The Heroines Get a Raw Deal in ‘Toxic’

Despite featuring female stars such as Kiara Advani, Nayanthara and Huma Qureshi, Toxic gives its women little to do. Its star-studded female cast is largely wasted on poorly written, underdeveloped characters.

Which brings us to a question that keeps surfacing around masculine action films: why are women almost invariably relegated to the backbench?

Women have traditionally been sidelined in Bollywood action films by commercial formulas, patriarchal storytelling and the belief that action cinema is primarily a male domain. While the industry has recently seen more female-led spy thrillers and action films, mainstream commercial cinema still frequently reduces women to romantic interests, supporting characters or victims in need of rescue.

Big-budget action films are largely built around the bankability of male stars, who command massive distribution guarantees. Studios continue to view male-led action franchises as safer financial bets, while distributors operate on the assumption that the core audience for high-octane action is predominantly male. As a result, female characters are often written to serve the hero’s story — as romantic interests, decorative presences or, in the most cliched cases, victims whose suffering triggers the hero’s revenge. Even when women are present, their screen time can be reduced to visual spectacle. Hyper-sexualised dance numbers, such as Tabaahi in Toxic, reinforce this imbalance, while the action itself remains largely male territory.

Quotes

It is easier when the heroine is playing the hero. But when there is a male actor doing the lead, the heroine is expected to be around for romance and singing in the rain whenever the guy takes a break from his action.” — Huma Qureshi

When a big hero is doing action, the heroine is expected to just cushion his machismo. It’s a very stressful burden to bear. There is too much pressure and too many judgements, while there is very little credit for putting yourself in that position.”

“For people in the industry, this isn’t a position where they see you as a big actress or heroine. They want her in these cushiony seats, in big films where she isn’t in the driving position. I have crossed that bridge. I’m clear that I want to be in a position that excites me. I want to be an important part of my film and for audiences to see the risks I’m taking.” — Taapsee Pannu