Authentic female protagonists in BW movies?

What are some examples of authentic female protagonists in BW movies?

For me:

Piku ( Loved how flawed she was as a character, yet so endearing)

Naina Talwar( Pre interval, the character felt very real with her insecurities etched out)

Aisha in Wake Up Sid( Love how grounded and yet ambitious she was)

Would love to hear some more examples of characters which felt authentic to you.

It's an oldie. But Waheeda Rehman's character in Kala Bazar. She's engaged to her college boy friend and while he's abroad Dev Anand starts pursuing her. She takes her time about making up her mind. And she finally breaks off her engagement with her fiance after accusing him of being involved with someone else while he's been abroad. He calls her on her behavior and makes it clear that he has not been the unfaithful one but she has been. She obviously would have felt better if he indeed had been unfaithful. That would have assuaged her guilt. They do part amiably as friends. Such a strong,level-headed character (she strips off her sari at one point to rescue Dev from a cliff ) yet has flaws. She has a very strict moral code to the point of being judgemental and not very forgiving .

Preeti from Kabir Singh was an authentic portrayal of Indian women who know their place in a man's world and are okay with getting dominated by their boyfriends and husbands.

Alia’ s character in LYZ. She was flawed.. I can easily relate to her. Living in a world where no one truly understands or listen to you.

I love Waheeda's character in Kala Bazar, even more so because such strong women were rarely portrayed in Hindi movies in those times. KB came out in 1960.

Another female character from those times that I absolutely love is Asha in Kala Pani (1958) played by Madhubala. She is a strong, no-nonsense journalist and lives with her aunt who runs a hotel where Dev Anand is staying while trying to find evidence to absolve his dad who's serving a jail sentence for a crime (that Dev believes) he did not commit. She helps Dev initially, while being so exquisitely pretty that all Dev can do is look smitten and wonder how anyone can be so beautiful! ☺️ At the same time she's so bad-ass. She takes umbrage when she finds him canoodling with Kishori (Nalini Jaywant) and makes it clear she won't stand for it. When she learns later that he was just trying to get information from her as she's the key witness, she's suitably contrite. There's a cute, cute scene at the police station where she's interviewing him and he tells her he met this 'sarphiri' journalist whose 'dimaag' is full of 'bhoosa' 😆. Then follows 'Accha ji main haari', one of the cutest 'roothna manana' songs in Hindi film history. ❤️ Their chemistry is just awesome (I rate theirs next to DK-Madhubala). Asha is just so modern, knows her mind, and is sooo self-aware.

Madhubala has played strong, modern women who know their mind and are not afraid to go after what they want in more than one movie, which is astonishing considering the times they were made in. Her Renu in Chalti ka naam gaadi was like that too. She wasn't afraid to go after Mannu, and she calls out his big bro on his misogyny as well. 👏

Originally posted by: mintyblue

What are some examples of authentic female protagonists in BW movies?

For me:

Piku ( Loved how flawed she was as a character, yet so endearing)

Naina Talwar( Pre interval, the character felt very real with her insecurities etched out)

Aisha in Wake Up Sid( Love how grounded and yet ambitious she was)

Would love to hear some more examples of characters which felt authentic to you.

Naina Talvar was a rip-off of Naina Catherine Kapoor from Kal Ho Naa Ho.

Originally posted by: LizzieBennett

I love Waheeda's character in Kala Bazar, even more so because such strong women were rarely portrayed in Hindi movies in those times. KB came out in 1960.

Another female character from those times that I absolutely love is Asha in Kala Pani (1958) played by Madhubala.

Madhubala has played strong, modern women who know their mind and are not afraid to go after what they want in more than one movie, which is astonishing considering the times they were made in.

It was a revelation to see the strong female characters played by Waheeda and Madhubala from the 50s and early 60s. Waheeda and Madhubala played them with panache. They weren't afraid to go after what they wanted and were remarkably level headed and practical. No rona-dhona if they learn that the hero was marrying them for money or social contacts (Dev's heroines Simi Gareval and Kalpana in Teen Devian). Not to say that the era didn't have their flowerpot heroines. But there was some variety. To see today's sweet young things like Tara and Geethika quoting Poo from K3G or Kajol from DDLJ as an inspiration. I wish they knew the legacy they are supposed to carry forward.

Naina from Kal Ho Na Ho. There was something very endearing and relatable about her. ❤️

Datto from TWM2

Rani in Hichki

Mumtaz in Aap ki.Kasam : she walked out on her husband who suspected her of having an affair

Rani ( KR) in Queen

Kangana as Manikarnika

Anushka in NH10

THE WHOLE WOMEN group in Mirch Masala , that movie was a classic women empowerment movie

( Smita Patil, Supriya Pathak etc ) , what a movie

Originally posted by: capricornrcks

It was a revelation to see the strong female characters played by Waheeda and Madhubala from the 50s and early 60s. Waheeda and Madhubala played them with panache. They weren't afraid to go after what they wanted and were remarkably level headed and practical. No rona-dhona if they learn that the hero was marrying them for money or social contacts (Dev's heroines Simi Gareval and Kalpana in Teen Devian). Not to say that the era didn't have their flowerpot heroines. But there was some variety. To see today's sweet young things like Tara and Geethika quoting Poo from K3G or Kajol from DDLJ as an inspiration. I wish they knew the legacy they are supposed to carry forward.

This!

It's sad to see these amazing female characters go unnoticed. They stand out because most female roles were the supporting flowerpot or the melodramatic sati-savitri types in those times. Also, these movies have a male protagonist as the main character. Despite this, these women shine. My eyes popped out of their sockets when Waheeda pulls off her saree to save Dev. Or when Madhubala's character Anju playing a social acitivist protects the tribal girl Nimmi, who was raped and is pregnant, from ostracization in Amar.

Which is why I didn't put down the obvious ones like Nutan in Seema and Bandini. These are obviously strong female portrayals. But for a woman to shine in a hero-dominated film with quiet determination and stoicism, and be remembered deserves even more applause IMHO.