Rani, Samantha, Priyanka… this summer belongs to women

While most films starring a Shero, barring Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi has underperformed  in recent times, 2023 seems to be a year with more room for girl power at the box office.

In March the Rani Mukerji-navigated Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway made a neat profit for its producers Zee Studios.

A prominent source from the production comments, “This is our first  profit-earning venture since the Covid-19. We are convinced films starring the male hero, or the shero as you call them, have a bright future. Samantha in Shaakuntalam which will release multiple languages on April 14, followed by Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the Prime Video series Citadel at  the end of the month on April 28, are going to make a huge impact.”

Samantha, according to reports from Hyderabad, has given a performance  of a lifetime in Shaakuntalam.

“Sam is at once strong and vulnerable and beguilingly beautiful  as Shaakuntalam. This is her first costume drama. But she appears to be born for a ravishing retro role such as this. She will be a global sensation after Shaakuntalam releases, ” a friend of the actress told me from Hyderabad.

At month-end we have Priyanka Chopra Jonas wowing the world in Citadel. Those who have previewed the series swear Priyanka tops her stunts in Quantico, in Citadel.

With two true-blue sheroes all set to make a grand impact in April, it looks like 2023 belongs to them. At the end of March in the masculine meditation on mayhem Bholaa, Ajay Devgn converted the role of the male  cop in the Tamil film Karthi to a female cop in Bholaa to give Tabu another powerhouse role to sink her teeth in.

The mighty Shabana Azmi who has played some of the most powerful sheroes in contemporary Indian cinema is confident that girlpower will always get an audience. “Whether it is Rani, Tabu, Priyanka or Samantha  these are strong, beautiful women and terrific actresses to boot. Indian cinema will always have a place for them to shine.”