Actress Radhika Apte says the uncertainty surrounding box office performance makes it difficult for female-led films to secure a strong theatrical release unless they feature top stars such as Alia Bhatt or Deepika Padukone.
Apte, who will next be seen in the Netflix series Akka, was asked by PTI in an interview about her absence from theatrical films. She said, “I don't take a project based on whether it's theatrical or OTT. I don’t really care about it. There are so many business decisions dependent on that; I’d rather be like ‘let the film come out one way or another’.”
“With theatrical releases in the last few years, we don’t know what is working or what isn’t. A theatrical release where I am the lead would probably tank even if it’s the best film. I don’t have that, like generally, I’m not an Alia Bhatt or Deepika Padukone where you can, at least, hope that they’ll be opening. I’m being very honest with you. That means I have to be in a film where men are doing the main part,” she noted.
“Also, what is working right now is violence, and I'm vehemently against it. So, it's a tricky situation. I don't watch those films; I find them absurd. Like, I don't understand how one can watch and eat popcorn while 50 men or women are getting beaten up, and creatively beaten up, because last time he broke his skull on a sink, so this time let's break it on some other slab, I can't compute it. So, I'd rather not be a part of it,” Apte added.
Apte, last seen in the anthology film Lust Stories 3, said motherhood has reshaped her priorities, including her approach to working hours. She and her husband, British violinist and composer Benedict Taylor, welcomed a daughter in 2024.
“Now my conditions have changed. All I ask for is 12 hours of workday and not a 16-hour workday or like some time off, and it's not always possible. I also wanted to not work because nothing was worth (doing it).”
“For me, I wanted to be with her as much as possible, and I still do because she's too small. So, I think all those things and my work is not my life. It has never been my life; it's part of my life. So, things are ever changing. Tomorrow I might stop doing everything, or I might do a lot. Who knows? So, it's not like there's one reason necessarily (for not doing films),” Apte said.
Written and directed by Dharmaraj Shetty, Akka marks his debut as a filmmaker.
Produced by YRF Entertainment, the series is set in Pernuru, a fictional kingdom shaped by generations of women who built, governed and protected it.
Also starring Keerthy Suresh, the gangster series set in the 1980s is set to premiere on Netflix on October 30.