Upbeat that the treatment of women in Indian cinema is changing for good, Bollywood actor Soha Ali Khan says the industry needs more number of brave producers and writers as women-centric films are still “few and far between”.
Soha on Saturday pointed out that while there is no lack of talent among the women actors in the country, a film centering a woman, does not always guarantee that the money pumped in would be recovered as the audience for such productions is limited.
“I think things are changing and there are more sensible roles for women of all ages. Women-centric moves are being made as well. But they are still few and far between and we still have to be careful that we make it within a certain budget.
You have to think about how you get your money back as there is a limited audience for films like that,” Soha said on the sidelines of a session at the Appejay Kolkata Literary Festival here.
“I think we need more brave producers, we need more brave writers as there is incredible talent when it comes to the women actors in this country,” she added.
The actor, acclaimed for her role in “Rang De Basanti”, believes films are necessarily for entertainment and it is not compulsory for them to teach something to the viewers.
“It is not always necessary for a film to always teach something to its audience.
There are many films that are solely made for entertainment. Also, some films that are based on a subject might make you aware of certain things but all of them do not have historically accurate information,” Soha pointed out.
“If you need history lessons, you can get it from books and journals. You can learn about values from your parents. I feel Films are essentially for entertainment,” she noted.
Soha, who has previously acted in two Bengali films including Rituparno Ghosh’s “Antarmahal”, said she would love to do a Bengali film again if someone approaches her with a good script.
“I really enjoyed the two films I did in Bengali,” she said.
Talking about her debut book entitled “The Perils of being Moderately Famous”, Soha said she is excited to be a published author and feels relieved after finishing the book within the deadline.