted on Netflix. Last year saw OTT releases including Sanya Malhotra's "Mrs", Nushrratt Bharuccha's "Chhorii 2", Radhika Apte's "Saali Mohabbat", Soni Razdan and Saba Azad's "Songs of Paradise", and ensemble feature "The Great Shamsuddin Family".
The industry's next big test on the theatrical front will be Alia Bhatt's "Alpha" -- the first female-led entry in the YRF Spy universe -- whose reception may well determine how much space women-led films can reclaim on the big screen. PTI KKP RB MAH
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