Yet another year is about to end. This year with so many films releasing directly on the OTT kept us glued to our screens. We saw some great films some fascinating camera work and amazing acting. It also gave us some memorable women characters starting from Vidya Vincent in Sherni, Sandhya in Pagglait to J Jayalalithaa in Thalaivii. Here is a list of Best Women Led Films 2021:
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From Vidya Balan in Sherni to Neena Kulkarni's Photo Prem, this year cinema chose to show women of all ages, professions and difficulties with a flair. The depth of each character made our jaws drop and each character had a story to tell. It was easy to identify and see our reflection in them.
Here is a list of films that one needs to watch before the year gets over or binge during your year-end holidays:
1. Sherni
Vidya Balan as a forest officer on a trail searched for a tigress in the forest of a remote village. Vidya Vincent was refreshing to watch. We see a woman in a male-dominated profession. The parallels between the story of Balan and the Tigeress is great. The film highlighted issues that women face in daily lives such as casual sexism at the workplace, misogyny at home gaslighting and more. The film is directed by Amit V. Masurkar, who also made the film Newton. Apart from Balan, the cast of the film includes Sharat Saxena, Bijendra Kala, Mukul Chadda, Ila Arun, Sampa Mandal, Neeraj Kabi, Ashwini Ladekar, amongst others.
Watch what Vidya Balan had to say about Vidya Vincent:
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2. Pagglait
Sanya Malhotra shined bright in Pagglait. Sandhya, the character she played is a woman from a two-tier city whose husband passes away. She is unable to feel grief upon losing her partner, whom she knew only for a short span. There is a potent social commentary on the expression of "sadness" and mourning that is expected of a widow. How for a woman it is considered the end of life if she loses her husband. The film is directed by Umesh Bist and stars Shruti Sharma, Sayani Gupta, Ashutosh Rana, Sheeba Chaddha, Rajesh Tailang, Raghubir Yadav, amongst others.
Watch what Sanya Malhotra had to say about Sandhya:
3. Sara's
Not everything in her life is glamourous for Sara. The film brings in a refreshing perspective of a woman who has a career. Anna Ben Nayarambalar plays the character of Sara, who is a scriptwriter and wishes to be a filmmaker. At the centre of the film is a woman who makes choices. An important part of her life is her relationship with her partner Jeevan, played by Sunny Wayne, who defy the societal pressure of having children. The film is directed by Jude Anthany Joseph and includes Dhanya Varma, Benny P Nayarambalar, Jibu Jacob, Srindaa, amongst others.
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4. The Great Indian Kitchen
The Malayalam film throws light on the widespread assumption that women are the backbone of the family. It makes us introspect the sweeping remarks on women's duty being in the kitchen cooking and feeding her family or being the moral compass to her kids. The film shows the clear biases society has while applauding women's work and contribution to her family. It shows how the kitchen plays an important role and how labour division in the house is gendered. The lead role is played by Nimisha Sajayan and the film is directed by Jeo Baby.
A still from The Great Indian Kitchen. Picture Credit: YouTube
5. Photo Prem
Neena Kulkarni leads this Marathi comedy by Gayatri Patil and Aditya Rathi. In the film, Kulkarni's character hates to be photographed but she suddenly becomes obsessed with it, after she witnesses the family of a departed woman who does not have any of her photographs. She obsessively starts wondering how people will "visually represent" her when she passes away. The 93-minutes film feels too short but it pokes the right emotions and questions. It also casts Sameer Dharmadhikar, Amita Khopakar, Pradnya Jawla, amongst others.
6. Shaadisthan
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Kriti Kulhari's plays the role of the lead vocalist of a music band. She is an independent woman with her own thoughts and aspirations. The film shows how her parents want her to get married a day after her 18th birthday and how she struggles to stick with her choice of not marrying and making her parents understand her choices. Luckily things end well for her. The cast includes Nivedita Bhattacharya, Kay Kay Menon, Nishank Modi, amongst others. It is directed by Raj Singh Chaudhary.
7. Thalaivii
The late politician, actor and the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa had a charismatic presence and the film reflects it tracking her growth to the topmost position. The lead in the film is played by Kangana Ranaut, who has been part of films with strong women characters like Queen or Tanu Weds Manu, Manikarnika and so on. The film got mixed reviews but personally seeing a woman as strong as Jayalalithaa was a treat to watch. The film is directed by A L Vijay and the cast includes Arvind Swamy, Bhagrashree, amongst others.
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A still from The Great Indian Kitchen. Picture Credit: YouTube/shethepeople/media/post_attachments/qUigo7YsrppRpQC4zRx2.jpeg)