Think again. Think Raveena Tandon, with blocked nose and bleary eyes, putting in punishing 20-hour days to release Stumped, a satire about cricket, love and war in time for the World Cup in February.

Think Pooja Bhatt, smiling but steely, cutting deals with eager distributors for her erotic thriller Jism.

Think Aishwarya Rai, untiringly effervescent through interminable interviews and photo-ops, plugging her first home production Dil ka Rishta.

Production is where the action is. First the heroes metamorphosed into banners (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd, Devgan Entertainment, Aamir Khan Productions) and now the heroines are following suit. A decade ago, female producers were unheard of-a woman's name under the production credit usually meant the actual producer was looking for a tax break. But today, a generation of actresses, tired of playing damsels-in-distress, are moving into production. They are hoping to lengthen their professional lifespans and create signature cinema, which brings in both the bucks and the applause.

That critical and commercial success has eluded the men (with the notable exception of Aamir Khan) isn't deterring the women. Manisha Koirala, who is too old to play the mini-skirted college girl but too young to move to the mama slot, launched her company, Moving Images, two years ago. Currently she has two films on the floors, both small-budget features with debutant directors. "Production was a big leap for me," Koirala says, "but I just wanted to move on."

NEW FOCUS: Tandon is putting in 20-hour days to can Stumped

So did Sridevi, erstwhile screen goddess, who returned to acting last week after a gap of seven years. She is shooting a television serial called Hamari Bahu, directed by Satish Kaushik, penned by Sanjay Chhel and produced by, who else, Sreedevi Productions. Sridevi's company debuted last year with the violent melodrama, Shakti-The Power. The film failed but husband Boney Kapoor shrugs off the setback. "Actually, we were very disappointed when we saw the first cut. So we weren't really surprised when it did not do well," he says.

The range of involvement varies but none of the ladies are content with playing the figurehead producer of yesteryears. Of course, Kapoor masterminds her company, but Sridevi has abandoned her demure, "ask mummy" act. She sources films and stories from the south, sits in on costume sessions and attends shootings. Juhi Chawla, who is one-third partner with Shah Rukh Khan and Aziz Mirza in Dreamz Unlimited, green lights projects and is administration-in-charge. "All the sensible decisions in the company are made by her," says Khan.

SIGNATURE CINEMA: Stills from Rai's Dil Ka Rishta (above) and Koirala's Paisa Vasool

While Rai's name is not on the banner of Target Films that is producing Dil ka Rishta (her brother Aditya is co-producer and mother Vrinda has written the story), it is clearly powered by her superstardom. The project came together in record time-Tips put in Rs 12 crore-because of the Aishwarya factor. Rai insists that Target is not "Aishwarya Rai Productions", but admits that "it's family. I was there heart and soul."

Tandon, one-third partner in Reel Life Entertainment, acts, approves scripts and sits in on casting: her company has already completed two films and four are in the pipeline. And Bhatt does it all-from sourcing finances to costumes to production design. Says Jism heroine Bipasha Basu: "She's totally hands-on. Her style and aesthetic sense is stamped on every frame." Indeed, Jism, shot on a paltry budget of Rs 3.10 crore over a 40-day shoot in Pondicherry by a debutant director and cinematographer, has more panache than many big-budget films (see box). "I don't have the resources of a Karan Johar or a Sanjay Leela Bhansali," says Bhatt, "so I improvise." Which translates into glorious colours, trendy clothes and always, a candle in every frame.

But women producers don't necessarily equal chick-flick. The girls are market-savvy-"you can make a film about female infanticide," says Bhatt dryly, "but no one is really interested"-and eager to establish their banners. She is frank about using eroticism to sell Jism: "I'm so tired of female filmmakers being apologetic about sexuality. It's so boring to be one-dimensional."

Of course, the bottom line is the box office. Male actors burnt their fingers with inflated budgets (Anil Kapoor's Badhai ho Badhai cost over Rs 15 crore as did Ajay Devgan's Raju Chacha) but the heroines are taking limited risks. That they don't have the same clout with the distributors might actually work in their favour. "They are not allowed to go mad like the guys," says Mukesh Bhatt. "If you have a long rope, it hangs you." Most of the women are producing films for under Rs 5 crore.

In a dismal market-216 of the 226 films released last year flopped-perhaps the powerpuff girls will come through. Rai offers sound advice: "Step slow, step steady and step sure." Exactly.