Ten Wonderfully Weird Women Characters in Indian Cinema

Perhaps the young audience assume that all the changes in cinema are entirely new. They can be forgiven for their assumption because they perhaps had the examples of the movies from the 80s and 90s Bollywood. Although there are remarkable changes in Bollywood, it is  as yet full of stereotypical gentle, submissive women, who are epitomes of Shrinking Violets and Pristine Porcelains. Portrayal  of women in the early years of cinema, however should be considered a yardstick for excellent characterisation. It is not surprising because these were penned and thoroughly fleshed out by many great writers of the time as opposed to the “formula” of the 80s and 90s.

But everything that is thought to be groundbreaking in current movies has been done. Take for instance, women in action movies, just like Priyanka and Deepika, actress Nadia and later Zeenat Aman and Rekha, were known for quite a few action movie roles. So many other actresses also performed stunts in their movies. 

You think bikini is way out of the question in the early years of cinema? It was common for most actresses to wear a swimming costume if the scene required. It is just that there was no sensationalism involved there.  Incidentally, the first actress to wear a swimming costume on screen is an actress called Meenakshi Shirodkar, who is the great grandmother of actress Namrata Shirodkar.

But once in a while, almost as if a sheer accident, Bollywood manages to portray some incredible women. It is more difficult to portray a believable girl-next-door who actually looks and behaves like real world girl. And it is a bigger challenge to show why she is awesome despite being slightly weird or nerdy or whatever personality it is that makes her unique, or without her having to take off her glasses half-way into the movie for her to get the guy.
All the females mentioned below are better portrayal of flesh and blood women with strength. There are many more incredible women characters across Indian cinema I only mention a few here. Here are women characters who have stood out in the rigidity of Bollywood’s definition of womenhood.
 
SPOILER ALERT: The movies mentioned below contains a few plot points although it may not ruin your movie watching experience.

Paro from Devdas (1936)

This movie was an adaptation of a novel by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. It was directed by P C Barua and his wife Jamuna Barua played the role of Paro in this movie with Kundanlal Saigal playing the role of Devdas. This movie portrays not one but two very strong women characters. (Sidenote: For many years I had missed this point in my deep hatred for the character of Devdas. I found the many remakes, and some men who said that they could relate to him, disturbing. My nerves were calmed when Anurag Kashyap made Dev D. We can all calm down about the loser now hopefully.)

Although it is hard to believe that two women, Paro and Chandramukhi, who are so incredibly strong fall  for such a non-motivated and eternally depressed person. I especially liked the Paro, who came to meet Devdas, her childhood sweetheart in the middle of the night. One has to remember this is set in early twentieth century where women did not leave their houses without men accompanying them. Paro’s indignation from the behaviour of Devdas’ family and her reaction is also a great portrayal of a well etched out female character in the early days of Indian cinema.

Kasturi from Achhut Kanya (1936)

It is not a sheer coincidence that the films made in the past were more feministic in their portrayal of women. This is a time in history when the women’s right movement was gaining a stronghold in Western politics and many of these filmmakers who were schooled in Europe and came from liberal families wanted to apply those ideas in an Indian framework. And of course cinema was a great medium to that. 

This can be said true about the wife-husband duo, Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, who established the Bombay Talkies and set a base for the future film industry in Bombay. One can say that the director Franz Osten being of German origin, however one must add that the movie was written by Niranjan Pal.

Achhut Kanya was a story about two people from extreme stratas of the society in love with each other. While the hero Pratap typically takes the Devdas route  and gets married to a girl his mother chooses, the heroine of the movie, who comes from a lower caste, has a much stronger role and maneuvers the story by her actions.  

Gauri from Seema (1955)

This is a movie by a director called Amiya Chakravarty who remained relatively unknown. The movie raises that unusual question of how much endurance will it take before a person breaks down. While all Indian women were automatically embody the patience of Sita, Lord Rama’s wife, there is that reality which constantly refuses to keep up with the mythology. As such, for me, this is a story more endearing and believable to me than any myth. 

Charu from Charulata (1964)

As it happens if a character has been moulded in the sensitive hands of a writer like Rabindranath Tagore and brought to life by an instinctive director like Satyajit Ray, the result will be worth watching. Charu from Charulata is put in a position where it’s difficult to pity her. She is married into a family with ancestral money and position,  and she has a decent husband. Yet she lives in a society where complaints of loneliness are almost a vanity. Madhabi Mukherjee as Charu manages to bring humour, sympathy and a sense of yearning to her role.

Nurse Radha from  Khamoshi (1969)

This movie by director Asit Sen was made in 1969 and was way ahead of its time, for both its unusual theme and heroine-centric role. Waheeda Rehman plays the role of nurse Radha who happens to work at a psychiatric ward of a hospital. Due to success at a previous case she is asked to handle a person who has fallen into depression and hysteria due to failure at love. Waheeda manages to play the turmoil and anticipation with so much conviction that she holds you spellbound in every frame. If you haven’t gauged Waheeda Rehman’s acting potential this is the movie to watch.  

Manju from Khoobsurat (1981)

While it became easily acceptable for men to drop the macho act and behave like a bit cool. It was not that easy for women to do so. If they were not homely it was only a plot point and without a doubt after the interval the woman learned how to behave like a lady. But Manju having grown up with a liberal father and no mother who would burden her with the worries of “What will people say?” misses out on learning how to be a “homely” Indian girl. So it is not hard to imagine that Manju is chastised in a household where everyone else is performing their role to the t. But thankfully not even in the end does the girl need to change but the people around her that mature enough to understand that maturity doesn’t necessarily come with a mask of seriousness.

Nimmi from Maqbool (2003)

When Vishal Bharadwaj makes an adaptation it becomes an altogether new story. The characters get a fresh life and the plot seems seeped in realism. So when Bharadwaj decided to give Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth a makeover, she became an altogether new human with an interesting psyche. Her ill placed ambitions make her a mistress, then a woman in love at an ill timing, until her circumstances turn her neurotic. Tabu’s class portrayal of Nimmi stands firmly against other actors like Irrfan, Pankaj Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah.

Meeta from Hasee Toh Phasee (2014)

Nerdy women and Bollywood have not gone well together. She could be the side actress along with the fatty, at the most. But what else is a nerdy supposed to do in a Bollywood movie? May be a girl has glasses once in a while but for her to actually have the smarts? There is a first for that. Meeta from Hasee Toh Phasee is all that. Oh by the way while she is a nerd, she is also a junkie who runs away from her home, and while she is doing all this, she is unrepentant. How did Harshavardhan Kulkarni who wrote the story, pitch it to those people? Gives you hope.

Kusum from Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015)

I know, I know if I am choosing a Kangana Ranaut movie, it is supposed to be either Rani Mehra from Queen or Tanuja Trivedi from Tanu Weds Manu. But Kusum from Tanu Weds Manu is my favourite, almost the most favourite amongst this list of favourites. Did you miss out on how wonderful and confident this girl is?

I am very happy whenever a beautiful actress decides to play a role that will sidestep her beauty. But in playing Kusum, Kangana goes all the way. It is beautiful how she adapts herself to an earthy, practical Haryanvi girl, there is nothing that will betray she is not the same girl playing the beautiful, haughty Tanuja Trivedi. She gets it right fro the language, to the body language and to the spirit.

Sandhya from Dum Lagaa Ke Haisha (2015)

How I love the way Bollywood is changing! While we are still not giving up on porcelain perfection, we are writing stories about girls who are real. As current experiments are playing a havoc on women’s health, this story deals with the issue of a regular ambitious girl having to deal rejection from her husband due to her obesity. The debutant actress put on more than a few kilos to essay the role. What is delightful is how the topic is dealt with so much humour and sensitivity and how the Tiwari comes to life in the proper setting and story.

 So here is my list. I am certain I have left out many and may do a new list again sometime. But these women must be my most favourite because I chose them at the top of my head. What are your thoughts