Be it Tere Ishq Mein or Ek Deewane Ki Diwaniyat, volatile male protagonists are powering some of the year’s biggest hits. But women-led films are barely lasting a weekend in theatres
If box-office trends are any indication, testosterone is running the show — Dhurandhar only confirms it. From Shekhar in Tere Ishq Mein to the obsessive lover in Ek Deewane Ki Diwaniyat, rage-fuelled men are driving some of 2025’s biggest box-office hits — with Diwaniyat touching Rs 120 crore and Tere Ishq Mein nearing Rs 100 crore. The question has shifted: Not whether misogyny sells, but whether theatres themselves have closed ranks around female-led stories.
A new reality at the box office
Dismissed early on as chaotic and regressive, Tere Ishq Mein’s rise has made one thing clear: audiences are rewarding rage and volatile male fantasies, while women-led stories quietly slip off screens.
Filmmaker Rajni Basumatary says, “Using violence and misogyny to express love is no love at all. Tere Ishq Mein is only a milder version of Arjun Reddy, Kabir Singh and Animal. What worries one the most is that films such as these, criticised for misogyny, nevertheless continue to find large audiences. Are we seeing the hard-earned momentum of female-driven narratives begin to slip away?”
Female-led films are flatlining
By most measures, that momentum has stalled. 2025 has delivered very few theatrical successes led by women: Yami Gautam’s Haq finished at Rs 29 crore, and Huma Qureshi’s Single Salma collapsed at Rs 14 lakh.
Audience mood is driving the trend
Industry analysts argue that the issue lies in shifting audience mood. Film writer Yaser Usman says, “Cinema often reflects society. That’s the only way to explain the runaway success of hyper-masculine spectacles. The 1980s thrived on the same violent, macho fantasies. than correctness for viewers. We have to accept that audiences are not chasing moral alignment.”
Cinematographer Fowzia Fathima frames it even more sharply, she says, “I see a reiteration of ‘machismo’ hammered hard, in order to continue the ‘established’ narratives of male dominance.”
The viewer is part of the story
Filmmaker Nupur Asthana believes the answer lies with the audience. “We need to question ourselves as viewers. Why choose films that glorify toxic masculinity over stories with emotional depth? Toxic masculinity is rising worldwide — men are full of rage, and unemployment and lack of opportunity leak into relationships as callousness towards women. They connect when this is celebrated on screen. But half our population is women, and we want our stories told too. As women gain more agency, more viewers will demand better. So I refuse to get despondent,” she says.
OTT emerges as the refuge for women-led stories
While theatres lean into spectacle and male aggression, OTT platforms have become safer ground for women-led narratives. Films and shows such as Sanya Malhotra’s Mrs, Kriti Sanon’s Do Patti, Delhi Crime and Maharani consistently find stronger engagement online than in cinemas, where these stories can grow organically, free from theatrical pressures.
