The word ‘woman’ brings to our mind a being that can seduce with sensual beauty, endure with inner mind control and mould to any situation as though born to handle just that. But they are not just meant to be arm candies and loving wives or mothers, because if need be, they can epitomize both tenderness and toughness.
We all know that this is a man made world and women are not given their due respect and are ill treated. Not only the men dominate women, but sometimes women also blindly obey thinking that they are supposed to be so. Many Bollywood movies have been made since the advent of cinema to inspire a change in the condition of women. The following Woman Centric Bollywood Movies not only develop the confidence in women, but also shows the world that women are no less than men.
I’m not a movie buff, and neither do I promote cinema or watching movies of any sort, but there’s no doubt that the following films have truly been motivational for women. Also, this is not an exhaustive list, yet serves the purpose to portray different strata of women and their struggles and victories.
Mother India (1957)
Indians regard India as a mother, and this movie shows the story of a woman who courageously fights all odds, including prying eyes and starvation in draught after her husband deserted her. Later, she has to take a stand against her own son, too, who goes ahead to become a nuisance for people. Women overall have all the strength they require, all they need is a little confidence to execute.
Arth (1982)
When a loving housewife is betrayed by her husband for an actress, she struggles to get back on track and fight against all odds to lead an independent and successful life. This movie also touches upon the issues of domestic violence faced by the lower strata of the Indian society.
Damini (1993)
A woman is married in a wealthy family and is happy until one day she sees a horrendous act of her brother-in-law raping their innocent maid. She fights for justice, but her in-laws oppose her including her husband. She leaves her home and keeps fighting for justice for her maid and finally succeeds. An inspiration for every woman to stand up against injustice, no matter who is at fault.
Lajja (2001)
The movie is about the plight of women in India, the movie shows story of 4 different women and their struggles from male chauvinism. In the end, the lead female protagonist manages to explain to the common people that women are not anyone’s toys.
Chak De! India (2007)
This movie explores religious bigotry, the legacy of the partition of India, ethnic and regional prejudice, and sexism in contemporary India through field hockey. In the field of sports in developing countries, women teams are usually underrated and thus under-trained. This women’s hockey team goes ahead to show the world that with correct tapping of their potential, even an underestimated team can go ahead to win a World Cup!
No One Killed Jessica (2011)
A common girl whose sister has been murdered by the son of a political leader doesn’t sit back and wait for justice. She stands up and fights to get justice for her family and for her deceased sister. If she can, every woman can.
Kahaani (2012)
A loving wife loses her husband in a poison gas attack in Delhi Metro train and later her unborn child while grieving for her deceased husband. But unlike other women she doesn’t sob and wait for our legal system to bring her justice. She comes up with a plan, goes out alone, finds and then avenges the man behind her husband’s death.
English Vinglish (2012)
This movie is a story of a common small scale entrepreneur cum housewife who is poor in English and always become a joke in front of her children and husband because of this. A story of every second home in India and women in India learns to deal with being a joke. But the movie shows a different story, this woman not only goes out, albeit secretly, and learns English during her visit to United States for her niece’s wedding, but also makes her family understand the importance of her more as a person more than her knowing or not knowing English.
Dr Aafreen Kotadiya
MGM University
