We need more female centric films... We need more female storytellers...we need better actresses..
Ever wonder why we put emphasis on having more films that had female lead, the problem lies in overly done male dominance in Indian films. The monotonous use of male characters objectifying women (for comedy?), beating hundreds of goon(masculinity?) has created a pre conceived thought in many minds who thought a Male lead as superhero or alpha male image.
Hopefully things have been changing, now audience is getting smart, they have had enough of toxic masculinity bullshit, now they cheer for Wonder Women beating ass, Taapsee Pannu delivering dialogues about nationalism(massive upgrade from Sunny Deol, right?) and many other actresses delivering superlative performances.
Read below the piece written by Roopam Singh.
- It’s rare to find strong female protagonists and their points of view without strong male leads in Bollywood. But still there are some movies like Queen, Pink, Neerja, Highway and NH10 etc. which have strong female leads and have done great at box-office. However, there are some movies that didn't do well on screen. So, here is the list of most underrated female centric movies of Bollywood.
1. Angry Indian Goddesses
If you haven't watched it yet, you are missing out one of the beautiful gem of Bollywood. It's a very intelligently crafted movie which portrays life of its female characters beautifully and addresses social issues like sexual violence against women and gender disparity. Every character has a different story and they have different background as well. This movie beautifully explains the anger raging inside the women of our country.
2. Parched
Parched takes you through a disturbing journey and thought-provoking territory. This story revolves around four female characters who all are facing hard time in life and are connected to each other by shared hope. They share a journey to get free from their suffocating social conditions. This movie shows core traditional and harsh realities of this patrichal socitey. Set in a village of Rajasthan, this movie shows every problem of women's live in rural India.
3.Nil Battey Sannata
This movie revolves around a mother-daughter relationship. A single mother is ambitious for her daughter to achieve something big in life but her daughter is lazy and doesn't want to put any efforts to get out of her slum life. The daughter thinks maid's daughter only can be a maid and a driver's son can only be a driver. The illiterate mother tries to motivate her every time and keeps pushing her to dream big and work hard. This movie shows that with hard work and determination, everything is possible. This movie is one of a kind yet highly underappreciated.
4.Margarita With a Straw
This movie shows a different and new perspective towards the lives of physically challenged people Kalki acted so well in the movie . It makes you belive that everything is possible no matter how hard it gets... The way people look at physically challenged people in India is criticised and the ordinary experiences of specially-abled people are emphasised upon. It shows how Kalki’s character embarks upon her journey to self-discovery. The story is fresh and the message is very subtle.
5. Soni
This movie shows the position of a female in a-male dominant profession and the gendered discrimination faced by the protagonist. The generation gap and cultural point of view can be really seen. Dialogues like "Sindoor laga kar kaam par jaya kar" sum up the struggles very strongly. The dilemma, duty, compromise, ethics, and politics play around beautifully. This movie didn't release on the box-office, which is the reason why it didn’t get the appreciation it deserves.
6. Love Sonia
Love Sonia is a hidden, unvalued gem of Bollywood. This movie shows the dark realilty of international sex trafficking. It has a cast of talented actors like Demimoor, Mark Dupless, Rajkumar Rao, Richa Chada, Manoj Bajpaie, etc. Mrunal Thakur, who plays the lead, did an amazing job with her role as a girl who wants to save her sister from prostitution and herself gets involved in international sex trafficking. It unravels an intense and disturbing narrative of the victims of sex trafficking and prostitution.
7. Lipstick Under My Burkha
This movie has a bold concept and realistic stories to back it up. The characters represent real, ordinary women whom we find around ourselves. They are all from different backgrounds and have different struggles—from a house wife, to a young girl, and a grandma. It shows different stages of women's life very well. This movie gives a clear message that whatever your religion and age be, what you wear is your choice and not forced by the society. Though the theme is very serious, the script maintains a tinge of dark humour. All though I'm not satisfied with the ending much but you wouldn’t regret watching this movie.
8. Kahani
This movie has a very fresh storyline. This movie promises you a simple storyline—a pregnant lady is searching for her missing husband in Kolkata. Simple, right? But is it what it seems? This movie has great twist and turns. This movie beautiful captured the colours of Kolkata (red, white and golden for the durga puja). Beautiful comparision of maa durga and the main protagonist Bidya Bagchi (as maa durga kills demons to protect humanity and that was also why Bidya comes to Kolkata).And the climax is unpredictable which makes this movie more mysterious than it seems.
9. No One Killed Jessica
This movie is based on a true story—a struggle to prove the truth. This movie critiises social, political and judicial aspect the society. This movie really shows that with great power, comes great responsibility and it can get easily corrupted. In the end, justice matters. This movie also gives you a beautiful message too and makes you aware you about the corruption in the system.
10. Pataakha
Now, here’s finally a comedy movie which has female leads. It just has two sisters fighting throughout the movie. It doesn't inspire you or show any serious issues. It's just make you laugh and entertains you. Both Sanya Malhotra and Radhika Madan did really great jobs with their roles. This movie makes you laugh. The story, songs and everything is fun to watch. They both have different dreams and ambitious that they want to achieve but couldn't because of their financial condition. They hate each other so much that they even pray to God to get ride of each other. Sunil Gorver narrator the story and also play important part. He inflame both the sisters and then silently watch the drama. He also helps them time to time.
If you haven't watch any of these movies you have too. All of them are inspiring. Thanks for reading this and please recommend these movies to your friends also.
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