Looking at 5 recent and impactful female-led Bollywood films
Friday (November 4) witnessed the clash of three films at the box office: Double XL, Phone Bhoot, and Mili. What's interesting about them is that they are all led by female actors—a much-needed yet sporadic occurrence in Bollywood. While male actors headline films almost always, women don't usually receive such honors. Today, we look at some exceptions released or announced in the recent past.
Kriti Sanon's 'Mimi': The breakthrough film of her career
Laxman Utekar's Mimi is a monumental film in Kriti Sanon's career—challenging yet rewarding. She plays an ambitious, fiery dancer who becomes a surrogate mother due to unavoidable circumstances. Not only did it usher in tremendous critical acclaim for Sanon, but she also had the opportunity to display her prowess in the craft and prove her ability to carry an entire film on her own.
Alia Bhatt breathed life into 'Gangubai Kathiawadi,' her career-best performance
A look at Alia Bhatt's oeuvre, and one can fathom how quickly she established herself as one of the leading actors of this generation with movies like Udta Punjab and Darlings. However, her most visceral, moving performance was in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period-drama Gangubai Kathiawadi, where she played the titular role with utmost perfection. Being SLB's muse possibly brought out the best in her!
Sanya Malhotra's 'Pagglait': A scathing societal critique
Pagglait—headlined by Dangal fame Sanya Malhotra and helmed by Umesh Bist—has an unconventional story at its heart. It follows the life of a young widow who finds her authority and voice being suffocated mercilessly once life takes a turn for the worse for her. A scathing social dramedy, Pagglait's biggest strength lies in exposing the facades society has engineered for women over the years.
Vidya Balan's 'Sherni': An unconventional story of gender politics
Vidya Balan has several women-centric movies to her credit, such as No One Killed Jessica andThe Dirty Picture. In 2021, she starred in Sherni, which featured her as a forest officer in a dense jungle of Madhya Pradesh. Of course, the title doubles up as a symbol of the protagonist's strength as the only woman in a male-dominated workplace.
Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Bhatt set to collaborate soon
Another film that's set to join this illustrious list is Farhan Akhtar's Jee Le Zaraa, which will mark the maiden collaboration of Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, and Bhatt. It's one of the rare instances when three leading actors will be seen on screen together, so expectations are already through the roof. It was announced in 2021 and is expected to hit floors next year.
