As the year 2020 is about to end, we are here to share 11 strong Bollywood female characters of 2020. These characters inspired us to stand against the misogynistic society and carve our own path. In case you haven’t watched these movies, please do watch them before 2020 ends. Here is the quick list.
1. Malti in Chhapaak
Played by: Deepika Padukone
Released Date: 10 January 2020
Platform: Disney Hotstar
Inspired by the real-life story of Laxmi Aggarwal, Chhapaak showed the struggle of an acid attack victim. This movie captures the strength and persistence of Malti (played by Deepika Padukone), whose life changed after her face is burned by an acid attack. The story touches your heart as it captures Malti’s determination to rebuild her life. The movie captures the journey of how Malti rose from her acid attack incident and rebuilt her life. She also becomes the inspiration for millions of girls worldwide.
This film teaches an important lesson on how we are blessed with endless courage and determination. It’s just that we need to realize it and never give up on ourselves even in the darkest phases of our life.
2. Jaya Nigam in Panga
Played by: Kangana Ranaut
Released Date: 24 January 2020
Platform: Disney+ Hotstar
‘Panga’ movie is based on the struggle of Jaya Nigam (played by Kangana Ranaut), who once was the Captain of the Indian Kabaddi Team but now is a mother working in the railway department. She realizes that no one recognizes her as a former Kabaddi player and in order to find her lost identity, she plans to make a comeback as a professional player.
The powerful yet heart-touching movie of Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Panga’ filled many of us with optimism and positivity. While some of us were reminded of our mothers, some could see themselves in Kangana’s leading character Jaya Nigam.
3. Sunaina Tripathi in Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan
Played by: Neena Gupta
Released date: 21 February 2020
Platform: Amazon Prime
Neena Gupta is known for many brilliant and strong characters she has played across TV & movies. Her appearance as a middle-aged pregnant mother in ‘Badhai Ho‘ was appreciated all around. And after ‘Badhai Ho’, Neena Gupta was once again seen in another strong character as Sunaina Tripathi.
In Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan, she plays a modern mother who is neither entirely progressive nor completely stuck in the old-age thought process. Sunaina Tripathi is the mother of Jitendra Kumar who is in a same-sex relationship with Ayushmann Khurrana. The way she handles the truth about her son, and how she eventually supports him will win everyone’s heart.
4. Amrita in Thappad
Played by: Taapsee Pannu
Released date: 28 February 2020
Platform: Amazon Prime
Since our country announced a lockdown to fight against Coronavirus, there has been a drastic increase in cases of domestic violence. But, what is heartbreaking is how our society raises daughters to either suffer the abuse in silence. And, this regressive thought of our society is so beautifully captured in Taapsee Pannu’s movie Thappad. The movie is one long-awaited slap to all the regressive Indian men and their on-going casual sexism in Indian marriages.
The movie not only sheds light on how Indian men feel entitled to slap their wives in a fit of rage but also the society how it acts like it’s normal.
Exposing the patriarchal mindset, the movie shows how at every step the abuse survivor – Amrita (played by Taapsee Pannu) – is told to be tolerant of domestic violence. With the hard-hitting storyline and the jolting dialogues, it is a lesson for our society to not disparage women’s honor and dignity. Here are some of its hard-hitting Thappad dialogues that touched our hearts and left a long-lasting impression on us. If you haven’t watched it, you can catch it on Amazon Prime.
5. Shakuntala Devi in Shakuntala Devi
Played by: Vidya Balan
Released date: 31 July 2020
Platform: Amazon Prime
Shakuntala Devi (played by Vidya Balan) is based on the real life of famous mathematician, human calculator – Shakuntala Devi. This movie captures the childhood of mathematics wizard and her journey of becoming a world-famous mathematician. But along with it, it captures her inspiring yet different journey of motherhood. This movie take on motherhood is quite refreshing. It shows how women may not always sacrifice their dreams to fulfill the duty of their mother. While the movie captures various dimension of Shakuntala Devi’s life, it leaves out a very important chapter of her life. The movie doesn’t capture how Shakuntala Devi’s IAS husband sexual orientation inspired her to fight for gay rights.
6. Gunjan Saxena in Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl
Played by: Jhaanvi Kapor
Released date: 12 August 2020
Platform: Netflix
Gunjan Saxena, the heroic lady who flew during the Kargil war, inspired many young souls to fight for their dreams. Her much-awaited biopic was released on NETFLIX. But the movie stirred a lot of controversy regarding the unsupportive portrayal of the Indian Air Force. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has written a letter to the Censor Board objecting to its “undue negative” portrayal in the movie “Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl”.
Nevertheless, the movie still showcased a strong woman character, Gunjan Saxena, who is ready to carve her own path in the male dominated profession. Additionally, the movie also touched our hearts with its beautiful dialogues and the strong bond between father and daughter.
7. Bulbbul in Bulbbul
Played by: first played by Ruchi Mahajan and later by Tripthi Damri
Released date: 24 June 2020
Platform: Netflix
From the production house of Anushka Sharma’s Clean Slate Films, Bulbbul is another beautiful jewel. In simple words, the movie is basically a feminist revenge fantasy. The film delivers a strong message about the violence that exists in marriages. Just like the bird Bulbbul, the protagonist Bulbbul ( also refuses to be caged. Bulbbul who is a child bride being wedded to a much older Indranil ( Rahul Bose), a zamindar, refuses to bow down to the rules of society. This not-so-perfect film reminds us that no matter what era it is, a woman who refuses to conform to the rules of society, will be called names and often will be branded as a witch.
8. Fatima Begum in Gulabo Sitabo
Played by: Farrukh Jaffar
Released date: 17 April 2020
Platform: Amazon Prime
Though we found the film flawed in several respects, we can’t deny some of its female characters stand out. And, one of those female character is Fatima Begum (played by Farrukh Jaffar). Even the movie has big shots like Amitabh Bachchan and Anshuman Khurana, undoubtedly Farrukh Jaffar steals the show. It is perhaps the most iconic character in the film. The way she carries the film’s climax on her shoulders is quite inspiring.
Fatima Begum shows how shows how there is no age to love and it’s never too late to listen to your heart. She also inspires people to fight for what is rightfully yours! And, how she fought for the haveli, that belonged to her, to keep it with her made many fall in love with this courageous character.
9. Guddu In Gulabo Sitabo
Played by: Sristhi Shrivastava
Released date: 17 April 2020
Platform: Amazon Prime
Another strong character from Gulabo Sitabo is Bankey’s sister Guddu (Sristhi Shrivastava). She is not only guilt free but also does not wait for her brother (played by Ayushmann Khurrana) to be the knight in shining armour to save her family. Rather than waiting for others for help, she took it upon herself to extract a LIG or MIG flat. She fights for her own rights without anybody’s help.
10. Masaba in Masaba Masaba
Played by: Masaba Gupta
Released date: 28 August 2020
Platform: Netflix
When Netflix released the trailer for ‘Masaba Masaba’, many of us were stumped. Being Neena and Masaba Gupta fans, we weren’t going to leave a chance to watch this much-awaited series. Well, after binge-watching all the six episodes, we weren’t disappointed by the series. Rather it gave us some great life-lessons.
From showing how perfect life is a lie to how strong women fix each other’s crown and move forward, this intelligently crafted narrative, combined with Neena Gupta’s honest acting skills & Masaba’s humor is a must-watch. The series gives a heart-warming peep into the lives of the mother-daughter duo. The series beautifully captures the highs and lows in this mother-daughter lives and leaves you not only touched but also inspired.
11. Neena Gupta in Masaba Masaba
Played by: Neena Gupta
Released date: 28 August 2020
Platform: Netflix
In case you haven’t watched any of these, then we suggest give them a shot! They might leave you inspired as they left us!
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