Dia Mirza: ‘Bobby Jasoos’ is a wholesome movie
Producer says movie attempts to break into a domain which, until now, was largely occupied by male actors
Actress-producer Dia Mirza feels women-centric films in Bollywood are mostly one-sided, but things are now changing.
Mirza also said there was scope for such movies to be presented as wholesome entertainers for a larger audience.
“Heroines have always been an essential part of films but their portrayal in cinema is not a much-explored subject. Actresses are added primarily for glamour quotient,” she said.
“Women-dominated films have a long history in Bollywood, but Bobby Jasoos, a spy-thriller centred around a female detective [Vidya Balan], attempts to break into a domain which, until now, was largely occupied by male actors,” she said.
Balan’s character, dressed as a male beggar with beard and ragged hair, was unveiled a few weeks ago and caught everyone’s attention.
“I am very excited about Bobby Jasoos as a lover of cinema, as a maker of cinema and as an audience. The manner in which we have approached and viewed women-centric subjects is tilted only in one direction — they are gritty, deep, dark and intense,” Mirza said.
“What is now refreshing is our storytellers are beginning to believe and execute women’s stories that are not what we think or perceive women subjects to be like. They are wholesome entertainers for everyone to see,” she said.
Mirza hopes Bobby Jasoos, slated for release later this year, gets the thumps up from viewers.
“I hope Bobby Jasoos is loved by men as much as women. We have made this film for everybody. It is not a film for women alone or women power.”
The film, directed by Samar Shaikh, has been produced under the banner of Born Free Entertainment, co-owned by the former beauty queen and her husband Sahil Sangha.
This is Mirza’s second film as a producer after Love Breakups Zindagi (2011) and and she is enjoying her innings as a producer. “There is a lot of hard work as a producer and it is compelling. It is like a drug.it entices you and once you get addicted, it is very difficult to draw away from it.”
Asked if she misses acting, she said: “Off course I do. But facilitating a film is a far more meaningful and fulfilling experience.”
The 32-year-old model-turned-actor was seen walking the ramp for ace designer Anita Dongre last night at the Lakme Fashion Week. Mirza said she still gets nervous on the ramp.
“You feel that adrenaline rush. The attack of anxiety is there. But once you hit the ramp the energy from the audience helps, it is a great high to be on ramp.”
