2014 has been has been a pretty good year for women centric films in Hindi cinema (or so it seems). Let’s take a look at some of them…….
Dedh Ishqiya:
2014 had a crackling start with Dedh Ishqiya – A sequel to Ishqiya. The film carried forward drama in the life’s of Khalujaan and Babban, played by Naseeruddin Shah and Arshard Warsi respectively. Newbies to the cast – Madhuri Dixit and Huma Qureshi surprised audiences with their brilliant performances and pleasing camaraderie. Dedh Ishqiya made a subtle but encouraging statement about LGBT which for long has been uncommon to mainstream Bollywood. Kudos to Madhuri and Huma for accepting the roles and executing it with élan!
Gulabi Gang
Nishta Jain’s ‘Gulabi Gang’ is a true-blue documentary tracing the life of Sampat Pal Devi and her activist movements against women oppression in Uttar Pradesh. The film gained an excellent critical response. It was touted as a much better made film than commercial Madhuri Dixit starrer – Gulaab Gang. The documentary is also a recipient of the National Film Awards.
Gulaab Gang
Gulaab Gang was unofficially inspired by the life of Sampat Pal Devi. The film was a damp squib at the box office due to its clichéd execution and competition from Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Queen’. Most of the cast’s performances were appreciated, especially Juhi Chawla who looked every bit the menacing power hungry politician.
Queen
On Women’s Day released a small budget Kangana Ranaut starrer ‘Queen’ that went on to win hearts across the nation and even internationally. Queen gave Madhuri and Juhi starrer Gulaab Gang (also released on women’s day) a run for their money. The script of a simple heart-broken girl travelling to Paris and Amsterdam and re-discovering herself was heartwarming, and so was Kangana’s performance. Kangana is already being considered a front runner for all major awards this year. Queen is a must watch for every girl (and the guys too!).
Lakshmi (2014)
Released in March, Lakshmi dealt with child prostitution, rape and the victim’s undying spirit to change her fate. Directed by critically acclaimed director Nagesh Kukunoor, the film suffered censorship delays due to some bold content. Lakshmi starred Indian playback singer turned actress Monali Thakur in the leading role.
Revolver Rani
Queen created such a fervor among movie buff’s that Kangana’s next release –‘Revolver Rani’ was anxiously awaited. Revolver Rani was about a kick-ass female gangster in the land of mafias – Chambal, mostly dominated by men. The film didn’t quite meet expectations but was nevertheless applauded for Kangana’s bravura performance as Alka Singh.
The World Before Her
Nisha Pahuja’s ‘The World Before Her’ saw an Indian theatrical release in June this year. The film projected two groups of women from two different statures belonging to 21st century India, undergoing vastly different training programs. More of a documentary than mainstream cinema; ‘The World Before Her’ won rave reviews for its uniquely realistic concept and hard hitting script.
The second half of 2014……
Bobby Jasoos:
It is safe to expect a powerful women centric character in any film that stars Vidya Balan. The actress has redefined the role of heroines in Hindi cinema and changed perspectives of a dozen movie goers who thought of heroines as ornamental.
Mardaani
Trust Rani Mukherji to deliver every single time she is entrusted with an author backed role. Mardaani has Rani Mukherji play a tough cop chasing the kingpin of a girl trafficking scam. Slated for an August release ‘Mardaani’ has created quite a stir among movie buffs; and her character Shivani Shivaji Roy is being very well received.
Mary Kom
Priyanka Chopra is given a gargantuan task of playing Indian-International boxer Mary Kom onscreen. The film has been in the news for the inability of the makers to risk bestowing the role to a North-east Indian actress instead of Priyanka Chopra, and also for the melodrama that can be seen in its promos. Nevertheless, the film looks way too promising and can do by ignoring these flaws.
Finding Fanny
After bagging every possible ‘Best Actress’ award for Ram Leela, Deepika Padukone sure has proved her acting mettle. In ‘Finding Fanny’, Deepika stars as one of the key protagonists. With Homi Adajania of ‘Being Cyrus’ fame in the directors seat, this one is to watch out for.
Khoobsurat
We are well aware of the charm of ‘Khubsoorat’ (1980) and the wonders it did to Rekha’s career. In 2014, the remake of Khoobsurat is all set to release starring Sonam Kapoor. Expectations will be high from this one, and all eyes will be on Sonam to deliver. Going by Sonam Kapoor’s khoobsurti, apt choice for the role, I’d say.
That’s quite a list of female centric bollywood films in 2014. Going by the quality and success of some of these films so far, 2014 is potential enough to be seen as a progressive year for women in Bollywood. What do you think?
(Note: I do not own any of the pictures displayed in this blog. They have been added for Pictorial representation sake. All text can get boring to read sometimes)
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