Heroine

Bollywood heroines usually fall into several categories: drop-dead gorgeous sirens, the sweet, naive girl next door, and long-suffering mothers. India is a traditional, male-dominated society and this is reflected in most of the roles women play until recently.

hindi heroines

Gone but not forgotten…

Nargis, (Fatima Rashid) born on June 1, 1929, in Calcutta, was an iconic Indian actress. Her mother was a classical singer involved in early Indian cinema. In 1935 at the age of six, she appeared in a film ‘Talashe Haq’, receiving screen credit as “Baby Nargis”. As an adult, Nargis starred in many commercially successful films spanning the 1940s through the 1960s. She had the ability to be simple or chic with ease. Some of her well-known films are: ‘Barsaat’ (1949), ‘Andaz’ (1949), ‘Deedar’ (1951), ‘Shree 420’ (1955), and ‘Chori Chori’ (1956). In 1957, she played the central figure in ‘Mother India’, one of the greatest Indian films of all time. Nargis won a Filmfare Best Actress Award for this film. In 1958, Nargis married Sunil Dutt and stopped acting in order to raise a family. Sunil and Nargis had three children, one of which is the well-known actor, Sanjay Dutt. Together with her husband, she formed the Ajanta Arts Cultural Troupe which brought entertainment to Indian soldiers stationed in remote areas. Her last film was ‘Raat Aur Din’ in 1967. Playing a person with multiple-personalities, Nargis became the first actress to win a National Film Award for Best Actress. The National Film Awards instituted the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration in her honor. Nargis died on May 3, 1981, of pancreatic cancer.

Gone but not forgotten…

Sridevi Kapoor, simply known as Sridevi, iconic Indian film star, was born on August 13, 1963, in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India. She appeared in approximately 300 films during her career, including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada films. Sridevi started her career at the tender age of four, acting in the Tamil devotional movie ‘Thunaivan’.  As a child actor, she appeared in many Tamil and Telugu films.  Before entering Bollywood, Sridevi made several films with Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth. In 1983, she established herself in Bollywood with the blockbuster ‘Himmatwala’, and in 1984, with ‘Tohfa’. Some of Sridevi’s most successful films include: ‘Sadma’ (1982), ‘Nagina’ (1988), ‘Mr. India’ (1988), ‘Chandni’ (1990), ‘ChaalBaaz’ (1990), ‘Lamhe’ (1992), ‘Gumrah’ (1994), and ‘Judaai’ (1997).  In 1996, Sridevi married producer Boney Kapoor, and after ‘Judaai’, she retired from the film industry. In 2012, she returned after 15 years to make ‘English Vinglish’, becoming the only Bollywood actress to have a very successful comeback film. In 2013, Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri from the Government of India for her contribution to the arts. During that year she was voted ‘India’s Greatest Actress in 100 Years’ in a national poll. She has won four Best Actress Awards from Filmfare and a Filmfare Special Award for ‘Nagina’ and ‘Mr. India’. Her last film was ‘Mom’ (2018). She won a National Film Award – Best Actress as a mother who sets out to avenge the rape of her daughter. Sridevi and Boney Kapoor had two daughters, Janhavi and Khushi.  Sridevi died suddenly and mysteriously on February 24, 2018 in Dubai. After being cremated, her ashes were scattered in the sea off the coast of Rameshwaram.

Heroines of Yesterday…

Hema Malini ~ a top Indian actress of yesterday, director, producer, politician, and author, born on October 16, 1948, in Ammankudi, Tamil Nadu. As a child, she was trained in the Bharatnatyam classical style of dance. Hema has appeared in over 170 films during the last 5 decades, many immensely popular. Hemi is often referred to as “Dreamgirl”. In her first two movies, ‘Idhu Sathiyam’ (1961) and ‘Pandava Vanavasam’ (1965), Hemi was a dancer. Her break came when she did a screen test for Raj Kapoor for ‘Sapno Ka Saudagar’ (1968), and became his co-star in the movie. Another important point in her career was Ramesh Sippy’s film ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’ (1972 and ‘Sholay’ (1975). Other well-known films are: ‘Johny Mera Naam’ (1970), ‘Raja Jani’ (1972), ‘Dulhan’ (1974), ‘Khushboo (1975), ‘Dream Girl’ (1977), ‘Meera’ (1979), ‘Naseeb’ (1981), ‘Razia Sultan’ (1983), and ‘Aandhi-Toofan’ (1985). Hemi was often paired with Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand, and Dharmendra. She married iconic actor Dharmendra in 1980, and they have two daughters. In 2000, Hemi won a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and a Padma Shri from the government of India.  In 2014, she won a seat in the Lok Sabha (representatives of the people chosen by direct election), as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate.

Interesting essay by Sharmila Tagore which discusses how women are stereotyped in Bollywood films: http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?288744

How did heroines fare in 2014: http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/queen-highway-and-mardaani-why-bollywood-gave-some-hope-to-feminists-in-2014-2015277.html

Heroines of the Past: http://www.filmfare.com/features/know-your-actor-meena-kumari-8782.html

Heroines in 2015: http://www.santabanta.com/bollywood/101555/strong-female-protagonists-on-a-steady-rise-in-bollywood/

Heroines as historical characters: http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/9410