Why is Bollywood obsessed with replacing female actors in franchise films like Baaghi and Singham?

Dabangg, Baaghi, Golmaal, Singham and Housefull -- what would you say is the most common factor among all these films? Yes, on the surface, they are all mega Bollywood franchise films which have gone on to make crores of rupees at the box office. But they also have one other thing in common. A constant change of female actors with each new film. Bollywood has a track record of boosting the male ego by portraying an actor as the man of the house, a provider or larger than life character. But have you ever wondered why female actors are mostly never considered to continue their parts in Hindi movie franchises.

Well, there is no definite answer to this question. But this trend is now a pattern which is too hard to be ignored. This Friday, Tiger Shroff starrer Baaghi 3 releases and I only say Tiger because the film's female lead has been changed twice. While it was Shraddha Kapoor in the original Baaghi, Disha Patani replaced her in the sequel. With the third film, Shraddha is back on the big screen. While there is no clear reason for this, the trio have been a hit among the audience.

The situation is similar when it comes to massive franchise films like Singham and Golmaal. The Rohit Shetty directorial films have seen the male lead cast remain the same over the years. However, Ajay Devgn romanced Kajal Agarwal in Singham but in Singham Returns that changed to Kareena Kapoor Khan.

This isn't a recent trend. In fact, Rohit Shetty's successful comedy franchise Golmaal which first kicked off in 2006 has seen four films since then but each saw a different crop of actresses featuring in the film. From Rimi Sen to Kareena Kapoor Khan to Parineeti Chopra, the love interest switched with every film.

Same was the case in December 2019's release Dabangg which starred Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and Saiee Manjrekar. The 54-year-old lead actor romanced 21-year-old Saiee in the recent film. But was fell in love and married Sonakshi in the original.

Shraddha Kapoor suggests that with sequels, the character could be different and challenging. "There are a lot of things that don’t come to the fore that a certain actor or actress may not want to do that particular film; that also happens. So, I did this (Baaghi 3) film because it’s adding value to me and I believe it’s vice and versa. It’s the character that I’ve never played before. For me as an actor, it was quite challenging," she recently told Hindustan Times.

Reasons could be many like the need to keep the story fresh every time, a new actress means a new fan base and a brand new sizzling pair on screen. So far, Mardaani and Kahaani have been the only sequels starring leading ladies in recent times. Don't you think it's time for leading Bollywood actresses to get their own franchise? Like our very own Charlie's Angels or Bridget Jones?  

Let us know what you think about this in the comments section below.