India, Jan. 23 -- Despite shifting audiences and evolving storytelling, big-budget female-led films continue to be a rarity in Indian cinema. Actor Malavika Mohanan has now spoken about the industry's reluctance to back women-fronted projects at scale, pointing to a deep-rooted belief that such films lack box-office pull. "What a lot of male producers and actors have said in the past is that if there's a female-led film, it won't have that sort of pull, which is why they can't invest more than 'x' amount in it. That's why very few people have bet on a big-budget film led by a female star. Only a handful of such films have been made," the actor, recently seen in The RajaSaab, told News18. Citing a recent example from Malayalam cinema, she highlighted how the narrative can change when producers choose to take that risk. "Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (2025) is a big-budget film compared to Malayalam film industry standards. It was headlined by actor Kalyani (Priyadarshan), a relatively young woman actor. The film happened because its producers bet on it, on its content. They had faith in Kalyani that she would be able to carry it off. It went on to make so much money at the box office," she added. Mohanan believes the issue is not audience resistance but industry caution. "It's just that not enough producers dare to place a woman in this kind of high-budget film. Such films are usually headlined by a male protagonist," she said. htc...