Not Abla Naari. Films On Women Empowerment That You Cannot Afford To Miss

Beyond the abla naari. Finally films in India are waking up to show an unreported reality - that of women who know what they want and are on a mission. It's a welcome break to see some cutdown of the saas-bahu stories or the romantic films where the hero always comes to rescue the girl.

Characters like Piku or Sehmat from Raazi or Silk from The Dirty Picture is been shown love for being who they are irrespective of the lenses that society sees them with. Here is a list of 10 movies on women empowerment that you need to watch.

Movies On Women Empowerment That You Should Watch:

Piku-

The comedy-drama movie by Shoojit Sarkar is about the life of a girl who is staying with her widowed father of 70-years-of-age. She takes good care of her father but is often frustrated with his eccentricities. The story takes Piku's journey of balancing her life along with problems she faces in life and at the same time standing as a strong-willed woman.

The movie casts Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan, Amitabh Bachchan in the main role. The humour along with simplicity stitched with the everyday struggles of a lone daughter and how she tackles them all makes the movie worth watching. '

Mary Kom-

The biopic of India's boxing champion from Imphal, Mary Kom sets an example for a woman who is struggling to turn their dream into reality due to various constraints in their life. Hailing from a small village without many resources, Mary Kom always wanted something big and she chased her dream until it became a reality. The movie shows her struggles going to sports coaching miles away, her unstoppable attitude of playing even though she had numerous factors stopping her in life.

Priyanka Chopra plays the titular role with Darshan Kumar and Sunil Thapa in the cast of the movie. Directed by Omung Kumar, it was produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Chopra won the Best Actor award for the movie at Filmfare Awards.

Kahaani-

The thriller movie about Vidya Bagchi (played by Vidya Balan) takes you through the struggle of a pregnant woman who is out to search for the killer of her husband and many innocent people killed due to security lapse. It delves into the topic of feminism, motherhood, and humanity, all at the same time. Even though the character of Vidya is shown to be strong, her meltdowns are shown with much grace. The emotion makes it relatable for many women facing these emotions but at the same time staying strong in front of the world so that they are not judged.

Image Source: Filmibeat.com

Apart from Balan, the movie also has Parambrata Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Indraneil Sengupta in the main star cast. The movie by Sujoy Ghosh won three National awards and five Filmfare awards.

Neerja-

Neerja celebrates the life of flight purser and air-hostess Neerja Bhanot who was killed in an airplane hijack of flight Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi while she save the lives of people from different nationalities. The journey of a humble, simple girl who got married at a very young age and later on left her husband due to mental and domestic abuse she faced is worth watching. The trauma did not slow her down and she chose what she always wanted to do. She became a flight attendant and simultaneously pursued a modeling interest.

The movie by Ram Madhvani casts Sonam Kapoor, Yogendra Tiku, Shabana Azmi in the main roles. The movie won two awards at the National Film Awards including Best Feature Film in Hindi and Special Mention for Sonam Kapoor who played Neerja Bhanot.

Mardaani-

With Rani Mukherjee in the lead role, she plays an Indian Police Service(IPS) officer on a duty to save the city from a major girl trafficking racket. Along with managing her household, Mukherjee in the role of Shivani Shivaji Roy takes up the task to cleanse the area of major crime kingpin Karan Rastogi played by Tahir Raj Bhasin. While on her duty, she faces many instances where she is looked down upon just because she is a lady officer and her gender is conceived as her weakness.

Rani Mukerji in a still from the film Mardaani 2.

The movie celebrates the women officers on duty and their dedication to society. Directed by Pradeep Sarkar, the movie was produced by Aditya Chopra and won many awards at various events. Along with Mukherjee and Bhasin, the movie also had Jisshu Sengupta, Anant Vidhaat Sharma, Priyanka Sharma, Avneet Kaur.

Saina-

Saina is a biographic drama depicting the life of ace badminton player and former world champion Saina Nehwal. The 2021 movie has been directed by Amole Gupte and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Sujay Jairaj, and Rashesh Shah under the name of T-Series and Front Foot Pictures. The story takes us through the journey of an ordinary girl who paved the way for herself and her country on international platforms. It also shows the hard work and patience that goes into the making of a sportsperson and the dedication of the family member towards their journey.

Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot

With Parineeti Chopra playing Nehwal, the movie also casts Eshan Naqvi, Manav Kaul, Meghna Malik, Subhrajyoti Barat. The movie is an inspiration to girls trying to make a name in the world of sports and want to do something extraordinary.

Queen-

Queen is a story that can be relatable to every other girl who has to compromise her feeling for the sake of her family and fiancé. The movie speaks about the story of a shy, middle-class girl who is abandoned by her fiancé on the day of her wedding. However, she decides to take up the honeymoon all along and embarks upon a journey to meet people from different nationalities and professions. She understands that her life is much beyond the boundaries set by her family or finding the perfect groom.

The ending scene where Rani (played by Kangana Ranaut) walks away after giving the ring to her fiancé Vijay(played by Rajkumar Rao) is a treat to watch. The movie directed by Vikas Bahl and produced by Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, and Madhu Mantena won Ranaut National Award for Best Actor category.

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Lipstick Under My Burkha-

The movie shows stories of woman from different background struggling with the issues in their life. On one hand it shows life of an aged woman Usha Parmar( Played by Ratna Pathak) and on other hand it takes up the life a college fresher Rehana Abidi (Plabita Borthakur). While Leela (Aahana Kumra) is shown to be beautician who wishes to travel the world with her secret lover, Shireen Aslam (&t=62s">Konkona Sen Sharma) is a sales woman who tries to secretly make a livelihood.

All of them suffer through some kind of oppressions, but they try to maintain their calm until the day come when they chose to be who they are without any second thought about the society. Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, the dark comedy movie is produced by Prakash Jha. The movie won many critical reviews and appreciation for its bold and true depiction of women.

Raazi-

The 2018 spy thriller movie by Meghna Gulzar stars Alia Bhatt as Sehmat Khan Syed, who is a field operative agent of the Research & Analysis Wing(RAW). She is a timid, introverted girl who chooses a career in the field as per the wishes of her father Hidayat Khan who had been a freedom fighter and an informant to the Indian Government against the Pakistani agenda. She is married to an influential family in Pakistan to bring more information regarding the offensive strategy that could be used by the country during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971.

The situations that she faces in life make her stronger to face the hardships of life. She serves her country while giving up her love life with the person she is married to and saves the country from impending danger. The movie is an adaptation of the novel Calling Sehmat by Harinder Sikka.

English Vinglish-

Sridevi plays the role of a Shashi, an Indian housewife who finds pleasure in serving her family, doing daily chores even if it comes at the cost of sacrificing her own personal desires. She is always looked down upon by her daughter and husband who do not find her "classy" enough to represent them at any public gathering. Her inability to speak the English language is equated with her timid personality. However, as she embarks on a journey to a foreign land for the marriage of a relative, she learns the language and surprises everyone that she can be everything if she is given the freedom to be one. 

The movie considered to be a comeback of Sridevi in Bollywood movie after a long time was appreciated by the audience and critics for her phenomenal role of an Indian wife who is searching for her own identity amidst the chaotic family life.