Radhika Apte weighs in on Alia, Deepika’s box-office draw
Story by PTI | Posted by Vidushi Gaur | Date 24-10-2026
Bollywood actress Radhika Apte
Radhika Apte says the uncertainty surrounding box office makes it difficult for female-led films to secure a strong theatrical release unless these projects are headlined by top stars like Alia Bhatt or Deepika Padukone.
The actor, known for her acclaimed roles across independent and mainstream cinema such as “Shor in the City”, “Badlapur”, “Manjhi – The Mountain Man”, “Parched”, “Pad Man”, “Andhadhun” and OTT shows like “Sacred Games”, “Ghoul”, among others, had her last theatrical film in 2024 and it was “Merry Christmas”, directed by Sriram Raghavan.
Apte’s recent projects — “Lust Stories 3”, “Saali Mohabbat”, “Mrs Undercover”, “Monica, O My Darling” — are all on OTT and she will be next seen in the Netflix series “Akka”.
“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’,” the actor told PTI in an interview, when asked about not doing theatrical films.
“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,” Apte said.
The 41-year-old actor said films centred on violence appear to be driving theatrical business, a trend she is reluctant to be part of.
“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, who was recently seen in the anthology film “Lust Stories 3”, said motherhood has brought a change in her priorities, particularly when it comes to maintaining reasonable working hours.
Apte and her husband, Benedict Taylor, a British violinist and composer, welcomed a baby girl 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).”
The actor revealed that she had taken a sabbatical partly to focus on writing, an ambition that has been difficult to pursue after becoming a mother.
“Once when I didn’t have a child, I was listening to a podcast, and on that it was said, ‘What is the biggest hurdle behind writing in life? Children’. And I laughed and said, ‘I’m never going to have children. I have a child, I sit at the computer to write, I’m trying, (and then) I fall asleep. So, everything is slowed down at the moment,” Apte said.
“Akka”, a 1980s-set gangster drama, also stars Keerthy Suresh in the lead alongside Apte. The show is set to premiere on October 30 on Netflix.
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