For a long time, the woman in the Indian police procedural existed mostly as support structure; the constable who acts as the messenger between higher-ups and juniors, the obedient sub-officer, or the inspector who nods while the superintendent plots.
What has happened in the years since Mardaani, then Delhi Crime, is less of a single movement and more of a shift. With Kathal, Poacher, Babita Singh Reporting, Kohrra, and more, paired with September arrivals Pradhama Drishtiya Kuttakkar and Daayra, it is safe to say that the female-led cop drama genre has picked up in India.
Parvathy Thiruvothu, who plays a police officer in two largely different capacities in Pradhama Drishtiya Kuttakkar and Daayra, has opinions about what this wave actually means, and what keeps the filmmakers of the Malayalam film industry grounded in their work.
"From when Delhi Crime (2019) came out, even in the OTT space, we've seen very realistic character portrayals of women who exist in the system. Poacher (2024) did that too, Nimisha's (Sajayan) character is a forest officer in that. And obviously today, films like Babita Singh Reporting (2026), and Daayra."
She highlights Santosh, Sandhya Suri's 2024 police procedural starring Shahana Goswami. The film never made it to Indian screens post its Cannes debut and multiple international award wins and nominations after it was reportedly blocked by the Central Board of Film Certification in 2025. (It later released on a streaming platform, in a muted fashion). "Santosh is another film we haven't had the opportunity to watch here, but I've heard it shows the absolute reality of our system, entirely through the eyes of a woman."
Whether the rise in such stories is trend that the industry is running with, or represents a more sustained change, Thiruvothu sees its merit, but the successes of each are still subjective. "There is definitely merit. Whether our industry trusts women to carry these stories and bring people to cinema, I don't think that process is fully formed yet. I think it's extremely dependent on random box office variables, not even a solid one."
However, she has noticed how the growth of the genre has led to it becoming a majorly risk-free investment within the industry. "In any other genre, if one movie does badly, three producers back out. But bring a cop genre with a female character leading it, and...I think there's a safety net of thrillers somehow hitting the market. But the merit is only increasing."
Another metric she points to is the blatant comparison of a theatrical release versus a project made entirely for the streaming platforms. "We have movies which are made in a certain amount of budget, with a certain amount of output with OTT platforms. They are sometimes compared with movies that have limited release. If the parameters of comparison keep changing, there's a generalising that happens with women's stories and women-led movies, which is not ideal. I have a problem with that."
Turning to Malayalam cinema’s reputation for realism, Thiruvothu credits the industry’s audience as much as its filmmakers. “I wouldn’t go so far in terms of women-led cinema specifically, but Malayalam cinema, in keeping it real and not following trends to the dot, yes. The audience humbles the filmmakers and producers. You can bring the best of the biggest stars, but if the making and the engagement don’t hold, or if it isn’t sincere, they just won’t come to the theatre,” she explains.
She believes this keeps the industry from chasing trends the way others may sometimes do.
"‘This film became a hit, let’s make 15 more such films’ is exactly the antithesis of what the industry should invest in. If one genre works, that’s the prime time and fertile ground to bring another genre, because you’ve saturated the audience. So with that, Malayalam cinema, by default, gets humbled by the audience,” she notes.