Woah-Men: women-oriented films made in Bollywood

While we have had women-oriented films made in Bollywood over the years, never perhaps have so many projects been lined up that are riding solely on the shoulders of the leading ladies.

From Madhuri and Juhi Chawla’s Gulab Gang, Rani Mukherji playing a cop in Mardani to Priyanka Chopra in boxer Mary Kom’s biopic and Kangana Ranaut playing the gun-toting gangster in Revolver Rani, 2014 will truly be the year of women’s emancipation in Bollywood. Move over Khans, the powerful Bollywood women are here to stay.

Rani Mukherji as a cop and Sunny Leone as a sexy actress
Rani Mukherji, will ditch her sexy avatar and play a cop in an upcoming film Mardani. She will pick up guns and impress her fans with some super action. She is also practicing raw action sequences. Sunny Leone plays a sexy Bollywood actress in the movie Ragini MMS 2. It is being touted as a “horrex” film, a clever combination of horror and sex.

Boxer Priyanka
Priyanka Chopra has shed her glamorous image and is learning the nuances of the Manipuri dialect to perfect her portrayal of boxer Mary Kom. Priyanka, says, “It is the need of the hour to portray powerful female characters in our movies. My film on Olympian boxer and icon Mary Kom is a strong and alluring subject which has good prospects monetarily too.”

Lady gangster Kangana Ranaut
A gun-wielding Kangana Ranaut plays a lady gangster in Revolver Rani, a revenge saga set in the Hindi heartland. Kangana even took lessons in handling a gun for the movie.

Gang leader Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri’s power-packed comeback Gulaab Gang is inspired by the true story of Sampat Pal, who fought against social injustice with her female team, Gulabi Gang. Madhuri says, “Women play an important role in the society, and their onscreen representation has also changed. I support the idea of representing brave women.”

Detective Vidya Balan
Having blazed a trail in Kahani and The Dirty Picture, Vidya plays an intelligent desi detective who uses disguises for her cases. At a recent Hyderabad shoot she dressed up as a beggar with a beard! A special set has been erected in Hyderabad for the complete shooting of Bobby Jasoos. Actress-turned-producer Dia Mirza says, “I feel that more and more women-oriented subjects need to be explored.”