Many leading ladies have questioned the rampant gender bias in the Indian film industry. While we may be a long way from gender equality, actor and writer Adivi Sesh wants to change the practice of films being viewed as a hero-led project. The actor, who fronts Dacoit along with Mrunal Thakur, describes it as “a two-hero film”. His reason is simple — it’s a love story and the genre demands equal emotional weight from its leads. “From the beginning, Dacoit never felt like a film with one protagonist. It’s a story of two layered characters, both central to the world we’re building. I’ve always believed that stories thrive when ego takes a backseat, and in Mrunal, I’ve found a co-actor who shares that belief,” says the actor, who has also co-written the film.

The upcoming Telugu-Hindi bilingual, also starring Anurag Kashyap, revolves around an angry convict who plots revenge against his ex-girlfriend who betrayed him. Sesh says that with Thakur as his co-actor, he is confident of telling the story meaningfully. “There’s honesty in the way she works. We’re both outsiders in this industry, and that shared sense of having earned our place brings an unspoken understanding between us. We’re the kind of actors who will do whatever it takes for a film. That’s why Dacoit feels like a two-hero film.”

Did you know?
Beginning with his 2013 film Chennai Express, Shah Rukh Khan decided to give the top billing to the leading ladies in his movies.