Bollywood has built big franchises. Where are the women?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: As Alpha, the Alia Bhatt-starrer female spin-off to Yash Raj Films’ Spy Universe, which includes hits like Pathaan, readies for release later this year, trade experts say Bollywood still lags Hollywood in building high-profile, female-led franchise extensions.Unlike the West, where films such as Wonder Woman and Black Widow have proven audience pull for women-led entries within larger cinematic universes, Indian studios have been slower to back big-budget action spectacles anchored by female stars—even when they sit inside established franchises.Malayalam cinema has taken early steps in this direction with Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, a female superhero film released last year. In Hindi cinema, comparable attempts have largely been limited to mid-budget spin-offs such as Taapsee Pannu’s Naam Shabana, a spin-off to Akshay Kumar’s spy film Baby, Kajol’s horror film Maa, a spin-off to Ajay Devgn’s Shaitaan, alongside Rani Mukerji’s ongoing Mardaani series.“The gap largely comes from how franchises have historically been built in Indian cinema.

Most major franchises in Hindi films were conceived around male action heroes, so the narrative universe itself was not originally designed to expand through multiple character-led stories. In Hollywood, studios actively build cinematic universes where several characters, including women, can lead independent narratives within the same franchise ecosystem,” said Abishek S Vyas, founder and chief executive officer of AVS, a Dubai and Mumbai based arts and entertainment company operating across film production, art licensing, audio media, and content-driven intellectual property.In India, that shift is only beginning to take shape, Vyas said.