Pink, Raazi, and More: 5 Women-Centric Hindi Films to Watch on Women's Day
Women's Day this year will be celebrated on March 8th, a day dedicated to celebrating women and their achievements across various fields. The theme this year is to accelerate gender equality and foster equal opportunities for women in multiple fields. Coming to providing opportunities, Hindi cinema has always been at the forefront in churning out riveting films with female characters at the center of the narrative.
Let us take a look at 5 Bollywood movies that were hugely successful and had a woman leading the narrative in charge.
1) Pink
The first Hindi movie to openly address consent is Shoojit Sircar's directorial, Pink. Starring the legendary Amitabh Bachchan in a role that's ground-breaking, Pink is a movie that's spear-headed by Taapsee Pannu. In a role that's extremely difficult to pull off, Taapsee delivered an extremely convincing performance and so did the girls alongside her. Written by Juhi Chaturvedi, the movie was widely loved by the fans of Hindi cinema and it was even remade into other languages with superstars like Pawan Kalyan and Ajith Kumar essaying Amitabh Bachchan's role.
2) Raazi
It didn't take much time for Alia Bhatt to prove to everyone that she is an actress par excellence. Right from the start, she had found the right balance between starring in commercial cinema and finding her own space in off-beat cinema. With Raazi, what she managed to pull off was to lead a commercial movie with her character at the forefront. Even though the movie has Vicky Kaushal as the main lead, it was Alia's show all the way and the film's humongous box-office success was due to her incredible performance.
3) English Vinglish
Starring the late veteran Sridevi, English Vinglish is one movie that will appeal to audiences across generations. Everyone will find something to relate to and this is the movie's biggest strength. Portraying a mother who is stepping outside the country for the first time, Sridevi showed one and all why she ruled Indian cinema for decades with her indomitable acting skills.
4) Thappad
Anubhav Sinha is one of the most unique directorial voices in Indian cinema, and Thappad is one of his best films. Starring Taapsee in the lead, the movie sparked a discussion across the country just like Pink. The director was also lauded for daring to showcase the issue and Taapsee pulled off the role with great panache.
5) Kahani
Sujoy Ghosh's brilliant thriller had Vidya Balan in the lead and it was one of the biggest hits of 2012. Set in Kolkata, the movie is about a pregnant woman searching for her husband. Vidya Balan, who had already made a name for herself for women-centric cinema, had excelled in this role and she is the sole reason for the movie to attain cult status over the years.