Women’s Day 2021: Recent female characters that portrayed a woman’s strength

It’s International Women’s Day 2021 on 8th March and it is evident that the strength of female characters in Indian entertainment have changed a lot in the last few days, more so with the new content on OTT platforms. There have been characters which have imbibed qualities that have challenged cultural norms and also those which have used those very things to create changes.

BizAsiaLive.com looks at five female characters which portrayed qualities that showed the true strength of a woman.

Amrita in ‘Thappad’ (2020)
Played fantastically by Taapsee Pannu, Amrita was a character which said so much in her silence and the credit for this should go to director Anubhav Sinha. When she was slapped by her husband in the middle of a party, so many opinions and accusations faced her and many of those voices told her to forget the incident, forgive and continue in her apparently otherwise “perfect” marriage. However, Amrita’s strength was shown when she realised – because of that one incident – that she wasn’t happy in her own self and that she was living only for the happiness and welfare of her husband. She was resolute in the way she felt and the way she dealt with the aftermath, despite everyone having their own opinion on something that happened to her. This is what you call strength, sticking to your guns.

Aarya in ‘Aarya’ (2020)
A female character in a digital series which was nothing but the epitome of strength was Aarya in web-series ‘Aarya’, essayed by Sushmita Sen. As the protagonist, you already knew that this character would be quite something but what stood out about her was that she didn’t give up. She didn’t look for an easy life after the murder of her husband or after learning of the truth behind his profession. She carried on with so much fight and so much determination that she, quite literally, had to become nothing but a source of strength, at times even against her family.

Jaya in ‘Panga’ (2020)
Kangana Ranaut as Jaya Nigam in ‘Panga’ was not only a character which showed that age is no barrier to dreams but also that her own determination can allow her to fulfil what she has dreamt of despite having a child and family too. It was refreshing to see this kind of character which showed a woman whose dreams and talent didn’t need to be curbed just because she had responsibilities at home. She overcame obstacles with the support of her family and managed to show “society” that it is possible to go after your dreams at any time in your life.

Ratna in ‘Sir’ (2018)
For anyone who may have seen this film, they will hopefully not be able to forget Ratna, played by Tillotama Shome. Here was a female character who was a widow at the age of 19 who left her village to go to Mumbai and be a maid. In the city she found that she was no longer treated with the same “shame”, so to speak, as she was back at home. Her n-laws had allowed her to leave her home for this due to it them being a source of income and also one less mouth to feed for them. During her time as a maid, she pursues her dream to become a fashion designer, with the encouragement of her boss at the house she is maid at. This realisation and support helps her begin to change her life and it shows her strength to break of out of the boundaries others have set for her and get through the stereotypical treatment in her village towards widows.

Vartika in ‘Delhi Crime’ (2019)
Who can forget DCP Vartika Chaturvedi from ‘Delhi Crime’, played by Shefaali Shah? She was, quite literally, the heart and soul of this series, showing at every point how woman can be strong and emotional even when they are being affected by what’s going on around them. Her way of telling the truth and not being scared of being that way all through the series is perhaps the thing that made this series have the effect it had, being based on true events. Vartika was understanding, shocked and unforgiving at all costs and it was a wow performance, to say the least.

BizAsiaLive.com would like to wish everyone a very happy Women’s day.