Although 2012 showcased a favourable run for women-centric movies, Bollywood continues to shy away from giving their female leads their due.

“Most filmmakers are still reluctant to give their heroines much importance. It’s still about the male actors. The initial casting is all about the heroes. Once the hero is finalized, then there is a search for the actresses,” concedes a source in the casting industry.

“Directors are unwilling to take the risk. While some movies like ‘English Vinglish’ and ‘Kahaani’ did well at the box-office, there were some like ‘Heroine’ and ‘Aiyaa’ that didn’t. So, not everyone is willing to take the gamble.”

Even in the past, there have been sporadic female-centric blockbusters like Vidya Balan’s ‘Dirty Picture’ and Rani-Vidya’s ‘No One Killed Jessica’.

In fact, Bollywood actresses are aware of this reality.

In a recent newspaper interview, Kareena Kapoor claimed that Bollywood is still “male dominated”, and the heroines don’t get paid as much as their male costars.

Even Bipasha Basu endorsed it. "Bollywood is very hero centric. They are a safe bet and given a chance I’d invest in them too because they pull in crowd,” she told the Indian media.

“I also want to be part of a Rs100 crore (Rs10 million) film. Why not? If you want to survive in this business it is best to be safe.”

Another seasoned actress Rani also voiced similar concerns while promoting ‘Aiyaa’ on a TV chat show, claiming that filmmakers are always keen on casting actors in their 40s but prefer to sideline 30-something actresses.

We’ve got reports that four movies for the year 2013, have male leads on board but are yet to cast the actresses.

“While the usual suspects – Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ranbir Kapoor — make up half the cast for some of 2013’s big films, no one seems to be sure who these men will be starring opposite,” reported a leading Indian daily.

Topping the list of no-heroine-yet movies are Farah Khan’s ‘Happy New Year’. “The female lead has not been finalised yet. I am making the film but it’s the media that keeps deciding things for me,” she told the Indian media.

In fact, some movie analysts reason that it’s the dearth of A-list actresses that’s leading directors to cast South Indian actresses.

Apart from Farah’s movie, there’s also Salman Khan’s ‘Kick’, Akshay Kumar’s Tamil movie ‘Thuppakki’-remake, and Ranbir Kapoor’s yet-to-be-titled movie with Imitiaz Ali.

Although rumour mills are abuzz with speculations over who will play the romantic lead, filmmakers aren’t sweating over it.

“As long as the actors are on-board, the work is done. Casting a pretty actress is the last thing the directors worry about,” claims a casting director in Mumbai.

In fact, even first-time directors are willing to stall their dream project until they get hold of the actors they want.

Soon after rumours of Deepika Padukone being picked for Sajid Nadiadwala’s ‘Kick’ emerged, Katrina Kaif’s name was floated. Then, it was Anushka Sharma’s turn at the spotlight.

In fact, there are two more Salman-starrers that are yet to finalise their female-leads. There’s ‘Sher Khan’ and a Telugu movie Brundavanam-remake.

While Parineeti Chopra and Sonakshi Sinha are apparently vying for Akshay’s Tamil-remake, they are also in the race for SRK’s ‘Happy New Year’.

Even Priyanka Chopra and Katrina are pitched against one another for Farah’s movie.

Even though he isn’t as big a star as the Khans, Ranbir does flaunt an impressive box-office track record. His next movie with Imtiaz Ali is the news over which actress will play his leading lady. “There are talks that Deepika has been cast, but there’s no official confirmation yet,” reported an Indian website.

So, while there will be sporadic women-centric movies, Bollywood still remains unapologetically sexist.