International Women's Day 2024: Gangubai Kathiawadi, Mardaani 2, Ghoomer and Other Bollywood Films That Showed Ordinary Women’s Strength
In an industry where films have traditionally been scripted around men, and woman-centric films have been the exceptions rather than the rule, a new generation of directors and screenwriters have overturned the gender imbalance, and delivered successful films centred around female protagonists.
In an industry where films have traditionally been scripted around men and woman-centric films have been the exceptions rather than the rule, a new generation of directors and screenwriters has overturned the gender imbalance and delivered successful films centred around female protagonists. On the eve of International Women's Day, here's a selection of seven Bollywood films that celebrate women's power. International Women’s Day 2024: From Queen to English Vinglish, 5 Bollywood Movies That Celebrate Womanhood and Where To Watch Them Online.
Gangubai Kathiawadi, Alia Bhatt (2022): The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, a biopic based on the life of 'mafia queen' Gangubai Kothewali, is centred around Alia Bhatt's character, who was cheated and sold to a brothel in Kamathipura, Mumbai. From there, she allied with local politicians and the underworld to become a 'don' who was dreaded as much as she was respected for her good deeds. The movie made news for being the first female-centric production to rake in a hefty Rs 210 crore in a year when Hindi movies were overshadowed by big-budget South Indian blockbusters.
Mardaani 2, Rani Mukerji (2018): In this second edition of the Aditya Chopra-produced crime thriller, Rani Mukerji reprises the role of Shivani Shivaji Roy, a can-do police officer who is out on only one mission: to catch a 21-year-old rapist and murderer, and deliver justice to the victim's family.
Jaane Jaan, Kareena Kapoor Khan (2023): Sujoy Ghosh's film is an adaptation of the 2005 Japanese novel 'The Devotion of Suspect X'. In the movie, Kareena plays a single mother involved in a murder who does whatever it takes to keep herself and her daughter safe.
Sukhee, Shilpa Shetty (2023): The slice-of-life film helmed by Sonal Joshi with music by Badshah talks about the challenges faced by homemakers through the transformative experience of its lead character, a 38-year-old Punjabi housewife, after a high school reunion. It spotlights the sacrifices women make for their families. The movie, though, bombed at the box office.
Ghoomer, Saiyami Kher (2023): R. Balki's sports drama film, which also features Shabana Azmi, Abhishek Bachchan, and Angad Bedi, has Saiyami playing a paraplegic cricketer who defies her physical limitations to earn a place in the Indian women's cricket team despite losing her arm.
Apurva, Tara Sutaria (2023): This OTT movie is a survival drama helmed by Nikhil Nagesh and set in the Chambal, that follows the story of an ordinary woman named Apurva, who was abducted from a bus and made to face gruesome circumstances. She does everything possible to survive.
Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, Rani Mukherji (2021): This Ashima Chhibber film is inspired by the real-life story of an Indian couple whose children were taken away by the Norwegian authorities in 2011.
It follows the fight of a mother who does everything in her capabilities to bring her children back from a foreign land.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 07, 2024 07:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).