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We have heard so much about the Hindi film industry being a male-dominated one and prejudiced about its male actors. The heroine on the other hand has to go the extra mile looking for meaningful scripts and higher pays. With Richa Chadda's commendable performance in Anurag Kashyap's latest Gangs of Wasseypur, we believe female actresses are here to stay in male-centric films. Here are other Bollywood actresses who rocked the screen with their performances in movies that otherwise worshipped the male hero!
Richa Chadda in Gangs of Wasseypur: Do you remember Dolly in Dibakar Banerjee's Oye Lucky Lucky Oye who played Neetu Chandra's loutish sister? After her off-beat act in the movie, we were convinced Richa Chadda has the spunk. And therefore we are not surprised by her fiery performance in Gangs of Wasseypur. As Manoj Bajpai's wife Nagma, Chadda is seen cursing and beating up her husband for all the obvious reasons. We think she stole the show in a male-dominated film!
Konkona Sen Sharma in Omkara: What happens when three mainstream actors like Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan and Vivek Oberoi gang up together leaving no space for their female counterparts to even mouth a generous number of dialogues? Apart from Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu, we think the woman who rocked the show was Konkona Sen Sharma. Koko, who played a village woman and Saif's wife in Vishal Bharadwaj's Omkara, went on to win a National Award for her noteworthy performance.
Mahie Gill in Dev D: Most of us feel women who play Emraan Hashmi's love interest in his films are bold actresses! But playing Paro in Anurag Kashyap's modern version Devdas was no joke for Mahie Gill. A newcomer then, the actress pulled off some scenes and dialogues with absolute confidence. No wonder why she remains our favourite character from the film!
Urmila Matondkar in Satya: With films like Rangeela and Daud, Urmila Matondkar was considered a gutsy actress in the 90s! But playing a conservative and unassuming character in Ram Gopal Varma's Satya, she graduated to being a versatile actress. It was typically a male-centric film with two powerful characters – Satya and Bhiku Mhatre; Urmila played the former's love interest. However, the actress stood out for her commanding role for which she also won a few critics awards.
Vidya Balan in Ishqiya: When most of her contemporaries were dying to work with the leading men of the industry, here was one actress who settled for a film with not just one but two atypical heros (Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi)! From being a girl-next-door in Parineeta to a fiery widow avenging her husband's death in Ishqiya, Vidya Balan had just arrived. Need we say more?
Rani Mukerji in Yuva: Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan and Vivek Oberoi came together to deliver yet another thought-provoking film. Mani Ratnam's Yuva had three heroines too – Kareena Kapoor, Esha Deol and Rani Mukerji! But the actress who stood out for her performance was Rani who played a Bengali housewife and that too perfectly! We think it's a big deal to make a mark in a film that focuses heavily on its lead actors.
Poorna Jagannathan in Delhi Belly: Most of us remember Kunaal Roy Kapoor's histrionics in Delhi Belly! But we equally loved Menaka played by newcomer Poorna Jagannathan for her hysterical performance in the film. Subtle yet highly significant to the plot, the actress rocks the film for her effortless acting and amusing body language.
Richa Chadda in Gangs of Wasseypur: Do you remember Dolly in Dibakar Banerjee's Oye Lucky Lucky Oye who played Neetu Chandra's loutish sister? After her off-beat act in the movie, we were convinced Richa Chadda has the spunk. And therefore we are not surprised by her fiery performance in Gangs of Wasseypur. As Manoj Bajpai's wife Nagma, Chadda is seen cursing and beating up her husband for all the obvious reasons. We think she stole the show in a male-dominated film!
Konkona Sen Sharma in Omkara: What happens when three mainstream actors like Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan and Vivek Oberoi gang up together leaving no space for their female counterparts to even mouth a generous number of dialogues? Apart from Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu, we think the woman who rocked the show was Konkona Sen Sharma. Koko, who played a village woman and Saif's wife in Vishal Bharadwaj's Omkara, went on to win a National Award for her noteworthy performance.
Mahie Gill in Dev D: Most of us feel women who play Emraan Hashmi's love interest in his films are bold actresses! But playing Paro in Anurag Kashyap's modern version Devdas was no joke for Mahie Gill. A newcomer then, the actress pulled off some scenes and dialogues with absolute confidence. No wonder why she remains our favourite character from the film!
Urmila Matondkar in Satya: With films like Rangeela and Daud, Urmila Matondkar was considered a gutsy actress in the 90s! But playing a conservative and unassuming character in Ram Gopal Varma's Satya, she graduated to being a versatile actress. It was typically a male-centric film with two powerful characters – Satya and Bhiku Mhatre; Urmila played the former's love interest. However, the actress stood out for her commanding role for which she also won a few critics awards.
Vidya Balan in Ishqiya: When most of her contemporaries were dying to work with the leading men of the industry, here was one actress who settled for a film with not just one but two atypical heros (Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi)! From being a girl-next-door in Parineeta to a fiery widow avenging her husband's death in Ishqiya, Vidya Balan had just arrived. Need we say more?
Rani Mukerji in Yuva: Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan and Vivek Oberoi came together to deliver yet another thought-provoking film. Mani Ratnam's Yuva had three heroines too – Kareena Kapoor, Esha Deol and Rani Mukerji! But the actress who stood out for her performance was Rani who played a Bengali housewife and that too perfectly! We think it's a big deal to make a mark in a film that focuses heavily on its lead actors.
Poorna Jagannathan in Delhi Belly: Most of us remember Kunaal Roy Kapoor's histrionics in Delhi Belly! But we equally loved Menaka played by newcomer Poorna Jagannathan for her hysterical performance in the film. Subtle yet highly significant to the plot, the actress rocks the film for her effortless acting and amusing body language.
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