The thing that grabs you while watching the legal-thriller System is its stillness. The film, starring Sonakshi Sinha, Jyotika and Ashutosh Gowariker, seems to be in no hurry. In an OTT landscape concerned with attention and retention, the Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari directorial favours depth over desperation. The narrative arrests you with just its visuals. It’s a commendable feat for an Indian courtroom drama to be silent. “That’s the beauty of the OTT space,” says Sonakshi. “There is the option of making something that is meant to grab attention and also something like this, which unravels slowly. Because of the silences, I think the film stays with you even after the credits roll.”
Jyotika agrees. “Silence catches your attention more than dialogues,” she says. “Anyway, in theatrical films you don’t get to play with nuances, atleast OTT gives you that option.”
In the film, Sonakshi and Jyotika play a Sherlock-Watson-like team of a rookie, privileged prosecutor and a more observant court stenographer, respectively. The characters are layered, ambitious, real and sans any sacrificial attributes women are usually portrayed with in mainstream films. “How long can you play the goody-goody person?” asks Jyotika. “In life, everyone is grey so when you play such nuanced characters, you feel closer to playing reality.” Sonakshi adds that as an actor it also gives variety to your characters. “It’s good to be bad sometimes,” she says with a smile.
For female actors getting nuanced characters takes a while. Both Sonakshi and Jyotika have had their share of roles which can best be described as ornamental. Sonakshi started her acting career with Dabangg (2010) fronted and overshadowed by Salman Khan. Then came more “hero-led” films like Rowdy Rathore (2010) and Son of Sardaar (2012). She believes that it’s how the path has been laid for a female actor. “You have to work towards it (the layered roles),” she says. “When you start off, you are young, you are hustling. If you get a big film, it doesn’t matter what your role is, you have to say yes.”
“But you have to do it well,” she adds. “Which is why when I was doing a Dabangg or a Rowdy Rathore, I still got offered a Lootera (2013). The good, bad, or the ugly, every film that I have worked on and every person that I have worked with has taught me something. I think it's important to have all sorts of experiences.”
Now, however, Sonakshi seems to have become more particular with her choices. Her last few OTT releases (Dahaad (2023) and Heeramandi (2024)) showcase her acting abilities. “With age and experience you realise that you want more out of life, out of the characters you are playing and out of the films you are being a part of,” she says. “To respect yourself as an actor, you want people to respect you as an actor as well. So, you start making decisions according to that mentality.”
Sonakshi remembers that this shift in her mindset came after she did AR Murugadoss’s Akira (2016), an action-thriller where the actor got to kick some rears. “I kid you not, that was me tasting blood. I couldn’t settle for anything less after that.”
But isn’t it a struggle, we ask, for a female actor who wants to build a certain kind of portfolio? How do they say no to those big-budget films that are still coming their way? “This dilemma arises so many times,” says Jyotika. “I can speak for the South industry. I have said no to many big-budget films. Just two-three years ago I really needed some big banners and films to keep myself in the market but I didn’t feel like saying yes to them and bargaining with my good night’s sleep.”
Jyotika adds that when it comes to female-led theatrical films, the South film industry fares better than Hindi. “At least they get made and also get a theatrical release,” she says. “But it is still a struggle. We don’t get enough budgets and thus can’t have top slot talents for different departments. Like for music, we can’t have an AR Rahman.”
Sonakshi and Jyotika both feel there needs to be certain systemic changes in the industry. “A lot of money goes into less important things,” says Sonakshi. “If you are making a big-budget film, half of that money is going to the actor and the writers are getting peanuts.” Jyotika bats for more female-led films. “With bigger and bigger names attached to them,” she says. “I feel whenever women-led films are made, in whatever budget, they are able to recover and also make a profit.”