Films with female protagonists don't attract many eyeballs. Most of them are perceived as feminist films. If Bollywood starts giving women major roles in entertaining movies, then the audience, too, will open up to the idea of watching commercial films in which the actresses do more than just play the role of the hero's love interest.
I think movies in general should have more respect for the audience than they do. Too many films are afraid to confuse people, so all the information is given to them right away, and there's nothing left for the film to do. It ruins many stories, because everything becomes obvious and predictable. I want my films to engage people more and make them more actively involved in the story.
Actresses do glamorous roles, and then, after 10 films, they do an offbeat one. But Alia didn't do that. She picked films like 'Highway' and 'Udta Punjab,' too.
A good deal of my effort goes into the selection of films, because these things cannot be just predicted, so I am careful about the movies I finally do. Next year, too, I will have four or five films where I play different roles.
People often ask me why I don't take up more heroine-oriented roles. My question is, 'Where are these roles?' I really appreciate actresses who sign only films with meaty roles. However, there aren't too many of them. The industry is simply male-dominated.
In Hollywood, an Angelina Jolie is paid a fee that is probably at par with her male colleagues, but we can't expect the same here in India. Universally, films have meatier roles for men. Most films are about male protagonists and their histrionics on screen; women are signed up for song sequences and to up the glam quotient.
Most of the female-directed films, if they got distribution, would have fewer dollars to support the film and play in fewer theaters than the men. Because the female-directed films go to smaller companies. So the gap starts widening.
I firmly believe that emotions are universal, and I know that when they connect with the audience, it works. There is no such thing as an entertaining or a serious film; there are good films and bad films. Good films will always find a vast audience.
I think that Tyler Perry's genius really has been to tap into the domestic market. He knows what his audience is based on, having toured America for so long, and then giving them the blueprint for his films prior to the films coming out, and then the films have the built-in audience because they've seen it in theaters already.
I don't believe in women-centric films, but I certainly believe that we should create films that have more challenging roles for women and I definitely will have that in all my films.
You must know that Iran has a great number of productions. Many films are released. Most of them, like in the rest of the world, are commercial and shallow films. These are the most popular ones. And there are a few ones that actually develop more profound and thoughtful aspects of life. Only some of these films travel out of Iran.
I have a problem with the present definition of commercial films. To me, 'Ghare and Baire' is an absolute mainstream film. There are also many films I have worked in that have been called art films by many. But I consider commercial.
Film is a wonderful thing and it can be so many different things. I don't want to turn my back on any of the different ways movies can be. I love the movies. I love going to the films. I like very serious films, I love foreign films, and I love big, fun movies - as long as they're well made and they've got good scripts. That's the most important thing.
I have grown up watching Bollywood films, watching Shah Rukh Khan's films. I am happy that I worked with him.
The movies I make - the goal isn't a mass audience. They're not expensive films. So the attempt is to reach a much more limited audience - one would say an audience that enjoys films that challenge them emotionally and intellectually.
I didn't grow up watching Hindi films and loving them, or wanting to become a Bollywood actor. That, to me, was the most fantastical idea.
I can't tell at what age I developed this love towards movies, but I've always enjoyed watching films. I've grown up watching the films of my uncles Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan.