Meghna Gulzar may not like her movies to be called 'female-centric', but somewhere down the plotline, they have perfect portrayal of what women are and what they can be. From standing for each other to fighting for themselves and their motherland, Meghna's films have strong female characters, unlike conventional Bollywood movies. We couldn't have imagined a female spy ready to sacrifice everything for her country until we were treated with Raazi in 2018. Raazi shatters several pre-conceived notions related to soft-spoken girls, Kashmiris and primarily, about the role of women in intelligence, at once. When there is no dearth of directors treating women as mere eye candies in their movies, filmmakers like Meghna have stood out by attempting to change perspective. Even her male characters, Vicky Kaushal (Iqbal) in Raazi for that matter, shatter the stereotypical image of men that most of the Hindi films have created and are creating.
On her birthday, let's have a look at some of her best works with dynamic women characters.
Filhaal
Filhaal, the directorial debut of Meghna revolved around surrogacy. Featuring Sushmita Sen, Tabu, Sanjay Suri and Palash Sen in lead roles, the movie garnered rave reviews but bombed at the box office. The movie, which was ahead of its time, had two different women characters. While Rewa played by Tabu wanted to have a family, for Sia played by Sushmita, her career was the first and foremost thing. It's a matter of choice and this is what feminism means- freedom to make one's own decision and not be judged. Filhaal will also be remembered for portraying human emotions beautifully. From showing love between two friends to the jealousy that seeps between them, with Filhaal, Meghna Gulzar proved her knack of filmmaking.
Poster of Filhaal
Raazi
Based on a book, Calling Sehmat by Harinder Sikka, Raazi starring Alia Bhatt was about a RAW agent who gets married into a family of Pakistani military officials to pass on information to India. The 2018 release went on to become one of the highest-grossing movies of the year. The character of Sehmat makes us realise that being feminine and soft doesn't mean one lacks determination and courage. Undoubtedly, no one could have portrayed Sehmat better than Alia.
Alia Bhatt earned rave reviews for her performance in Sehmat
Chhapaak
The trailer of Deepika Padukone starrer was released recently and her fans are in awe of her. Revolving around an acid attack survivor, the film is about unrelenting fighter spirit. It talks about dreams and the world that has nothing to do with outer beauty. Similarly, Vikrant Massey's character emphasises on the fact that 'all men are not same'. This film is definitely worth waiting for two reasons-Deepika's performance and Meghna's storytelling.
Deepika Padukone portrays an acid attack survivor in Chhapaak
