International Women’s Day! 7 Free spirited characters that our actresses portrayed on screen, and aced

There are so many descriptions applied to women leading life on their terms. Not all of them are complimentary because it takes guts and a spine of steel to go against the norm and expectations from conventional, misogynistic, patriarchal, male chauvinistic attitudes and express oneself without remorse, guilt or apology in a society which is all too quick to judge and label women.

So when our actresses are offered roles by evolved directors, that give them a chance to play women not bound by societal expectations, they’ve grabbed them eagerly and spun them out beautifully. And we’re not even talking about breaking out from under suppression and oppression. Not even inspirational or dynamic and all that. Just nice regular girls! We bring you some free-spirited characters that were aced by our leading ladies on screen.

Vimmi Saluja from Bunty Aur Babli: Rani Mukherjee as Babli, a Punjabi girl from a small village, Vimmi’s aspirations grew from an overdose of watching films and studying supermodels. Her dreams – becoming Miss India. Rebelling against the idea of a dull arranged match by her parents, she runs away, finds a friend in Bunty (Abhishek Bachchan), and they set out to find a life. They do too. Making money easily meant adopting a con life- which she found too exciting – that lifestyle and churning out masquerades and scams galore. But the character of Babli was never vindictive or mean, nor portrayed as misled or criminal. Thank you, Shaad Ali.

Rani Mehra from Queen: From a small-town girl from North India, who suffered from under-confidence due to being jilted at the altar, to building her spirit step-by-step, to making big life decisions, to discovering herself and the unconventional in her, in glorious and uninhibited expression, conquering basic fears from conditioning, from broken-hearted to breaking hearts – Kangana Ranaut brought to life and animated the character of Rani with such finesse, it won her a National Award for this Aanand L Rai film.

Piku Bannerjee from Piku: Creative, Bengali, architect, Piku was the ideal daughter. Deepika Padukone played it as dutiful, but silently stubborn – like her father. She is graceful when she gives in, has a droll sense of humour in the midst of her seriousness, and excels in the seemingly indulgent but firm handling of a cantankerous, hypochondriac father. Piku struggles to hold herself and her identity up in the battle of daily living that is all encompassing. It is very difficult to play ordinary – Deepika aced it for Shoojit Sircar’s delightful film.

Rumi in Manmarziyaan: Driven by her raging hormones, Taapsee Pannu’s Rumi is singularly one of the brightest characters seen on screen in recent times. Impulsive, wild, even selfish, there is still a core of practicality in Rumi. She is supremely confident about being herself, mind and body in sync and unashamedly sexual. She is such a bag of beans, but so endearing, you can’t help love Anurag Kashyap’s romantic heroine Rumi.

Geet Dhillon from Jab We Met: Kareena Kapoor’s Geet was the kind of girl every guy wants to take home. Supremely positive, resilient, gutsy, feisty, expressive and oh-so-refreshing – like a breath of fresh air. Imtiaz Ali has given us an unforgettable character in Geet.

Saba Khan from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil: The enigmatic poetess – divorced, and with no place for love in her now-turned-cold heart, who is warmed by passion when she meets Ranbir Kapoor – Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in her most seductive avatar. The slightly melancholic poet, happy in her loneliness, but willing to stake her all for passion. Mature and sophisticated, and incredibly poised and sexy. Karan Johar knew this character.

Laila from Margarita With A Straw: Kalki Koechlin plays this teenager with cerebral palsy, a girl who despite a severe physical handicap- wants to live a life unlimited and walks towards it on legs stronger than the able-minded and bodied. The film is a coming of age story in the tale of Laila who goes to the US for undergraduate studies, has a complicated relationship with a female partner, comes out as a lesbian, and seeks to find herself further. Kalki’s Laila was exquisitely created by Shonali Bose, with no attempt to garner sympathy or pity for her.

There are a host of such characters, increasingly created by directors and writers. It would be remiss not to mention the characters of Datto (Kangana Ranaut again) in Tanu Weds Manu Returns- the young Haryanvi student-athlete, sympathetic, ready to break convention, focussed, a no-nonsense types. And Manikarnika (in the film of the same name) and Kangana yet again. The defiant, yet dutiful queen, who showed more spunk and grit than the average male bravehearts, who was kind and courageous and proud, who defied authority and would not bow her head – literally and metaphorically. Maybe somewhere, an extension of the actress’ own personality. Or Vijayalakshmi in Queen, An unconventional lady with a traditional name, a truly free-spirited woman of French-Spanish-Indian descent, who worked at a hotel. Bold, encouraging, staunch, supportive, and emotionally solid and sound, Lisa Haydon’s Vijayalakshmi was a brave and brassy woman who lived life on her terms, with no compromise. Or Leela (Deepika Padukone) from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’sGoliyon Ki Raasleela – RamLeela – the feisty daughter of the orthodox Gujarati Sanera clan – bold in flirting, quick to romance, going against the entire clan in marrying the man she loved, willing to break societal shackles – lusty, bold, expressive, defiant and strong. Vishal Bhardwaj’s Pataakha girls, Nitish Tiwari’sDangal girls, Alia Bhatt’s firecracker of a Safeena Firdausi in Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boys, and Alia’s Veera in Imtiaz Ali’s Highway, Zoya’s Dil Dhadakne Do for Anushka Sharma’s character Farah.

You really can’t keep a good thing down…