A Look Into Bollywoods Women Heroes

By Omair Alavi
BookReview
Deepa Gahlots book offers an interesting insight into Bollywoods growing acceptance of
women as the central characters of a film.
Since time immemorial, the movie-making business has essentially been a male-dominated
domain. In fact such was the level discrimination that the first ever film to come out of the Indian
subcontinent, Alam Ara, featured men in female characters. However, over the years, Bollywood
has come a long way as far as gender representation goes. Of course, things are far from perfect
with women still considerably underpaid compared to their male counterparts, but the industry
has surely witnessed a significant influx of women, shedding stereotypes and delving into all
aspects of filmmaking. Deepa Gahlots Sheroes is about these women whove carved their own
identity in a mans world.
They say dont judge a book by its cover but a first look at the cover and a quick glance at the
introduction and one instantly gets an idea of the kind of journey one has signed up for one
that is endearing and celebrates the power of women. Adding to the experience is the fact that the

book has been penned by a shero herself. Had it been written by someone else, it wouldnt have
had such a gripping effect.
The book filters out 25 prominent female characters from the countless that have made
Bollywood proud over the course of 56 years from 1960 till now. Each chapter follows a set
structural format; the author first narrates the story of the film, then highlights the contribution of
the shero and finally comments on how it helped shape up Indian cinema.
In shedding light on these female contributors, Gahlot also points out at the kind of films that
were being made in India at the time. This is particularly disappointing in that how women have
been sidelined in films; box offices successes, over the years, either had no promising
performance from the women that were part of it or they did not feature a woman at all.
The book is an eye-opener, telling one that there is a lot more to know about women-centric
Bollywood films. Covering films over a significant period of time, from 60s classics to the best
of the 90s, the book offers enough material to a reader who wants to broaden his/her horizon. It
puts the spotlight on how soon after the release of Mehboob Khans Mother India in the late
50s, actresses strived for roles that were as strong as mens and how actresses Vyjayanthimala
and Waheeda Rehman stepped up their game by doing the unthinkable in Dr Vidya and Guide,
respectively. Later in Gulzars Aandhi, Suchitra Sen moulded her character around the
personality and demeanor of Indias sitting Prime Minister of the time, Indira Gandhi, while
Hema Malini played a scheming character in Lal Patthar opposite Raj Kumar and Rakhee. In the
80s, when Indian cinema took a shift towards tackling bolder subjects, Rati Agnihotri played the
role of a 17-year-old rape victim in Mujhe Insaaf Chahye and was supported by Rekha in an
equally hard-hitting role.
Meenakshi Seshadris fight against the system and her family in Damini, Rani Mukherjees
attempt to play a Sikh batsman in Dil Bole Hadippa and Konkona Sen Sharmas performance in
Wake Up Sid make for some of the best performances over the past 25 years. But with Queen,
Kangana Ranaut has taken things to the next level, carving her name in history for playing one of
the most memorable characters of all time. Surprisingly, there is also a mention of a male actor Kamal Haasan in Chachi 420 - who played the role of a female governess just to be close to his
daughter. Get it?
Did you know that the Shabana Azmi-Smita Patel-Kulbhushan Kharbanda triangle in Arth was
inspired from Parveen Babis real-life love affair with director Mahesh Bhatt, who was married
to Kiran Bhatt at the time? And that Vidya Balan is now known as one of the Khans for her
ability to carry a film on her shoulders? Or that Urmila Matondkars performance in Ek Hasina
Thi left her die-hard fans, who wouldnt have advised her to shed her diva avatar ever, shocked.
Films post millennium are only getting better and helping actresses become part of the I Am
Different category. Case in point: Anushka Sharma in Band Baaja Baraat and NH10 and
Deepika Padukone in Piku.
What really hooks you to the book is its quick narrative and to-the-point discussion. No
explaination or reasoning is unnecessarily dragged and no discussion is extended to the point of

being irrelevant. A point or character is only talked about if it demands attention. Hows that for
a book on Bollywoods under-celebrated Sheroes?