Bollywood has a lot of problems (not unlike Hollywood) but don't let a stereotyped view of the industry have you miss out on some great performances & stories!
Recently we have been seeing some great films which are not only women-centric but deal with women's place in society and carry a message of empowerment and change - and I believe this message is relevant to everyone no matter their country, language or culture.Here are some of my favourite feminist BW movies for those of you who don't mind watching foreign films lol.
This list is based on the longlist originally posted on ontd-bw by mjspice and myself. Check it out! Mardaani (2014) "Mardaani" tackles the issue of girl trafficking head on - the aim is to shock the audience into taking the matter seriously and acting to stop this terrible crime. The protagonist, Shivani Roy, is a no-nonsense supercop who will stop at nothing to get the bad guys. Production house Yash Raj isn't known for doing gritty films, but the lead actress and producer Rani Mukerji believed in this film even though execs there didn't like it and thought it would bomb. Turns out she was proven right: even though Mardaani is far from your average mainstream Bollywood film, it got an excellent response at the box office, and was declared a hit. The film also got a standing ovation in Poland and was praised by Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi. Trigger warning: child abuse, rape, violence.If you like this, try: No One Killed Jessica (2011).
Kahaani (2012) A nail-biting thriller with a powerhouse performance by Vidya Balan. As Vidya’s 4th successful woman-centric film between 2010-12, it also helped permanently damage the argument that “people don’t want to see films about women”. Balan plays Vidya Bagchi, a heavily pregnant woman that travels from London to Kolkata in search of her missing husband. Staying in a dingy guest-house in a city bustling with preparations for the Durga Puja festivities, she soon finds that all traces and records of her husband are gone - like he never existed. With a mix of determined strength and vulnerability, she challenges stereotypes, turns clichés around and ultimately triumphs by exploiting society’s narrow male-dominated thinking. Currently being remade in Hollywood.If you like this, try: Ishqiya (2010).
Queen (2014) Rani (it means “Queen”) is a well-behaved girl from a loving, protective middle-class Delhi family. When her fuckboy fiancé dumps her two days before her wedding, she is crushed. Rani decides to go on her honeymoon to Paris alone - and so the girl who never even crossed roads by herself has to figure out how to survive in a foreign country. It is beyond lovely and heartwarming to watch Rani’s journey of self-discovery, with a little help from the people she meets on the way, including the carefree single mom Vijaylaxmi. Kangana Ranaut gave the performance of a lifetime here, and Queen was the single most lucrative film in Bollywood in 2014, winning the Filmfare for Best Film and currently being remade in a bunch of different languages and countries. It's not perfect (it features a Japanese stereotype for example) but still one of the better stories about female self-discovery I've seen anywhere.If you like this, try: English Vinglish (2012).
Bobby Jasoos (2014) A light-hearted comedy about Bobby, a 30-year-old Hyderabadi woman whose dream is to be a successful private detective, in spite of her conservative father’s objections. Bobby is intelligent and driven, and more concerned about her career than about getting married (to her family’s despair). One day a mystery man offers her a huge amount of money if she can find a missing person - and hijinks ensue. Bobby Jasoos is a cinematic delight, a kind of colorful, quirky manifesto for a woman’s right to pursue a career. One can’t help but root for Bobby as she fights to carve a niche for herself in a man’s world. If you like this, try:Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009)
Aaja Nachle (2007)Aaja Nachle is a feel-good Bollywood dance movie - it’s also feminist as hell. It’s the story of Dia (dancing queen Madhuri Dixit), a single mother and a successful dance teacher in the US, who returns to her village in India after hearing that her old mentor is very ill. Before dying, he tells her to save the village’s old dance theater, which is to be demolished to make way for a shopping mall. Dia then takes on the entire village’s prejudice against her and stands up to goons and politicians in order to bring art and dance to her village once again. This is one of my favourite Yash Raj films, Madhuri’s comeback, and it is a huge injustice that it didn’t perform well at the box office. It has a great story, great songs, AMAZING dancing and an A+ cast (including Konkona Sen Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Divya Dutta and Nawazuddin Sidiqqui). If you like underdog stories (and who doesn’t?) you’ll love this. If you like this, try: The Dirty Picture (2011)
Chak De! India (2007) Chak De! India may have a familiar story (“
underdog sports team fights for victory”) but it is an unique film in many ways.
It deals with issues such as sexism, street harassment, the legacy of the partition of India, ethnic and regional prejudice.Though it stars the biggest star in Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, its focus is actually solidly on the girls who make up the ragtag hockey team and the challenges they face in order to become a “real” team, including the Indian Hockey association’s lack of faith and their own prejudices and competitiveness.
Chak de India is a truly inspiring and satisfying feminist sports movie (and it also gave us
this badass scene). Oh and did I mention that
SRK has never looked hotter? Talk to me about gender equality all day, babyy.
If you like this, try: Swades (2004); Bend it like Beckham (2002)
Chameli (2004) Kareena Kapoor plays the unglamourous street walker Chameli in this drama - a bold move for the then-Bollywood princess (and now irl royalty). Chameli has a sad and very familiar past - she was sold to a brothel by her uncle as a child - and a bleak present - we see her try to dodge a man with AIDS who has purchased her services ahead of time. But still she is a tough, street-smart, witty individual who tries to make the best with what she’s got (“I'm nobody’s bitch”, she says). This interesting and well-acted indie not only showcases a day in the life of a prostitute and deals with the plight of AIDS, it also highlights police corruption and prejudice against hijras.If you like this, try: Chandni Bar (2001).
Gif sources:over the cut (from Meri Brother ki Dulhan)
123456Source: written by me.What's your favourite, ONTD?