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Taking a stand : Films on women's empowerment

On the occasion of International Women's Day, we present 10 films in which women have freed themselves from the shackles of society and boldly taken a stance. It could be against unwelcome advances, an abusive husband, sexist and chauvinistic attitude, power play or plain oppression. Each of these women has in her own way rebelled against the system to emerge victorious.

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On the occasion of International Women's Day, we present 10 films in which women have freed themselves from the shackles of society and boldly taken a stance. It could be against unwelcome advances, an abusive husband, sexist and chauvinistic attitude, power play or plain oppression. Each of these women has in her own way rebelled against the system to emerge victorious.

Queen (2014): A woman goes on her honeymoon alone after being jilted by her fiancé on the eve of the wedding! Shocking, but extremely liberating and exhilarating. There was no unnecessary melodrama or over-the-top scenes to show how the woman copes with the betrayal and frees herself from the shackles of the society to make her own choices. Yet, the point was brought home in a strong manner. Rani (Kangana Ranaut) and Vijay (Rajkummar Rao) are about to be married when Vijay tells her that he no longer wants to wed her. A grief stricken Rani becomes incommunicado for a day and later decides to go on the pre-booked honeymoon to Paris and London. There she meets the bohemian Vijayalaxmi who helps her overcome her inhibitions and develop confidence. After a series of adventures and misadventures, Rani not only develops a healthy self-esteem but becomes independent. Later, when Vijay comes back to her she refuses him and walks away with a smile on her face that says it all!

Mary Kom (2014): A girl's determination to pursue a sport despite her father's disapproval. Based on boxer Mary Kom, the Priyanka Chopra-starrer showed how the Olympic medal winner had to fight her father to pursue her sport. Mary, as a child, shows a keen desire to become a boxer when she finds boxing gloves in the remains of an air crash. She starts training for it without her father's knowledge. Even when she wins the State Championship her father asks her choose between the sport and him. Mary chooses boxing and goes on to win the women's world amateur boxing championship and reconciles with her apologetic father. That is only the beginning, and her journey to Olympics is filled with obstacles which she overcomes with sheer grit and zest. The movie inspires women to fight and emerge triumphant in a male-dominated world.

Chak De! India (2007): A spirited film about a failed hockey player coaching a women's team to victory, but underlying that is the story of two feisty women who fight societal prejudices against women players. There's the married Vidya (Vidya Malvade), whose husband and in-laws are against her playing the game and Preeti (Sagarika Ghatge), whose fiance Abhimanyu (Vivan Batena) is a cricketer but couldn't care less if she is representing the country. He expects to give up her career and live in his shadow. Both the girls, however, choose the sport over their spouses wishes and emerge victorious.

Satta (2003): It was all about politics and power play, but with a spirited woman at the center of it. Raveena Tandon's Satta had her refusing to live like a doormat, putting her husband in place and finding her own identity. Even when she is forced to join politics she does it for her own reasons and doesn't depend on a man for her survival. Idealistic perhaps, but nonetheless an inspiring story.

Astitiva (2000): The film was about an extra-marital affair and for a change was not about a man, in this case Shrikant (Sachin Khedekar) committing adultery, but the woman Aditi (Tabu) indulging in a sexual encounter with another man that leads to a child. The husband unaware of it raises the son as his, but 25 years later when he comes to know the truth deems to punish his wife. Before he can gloat over his punishment, his wife decides to leave him to find her astitva and live life on her own terms! It exposed the chauvinism and double standards of the man in a natural but resounding way.

Mrityudand (1997): Tum mere pati ho, parmeshwar banana ki koshsh mat karo thunders Ketki (Madhuri Dixit) when her husband Vinay (Ayub Khan), raises a hand against her. Not only does she rebel against her alcoholic husband, she encourages her sisters-in-law Chandravati (Shabana Azmi), who is emotionally and physically abused by her husband and Kanti (Shilpa Shirodkar) who is forced into prostitution by her heavily in-debt husband, to fight and regain their individuality and self-respect.

Damini (1993): A woman's fight for justice alright but what made this stand out was that Damini (Meenakshi Sheshadri) rebels against her husband and in-laws to bring her rapist brother-in-law to book. Rich guy Shekhar (Rishi Kapoor) marries Damini when he falls in love with her at first sight. All is well till Damini sees her brother-in-law and his friends raping a maid. She decides to file a complaint against him much against her husband and family's wishes who try to hush it up. When Damini is adamant they commit her to an institution from where she escapes, meets a lawyer (Sunny Deol) who fights the case and helps her bring justice. Not only did it bring forth the compassion of one woman toward another, it also demolished class differences and showed law is equal to all.

Mirch Masala (1989): A woman's grit and determination to not give in to the salacious advances of the rich and arrogant male. The one-line story was played out spiritedly by Ketan Mehta. A subedhar (Naseeruddin Shah) who exploits his power by repressing the villagers has his eye on Sonbai (Smita Patil). When he accosts her with his desires, she not only spurns him but slaps him publicly. Humiliated the raged subedhar has his men pursue her only to find her locked in a chilli factory. What follows is a war of wills with the subedar threatening the villagers to destruction if Sonbai doesn't yield. But she sticks to her stance with the help of the watchman. Finally, when the Subedar forcefully enters the factory and tries to grab her, the other women who come to support her throw chilli powder into his eyes leaving him in pain!

Arth (1982): This was one movie that brought out the complexities and frailties of a man-woman relationship beautifully. What stood out in the battle of sexes was that the women despite their vulnerabilities and insecurities emerged triumphant. Whether it was the domestic help Rohini Hattangady's character who kills her two-timing alcoholic husband for squandering the money she was saving for their daughter's education before surrendering to the police, or the wronged wife Pooja (Shabana Azmi) who is heartbroken when her husband Inder (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) confesses to an extra-marital affair and demands a divorce. She then goes on to piece together her life summoning her inner strength and with the help of a friend Raj (Raj Kiran) succeeds in coming into her own. In the end when Inder comes back to her, Pooja asks him just one question. "If I had done what you have done to me and returned to you, would you have accepted me?" He says no and answers his own question. It was done subtly and classily.

Mother India (1957): This Mehboob Khan film spelled woman empowerment in every way. Whether it was resisting sexual advances or killing her own rogue son, Nargis' Mother India was epitome of sacrifice and strength. Married to Shamu (Raaj Kumar), Radha (Nargis) finds herself ridden in debt. The duo gives away three-fourth of their fertile land to repay the debt and struggle to raise crops in the remaining barren land. Shamu's hands are crushed under a boulder and unable to bear the humiliation of not being able to earn a livelihood leaves his pregnant wife and two sons. Alone, Radha faces several difficulties including unwelcome advances from the moneylender but brings up her sons, one of whom becomes a bandit set to take revenge on the moneylender. When he murders him and tries to kidnap his daughter, it's his mother Radha who stops him by killing him. It showed values and morals are sacrosanct for a woman even at the cost of her near and dear ones.

The other films women-centric films include:

English Vinglish, which had Sridevi playing a middle-class housewife who decides to learn English to gain her own identity and respect from her insensitive husband.

Kahaani, that had Vidya Balan taking revenge on the man who murders her husband by pursuing him and killing him in a dramatic manner.

The Dirty Picture, which saw a Vidya in a bold and brazen avatar living her life on her own terms as an actress.

Mardaani had Rani Mukerji playing a police officer tackling the problem of human trafficking.

No One Killed Jessica based on a true incident had Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan fighting for justice and bringing a murderer to book.

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