From 'Thappad' to 'Queen', when Bollywood championed women empowerment in movies

Bollywood movies are known to create a major impact on their audience with the kind of genre they portray on television. Be it romance or comedy, the movies account for a lot of genres that are showcased on-screen. There are many movies and storylines that depicted women as the hero of the story. Discriminated and disheartened, they battle the struggles of life to turn out to be the hero of the story. Here are five Bollywood movies that have promoted women empowerment on-screen.

Thappad

Taapsee Pannu starrer Thappad released on February 28, 2020. The movie is based on the subject of domestic violence. It revolves around the battle of a lady Amrita who fights against her husband for divorce after he slaps her. The movie made a fair business at the box office in its opening days and is constantly winning hearts in theatres till now. It received mixed critic reviews, however, it is widely loved by the audience. Helmed by Anubhav Sinha, Thappad also stars Dia Mirza and Pavali Gulati in pivotal roles.

Queen

Vikas Bahl's Queen released in 2014. The movie stars Kangana Ranaut in the lead role. The movie revolves around Rani, an under-confident girl from New Delhi who goes on her honeymoon to Paris and Amsterdam all by herself after her fiancé calls off their wedding. The story later focuses on Rani developing and emerging as a confident young woman. The movie turned out to be a huge commercial success.

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Pink

Pink is a social thriller film released in 2016. The movie stars  Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang, Angad Bedi, Tushar Pandey, Piyush Mishra, and Dhritiman Chatterjee. The movie is a story about three girls who live alone in a city and fight the battles against the evils of society. Pink received widespread critical acclaim and it was reportedly specially screened for the Rajasthan Police so as to train them to be sensitive and sensible about women's rights and dignity.

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Mission Mangal

Mission Mangal released on August 15, 2019. The movie stars an ensemble cast of Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen, Kirti Kulhari, Sharman Joshi, H. G. Dattatreya, Vikram Gokhale, and Sonakshi Sinha. The film is loosely based on the life of scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation who contributed to the Mars Orbiter Mission, India's first interplanetary expedition. It is directorial by Jagan Shakti. It received positive reviews from critics and earned ₹290.59 crores worldwide, becoming a commercial success.

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Chak De India!

Chak De India! is an Indian Hindi-language sports film directed by Shimit Amin and produced by Aditya Chopra. It tells a fictional story about the Indian women's national field hockey team, which was inspired by the team's win at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and explores themes such as feminism and sexism, the legacy of the partition of India, racial and religious bigotry, and ethnic and regional prejudice. The movie released in 2007.

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