Dhadak 2 director Shazia Iqbal on women filmmakers denied big budgets, “It’s assumed they won’t recover the money”

Dhadak 2 director Shazia Iqbal has weighed in on the changing landscape of Hindi cinema, pointing to a shift in audience behaviour, the steady disappearance of mid-budget films, and what she sees as a persistent funding bias against women filmmakers.

Speaking about the evolving dynamics of film consumption, Shazia observed that the decline in women audiences in theatres does not necessarily mean that women have disengaged from cinema. Instead, she believes their viewing patterns have changed significantly in the post-OTT era.

Shazia said in a statement, “Women haven’t stopped watching films; they’ve changed where they watch them. Post OTT, many women prefer the comfort of home, while theatres increasingly cater to hyper-masculine films. At the same time, mid-budget cinema is disappearing, and when everything is mounted at massive scale, women directors are rarely trusted with those budgets. As a result, women continue to be pushed into small, independent films under the assumption that they won’t recover the money.”

Her remarks come at a time when theatrical releases are largely dominated by large-scale action spectacles, many of which are marketed heavily towards male audiences. In contrast, stories that once found space as mid-budget theatrical releases are increasingly being redirected to streaming platforms or not being mounted at all.

Shazia also highlighted how this economic restructuring impacts who gets to tell stories at scale. According to her, when budgets balloon and financial stakes rise, producers tend to rely on established, predominantly male directors. This, she suggests, creates a cycle where women filmmakers are rarely given the opportunity to helm big-ticket projects, reinforcing assumptions about market viability.

Also Read: Dhadak 2 director Shazia Iqbal on her anti-Dhurandhar post, “Didn’t think it would be picked up by news”

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