Vidya Balan as Sabrina Lall: Vidya Balan was simply amazing in No One Killed Jessica, a film inspired by the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lall. Her role of a woman, who had to fight the law to get justice for her sister who was murdered by someone simply because he had pistol in his hand and power in his head – was heroic indeed.
Tabu as Mumtaz: Mumtaz, who has lost everyone and everything in communal riots, is sold (to a pimp) and raped by her own uncle! It’s a story about a helpless woman who has to succumb to all kinds of societal pressure just because she works in dance bar. The movie is dark, but Tabu’s role was brilliant enough to win almost all the awards including the National Film Award.
Priyanka Chopra as Sussanna: Vishal Bharadwaj's Saat Khoon Maaf saw Priyanka Chopra bumping off her seven callous husbands! While that’s not really an admirable quality, her character was undoubtedly courageous enough to stand up to the cruelty that was inflicted upon her.
Chak De! India: Whether it was Chitrashi Rawat as Komal Chautala, Sagarika Ghatge as Preeti Sabarwal or Vidya Malavade as Vidya Sharma, the entire movie was about women of substance. If one is fighting her family to pursue her dream, another just wants to prove to her ‘cricketer’ boyfriend that even women can win World Cups!
Nargis as Radha: If one is talking about powerful roles played by women or women-centric films, you cannot forget to include Mother India. This film about a housewife (Radha) and how she has to fight for survival with her two sons after her husband leaves her, is simply heart-wrenching. In fact it was also the first Indian film to be nominated for an Oscar (Best Foreign Film) in 1958.
Power to women! All month long, iDiva will feature unconventional women who are stereotype-busters in their own right. From interviews with women with unusual careers to success stories of enterprising homemakers, we raise our glasses to ordinary women who have done something extraordinary with their lives! What's more, we bring you life lessons from women icons in different fields, career mantras you've never considered and more to go out there and be all you were meant to be and more...
