Women producers making their presence felt in Bollywood

With actress Chitrangada Singh turning producer, we shed light on the female force breaching the traditional male bastion of the Indian film production

Calling the Hindi film industry a male-dominated terrain might reek of sexism but then the glass ceiling is meant to be broken — and it's being done at a steady rate. Farah Khan becoming the first female director to register a Rs 100 crore collection is just one of the few encouraging developments in Bollywood.

Chitrangada Singh is producing an upcoming biopic on hockey prodigy, Sandeep Singh. Pic/Sameer Markande

Speaking of her, more women are turning to production, which wasn't the case say a decade ago. The latest to join the league is actress Chitrangada Singh. hitlist throws light on the steadily expanding brigade of female film producers...

Pooja Bhatt

Undoubtedly the first from the fabled Bhatt camp to break out solo, the actress-turned-producer-turned-director has managed to create a niche for herself. Her movies tend to question social mores while hinging on sexual liberation. But given the box-office returns of the film, nobody's complaining — especially not Pooja.

Zoya Akhtar

Currently busy with her upcoming multi-starrer Dil Dhadakne Do, the writer-director- producer has often preferred to direct her own productions. And she's also someone who has exhibited patience — an invaluable commodity in an otherwise restless industry — in order to come up with what she truly wants the audience
to see.

Ekta Kapoor

This industry maven has come a long way from churning out blockbuster TV soap operas. As of today, she produces marquee films that feature A-listers as well as upcoming talents. From period dramas to thrillers to sex comedies, she takes on all genres.

Farah Khan

Along with her husband, director-editor Shirish Kunder, the choreographer-turned-director- turned-actor formed a production house called Three's Company — naming it in congruence with their triplets. Her last home production, Joker, was a dud, but after the resounding success of Happy New Year, it will be interesting to see how she fares as a producer.

Gauri Khan

One of the co-founders of Red Chillies Entertainment, her name has been attached to some of the biggest hits Bollywood — be it Om Shanti Om or Chennai Express or the most recent Happy New Year — in the 21st century. So far, the producer-designer has maintained an enviable track record.

Guneet Monga

With acclaimed films like Shaitan, Monsoon Shootout and The Lunchbox to her credit, Guneet is one of the most sought after producers around. Her acumen lies in not only running her production house, Sikhya Films, effectively (read: profitably) but also ensuring she is hands on with her chosen projects.

Shareen Mantri

The young producer from Eye Candy Films is presently engaged with the film The Legend of Michael Mishra. Armed with a master degree in photography, Shareen has earlier done videos as well as TV commercials. Thanks to her background, she realises the importance of aiding a director's vision while making a film.

Ashi Dua

To celebrate Indian cinema's centenary, the founder of Flying Unicorn Entertainment got together four reputed filmmakers — Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap and Zoya Akhtar — and allowed them R1.5 crore each for a 30 minute short film. On the upside, the producer is one of the youngest at 28.

Going international
Two among the few female producers from India who are based in the West and are busy producing films for the world...
>> Mira Nair started out with a bang when she directed and produced the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay! Later, the filmmaker made the most of the recognition by letting her production house, Mirabai Films, venture into Hollywood. However, she has continued to be the director-producer of all her films. Her forthcoming film is based on a sleuth.

>> Deepa Mehta's track record is very similar to Mira's but the former faced quite a few controversies in India for her choice of films. However, the celebrated filmmaker hasn't shied away from producing films — be it a feature film or a documentary — while being based in Canada. Co-founder of Hamilton-Mehta Productions, the 64-year-old's next stars Randeep Hooda in the lead.

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