By Madhumitha.K.S
Indian Cinema has established its stamp in world cinema. Nowadays, the outlook of audience is changing and more importance is given to the characterisation of females. Listed below are 23 iconic characters who can totally blow our minds off with their charisma.
Aishwarya as Anu from ‘Abhiyum Naanum’(2008)
Anu is a doting mother who perfectly balances herself between an ‘overly’ affectionate father and daughter. She directs the duo in the right way, is very pragmatic and is always the family’s pillar of support. Many mothers can empathise with the character of Anu.
Jyotika as Archana from ‘Mozhi’ (2007)
Jyotika plays the role of a deaf and dumb woman who is fiercely independent in anything she does. She detests sympathy and expects to be treated as a normal woman. Her disability is her strength. A disability should never be a hindrance to your achievement.
Rani Mukherjee as Naina Mathur from ‘Hichki’ (2018)
Rani plays the role of a woman who is severely affected by Tourette syndrome. She takes up the challenging task of becoming a homeroom teacher to distorted kids and moulds them into becoming better humans. She is their guiding light, friend and mentor – all rolled into one. The character shows how a teacher is a teacher despite all the differences existing among students.
Alia Bhatt as Gangubai from ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ (2022)
Alia dons the role of Gangu, a matriarch who is also a mafia don and runs a brothel. She is essentially the ‘bosslady’ who depicts the history of a woman who should never be forgotten. There’s unlimited courage and guts that shows women how they should really be.
Anushka Shetty as Devasena from ‘Bahubali’ (2015 & 2017)
Devasena is powerful and does not expect her husband to fight for her in any instance. Instead, she strongly guards her self-respect and doesn’t flinch even a bit when confronting patriarchs. She is an embodiment of grace, beauty, goodness and power.
Sai Pallavi as Malar from ‘Premam’ (2015)
Sai Pallavi plays the role of a next-door girl with her simple looks and attractive face. She is easy-going and very athletic too. In fact, every teenager at that time would have dreamt of being taught by a teacher like her.
Aditi Balan as Aruvi from ‘Aruvi’ (2016)
Aruvi’s life turns topsy turvy on being affected by HIV. She is neglected by the society. Her frustration transforms into the peak of anger when she is sexually assaulted. She however manages to create an impact on the lives of people who humiliate her. One word that describes her - ‘badass’.
Sai Pallavi as Gargi from ‘Gargi’ (2022)
Gargi is someone who we only get to rarely meet in reality. She is confronted with a terrible circumstance – a minor’s sexual harassment accusation posed against her father. The admirable fact is how she handles the situation and how she stands on the side of the truth once she comes to know what has happened. She believes the ideal – ‘Let justice prevail’.
Sridevi as Sashi from ‘English Vinglish’ (2012)
Sashi, a housewife, is satisfied with her life at home but constantly feels that she is missing out on something. She is constantly belittled for not knowing English. She breaks out of her shell and proceeds to make people aware that English is only a language and not knowledge. She strives to create an identity for herself.
Nimisha Sajayan as The wife from ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ (2021)
The character of the wife portrayed by Nimisha resonates with thousands of women who are chained to their kitchens and are prevent from doing any kind of job or activity to liberate themselves. Nimisha has perfectly portrayed the abuse, whether physical or mental, that women go through. There is also a solution – breaking off from toxicity for one’s own good.
Alia as Veera Tripathi from ‘Highway’ (2014)
Veera’s marriage is fixed without her consent and she is kidnapped by the hero. This is a turning point and she realises what she needs and who she really is during this new journey. She also gains enough courage to expose her abuser, who has been exploiting her since childhood.
Asha as Geeta Prabhakaran from ‘Drishyam’ (2013)
Asha has perfectly displayed the emotions of a mother who is searching for her son who goes missing. She continues tirelessly though all her efforts go in vain. A police officer by profession, she has to choose between love for her son and doing her duties rightly.
Taapsee Pannu as Amrita from ‘Thappad’ (2020)
Amrita, a doting housewife, who is committed to her husband is traumatised when he slaps her over a minor argument in public. She cannot tolerate this physical abuse and proceeds to divorce him inspite of being pregnant with his child. She liberates herself and even learns to drive a car (from being mocked earlier for not knowing how to drive), which most of the women don’t care to do.
Tamannah Bhatia as Subashini from ‘Dharmadurai’ (2016)
Subhashini, a doctor by profession, seems to be a simple girl but is very strong from the inside. She faces a lot of hardships but is confident enough to overcome them. She gets out of a toxic marriage and finds the love of her life.
Parvathy Thiruvothu as Pallavi from ‘Uyare’ (2019)
Pallavi refrains from a toxic relationship and becomes a victim of severe acid attack. She does not falter and moves forward to achieve her dreams of becoming a pilot. She teaches us that nothing can stop us from reaching our dreams if we are really determined.
Priya Mani as Muthazhagu from ‘Paruthiveeran’ (2007)
Muthazhagu is madly in love with a thug named Veeran. She changes him into a better person. She is very straightforward and expresses her emotions on to someone’s face unlike many people in reality. The rawness in this character is what makes Muthazhagu special.
Aishwarya Rai as Meenakshi from ‘Kandukondein Kandukondein’ (2000)
Meenu is a fierce young woman who stands up for her timid sister. She is confident about herself and tries to see the good in evil. One ideal she follows is – Self-respect over anything else.
Simran Rishibagga as Indra from ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’ (2002)
It is very rare to see such characters being portrayed on screen. Indra decides to get married so that she can adopt a girl child. She devotes her life to the child’s upbringing and is torn between the child’s love for her and her biological mother. There is a perfect display of love, jealousy, anxiety and fear.
Aparna Balmurli as Bommi from ‘Soorarai Potru’ (2020)
The character played by Aparna was well received among the audience mainly for the grit and confidence it displayed. Bommi thrashes her partner’s ego and is always ready to support him in chasing his ambition. She serves as the breadwinner of the family for quite a period of time, and takes credit for doing so; while in reality many women don’t receive recognition for their hardwork.
Nithya Menen as Tara from ‘Ok Kanmani’ (2015)
Tara is an independent young woman on her journey to find the meaning of true love. She is practical and tries to experiment in life. Nithya has given life to this bubbly character.
Aishwarya Rajesh as Kausalya from ‘Kanaa’ (2018)
Kausalya wishes to make her father’s dream come true. She faces a lot of battles and finally gets placed as one of the key players in the Indian Women’s Cricket Team. We can see that hard worl and perseverance will never fail.
Rima Kallingal as Tessa Abraham in ‘22 Female Kottayam’ (2012)
Revenge is a dish best served cold. Tessa, who is sexually assaulted and cheated on, goes on a killing spree to finish off her abusers. This cannot happen in reality, but the best revenge is one’s success.
Kareena Kapoor as Geet from ‘Jab We Met’ (2007)
Geet is a playful and optimistic girl living life on her own terms. She is reckless and her life takes a turn due to her hasty decisions. She is however mature enough to accept her mistakes and face the consequences.
These characters are definitely impactful and inspiring as well. One thing to be remembered is
You go girl!
By Madhumitha.K.S
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