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On Women’s Day 2020, 5 female characters from Hindi movies that shall forever be our favourites
Women’s Day 2020: This year, we are bringing a list of our five favourite female characters from Hindi films including Piku, English Vinglish and more.
In the annals of Hindi cinema in the last 100 years, there have been several inspiring female characters -- characters made famous by actors such as Nutan, Meena Kumari, Nargis and Waheeda Rehman to name a few. However, in more recent times too, makers have been creating female characters that are likely to stay in our collective consciousness for a long time. What’s more not all of them are lead characters and that’s where the beauty lies.
On Women’s Day, we decided to list our five favourite female characters from Hindi films who were fierce, brave, liberated, and complex:
Anarkali, Mughal-e-Azam
We begin with the oldest entry on this list and also perhaps the most iconic. With heartbreaking lines on her lips, and the ethereal movements of her feet, Madhubala cast a spell so strong with her Anarkali in Mughal-e-Azam that even 60 years later, none has come close to break it.
Of course, the character herself was written in golden ink that bled straight from the hearts of its genius writers. Anarkali was the kanees who dared to love. Since the day she was born to the day she died, her destiny was written for her--to stay in her cage. First, her social standing, her lesser birth kept her at an arm’s distance from the glittery and the opulent, the ones she danced for. Then, when she dared to dream and to love a prince, she was once again put in a cage of cold stone, this time, to death.
Anarkali dared to hope and find love in a place where she knew only death awaits her. Nevertheless, she stood tall for her love, against an unrelenting emperor and the cruel world which punishes something as pure as selfless love. Her end may have been tragic but years later, she is one of the biggest icons of love to the world.
Shabana, Baby
Taapsee Pannu played Shabana Khan in undercover cop drama, Baby. The 2015 film was largely an Akshay Kumar show, but Taapsee had a small but show-stealing role. As Shabana, she is part of team headed by Akshay alongwith Rana Daggubati and Anupam Kher, who must not only prevent terror attacks on India but attempt the audacious -- bring Pakistan based terror mastermind alive to stand trial in India.
Taapsee’s Shabana has few scenes but in those she steals the show -- as a woman who must play vulnerable, to finding herself in a real vulnerable spot and then finally rely on her martial arts training to fight back, Shabana was a delight to watch. Not only, because as a woman, it gave tremendous delight to see a woman in combat, stopping at nothing, it proved a point that with training and discipline, one could make oneself second to none. In Shabana’s fist fight with a character by actor Sushant Singh, there were a number of moments when he had the upper hand. But what was rewarding to watch was a depiction of a woman, not usually seen on Indian screen. Taapsee had trained in Israeli martial arts Krav Maga for the scene and it clearly showed.
Gone was the image of a damsel in distress, here was a woman in fighting chance of victory and that was what was so rewarding.
Piku, Piku
Strength doesn’t always need to make big statements; it doesn’t have to be heroic. Often, you spot it in mundane, everyday faces -- the girl on the bus, the domestic help or the executive feverishly typing away on her phone. Piku (played by Deepika Padukone) is dear to me because it is so real; she is so real. Her father Bhaskor (Amitabh Bachchan) is an ever complaining hypochondriac who has brought up his girl right. He is all for her sexual independence but she doesn’t need or want his approval. The slice-of-life film offers its most sparkling moments when it shows just how similar the father-daughter duo is, often through the questioning eyes of the third angle of this triangle, the ‘outsider’ Rana Chaudhry (Irrfan).
Her career is stuck in a rut, her love life is non-existent. However, she knows she will fight her way out of this because, honestly, what else can one do? Piku puts one feet in front of the other each day, her gruff exterior being her shield against the world. She doesn’t win or lose, she just lives. What could be a better message?
Reena, Lust Stories
Manisha Koirala’s Reena, the femme fatale protagonist of the best segment in the Netflix anthology film Lust Stories, perfectly encapsulates how far Hindi cinema has come in its portrayal of women. Reena was neither the ‘devi’ women are usually depicted as in Indian films -- overcompensation, perhaps, for how they are treated in real life -- nor was she a ‘vamp’. She was an adulterous, vindictive woman who took her life into her own hands after surviving unspoken and unseen unfairness. In an industry accustomed to providing male actors with heroic ‘entry’ shots, director Dibakar Banerjee gave Reena a powerful ‘exit’ -- the final statement in a film about gender dynamics and patriarchy.
Shashi, English Vinglish
English Vinglish chronicles the journey of Shashi Godbole (Sridevi), a devoted wife and mother with a small catering business of her own. Despite efficiently managing her home and business, her teenage daughter treats her with contempt for her inability to speak English, and even her husband makes jokes at her expense.
As Shashi sneaks around the alien New York to take a four-week crash course in English, she conquers her fears and earns the respect of her family. Her journey to discover her identity and self-worth has grit and determination is filled with love and compassion.
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