1. Pallavi Sharma/Jasmine d’Almeida (Yami Gautam in Uri)

The movie spoke of a New India and the movie set an example of how liberated, unorthodox, and balanced India can be. India has always reinvented itself in spite of all the challenges, oppression and radical forces it has faced. Women are at the helm of this change now, women finding their spot under the sun, women showing the way, making the change and leading, stepping up the josh! India where a woman can be whoever she wants to be and strong men count on a tough woman’s support to get them out went the bullets are flying and hell is let loose.

2. Safeena (Alia Bhatt in Gully Boy)

The feisty Safeena from ‘Gully Boy’ won over our hearts from the very first frame. Alia Bhatt’s nuanced and natural act in ‘Gully Boy’ was one of the biggest highlights of this brilliantly made film. If you look beyond the popular ‘dhoptungi’ line from the film there is a lot to praise in Alia’s act. Her blow hot-blow cold relationship with the protagonist Murad (Ranveer Singh) could have gone over the top, but Alia underplays the sentiment and angst with such beauty. This was easily one of the best performances of 2019 by a female actor. Gully Boy is a film that belongs to Murad and Saifeena managed to make her way in it. She is not just a woman who is there to play the love interest of the protagonist. She has her individuality and ambitions and priorities sorted. She strives towards it and can go to any extent to protect the balance in her life!

3. Manikarnika (Kangna Ranaut in Manikarnika)

This is one of the female centric film of the year. There have been many flaws in the film and the power of Rani Laxmibai might not have been portrayed in the best possible way due to lack of strong side characters. Yet, this film shows how Rani Laxmibai was a character who refused to bow down, no matter how powerful the opposition might have been. She stood headstrong at the face of adversities and also empowered other women around her!

4. Vidya Balan in Mission Mangal

 This movie is about the prowess of female ISRO scientists, had the male protagonist running the show. As an ISRO scientist headlining a team of experts planning a mission to Mars, Vidya was utterly honest and sincere in her performance. Vidya’s biggest USP is her natural charm and how believable she looks in most of her performances. ‘Mission Mangal’ has Vidya playing a mother and a housewife struggling to juggle between keeping her dream alive to making sure her family life doesn’t come crashing. Vidya lights up every frame of the movie with her effervescence and it’s a privilege to watch her on the big screen.

5. Tara from Made in Heaven

In a sea of Hindi TV’s ‘holier-than-thou’, uni-dimensional leading ladies, came as multi-faceted, conflicted personality like Tara and she completely won us over. She was unapologetic about her ambition but guilty over her actions, driven to seek justice for her friend but quick to cut him off when needed. Simply put, she was a leading character, whose actions were unpredictable but not unrelatable.

6. Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar from Saand Ki Aankh

A film with female actors looking old and wrinkled for the entire duration would have seemed almost unreal. But Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar did the impossible by doing the ‘shooter dadi’s biopic ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ based on the real lives of shooters Prakashi Tomar and Chandro Tomar. Directed by Tushar Hiranandani, the film showcased two powerhouse performances from the leading ladies. ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ worked because of Taapsee and Bhumi’s camaraderie and the fact that their interpersonal chemistry seemed natural and believable. Rising from patriarchal families and rural setup to being sportsperson – a story of two women worth depicting on celluloid.

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