Actresses are hardly seen portraying villainous roles or hardcore action, but director A R Murugadoss feels it is time to change this scenario and arm woman characters with more brawn to break long-held gender stereotypes in the industry.
"Worldwide cinema has always been largely male oriented and the female is always an accompaniment. From the beginning of time we do not have female centric stories, at least now we should change that and tell stories from a woman's point of view," Murugadoss told PTI.
"Especially women oriented action films should be made more as the mindset is that she can't fight, she should be soft, she should not talk back, not speak aloud.." he said.
Murugadoss thinks because of this mindset against women, female actors keep away from action and negative roles.
"When cinema displays a strong woman character who fights back, the audience mindset will change. When Olympic medals are achieved only by them with a fighting spirit, they prove that they are not only soft natured but can fight back if a problem arises... The environment now is right for female films," he said.
Sonakshi, who is known for her portrayal of girl next door kind of roles, will be seen doing hardcore action sequences in "Akira" directed by Murugadoss. And he thinks she has nailed it.
"My only requirement from her to play this role was that that her body language for action should be like a hero. And nowhere should people feel that she is acting just for the film. So every hit and kick should be convincing."
"To my surprise when I see that (action in film) especially in hand combat she oozes with power. Also her advantage is her powerful eyes and look. She has trained with professionals for six months," he added.
Murugadoss had earlier worked with the "Dabangg" actress
in Akshay Kumar starrer "Holiday" which was a big hit.
"During the shooting of my film "Holiday" I had experienced Sonakshi's sincerity and punctuality towards her work. She has abundant talent and I felt she will be right for 'Akira'," he said.
"Akira" is a remake of Tamil film called "Mouna Guru" and to suit the sensibilities of Hindi cinema lovers the "Ghajini" helmer has made some changes in the story.
"The structure of the screenplay in the original film is too long. I have made it tight to finish within a shorter time as the Hindi audience's taste and pace is to finish it quick. I have incorporated changes in the script to suit a women centric film as the original was made with a hero because if a girl fights in a film we need to give a reason as to how she can fight," he said.
"So, how the lead character ended up learning martial arts under what circumstances is the change made in this film," he added.
According Murugadoss, the USP of his upcoming action drama film is its gripping story.
"One just cant predict the story as it has exciting twists and turns that holds the film for the main protagonist (Sonakshi) to endure a fighting back spirit. Being women centric it added lot of value," he adds.
Produced by Fox Star Studios and A R Murugadoss production "Akira" is slated to release on September 2.
