Top 5 heroine roles
Sanni recently posted about her five favorite heroine roles in Hindi films. What a great idea! I am shamelessly stealing it.
Hindi films are of course generally more about the hero(es) than the heroine. And by generally, I really mean always. But there are some performances that transcend that handicap, and also there is the occasional heroine-centric film made. So here are my favorite roles and the actresses who brought them to life, where the heroine manages to hold her own against—if not completely outshine—the hero.
Vyjayanthimala as Champabai in Sadhna (1958):
One of my favorite Hindi films ever, this movie stars Vyjayanthimala as a nautch-girl who is hired by Sunil Dutt to pose as his fiancee so that his ailing mother can die in peace. She portrays the character with a dignity and poignancy which highlights the film’s message that women who work in such professions are not bad women, but helpless women, who should be given opportunities, not scorned. Vyjayanthimala won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for this role.
Hema Malini as Takubai in Rihaee (1988):
This should really be Hema Malini in everything! but this film particularly should be noted for its female point of view (it was written and directed by a woman, Aruna Raje). Hema’s innate strength is utilized fully in this story of a village woman who has an adulterous affair with a stranger passing through, only to find herself pregnant just as her husband returns home from three years away working in the city. When she is put on trial by the village panchayat, the women of the village all rally to her side.
Neetu Singh and Shabana Azmi as Neetu and Shabu in Parvarish (1977):
These two are hilarious as thieving sisters; they even manage to outshine Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna! I don’t think Neetu Singh ever got her fair due in the film industry. She is one of my favorite heroines: she is always a bright spot even in a dull film, and I just love her. I guess this is the only real “masala” film in my list, but their performances will always stand out in my mind as highlights of that fabulous movie, which has many good things in it.
Tabu as Nimmi in Maqbool (2003):
By turns malevolently seductive and achingly vulnerable, Tabu steals the show as “Lady MacBeth” in Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation. She is single-handedly responsible for the chain of events which destroy Abbaji and Miyan, their men and their families; at the same time she is a victim of her gender, which renders her virtually powerless in a world of powerful men.
Nargis as Radha in Mother India (1957):
Who can ever forget Radha and her epitomization of rural India’s strengths and hardships. What a performance! Enough said.
Tags: Hema Malini, Hindi film heroines, Nargis, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi, Tabu, Vyjayanthimala
April 16, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Well done! Wonderful post. I’ve only seen Mother India and look forward to seeing all of the others, especially Rihaee & Sadhna .
April 16, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Yes, those two in particular are among my favorite movies…and so is Parvarish, although it’s not as “serious.” But it’s a frothy good time, with a great cast!
Maqbool is a great movie, but a little too grim for me to view repeatedly. Mother India is too long to view repeatedly, since I have the attention span of a two-year-old.
April 16, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Here are some off the top of my head that I loved:
Leela Naidu in Anuradha
Sadhna in Asli Naqli
Madhubala in Half Ticket
Waheeda in Teesri Kasam
Geeta Bali in Albela
Juhi in QSQT
Madhuri in HAHK
Gayatri Joshi in Swades
April 16, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Good ones! I thought of putting Madhubala in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi here too, she was great in that and really held her own against the Kumar brothers.
And Geeta Bali definitely needs a mention. She was a lot like Hema Malini in that she pretty much dominated the screen when she was on it. Plus she had the good sense to marry Shammi :-P
April 16, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Fun post.
I wonder what Shabana Azmi would say to you choosing *Parvarish* out of the vast riches of her CV. If I may presume, I think she would be tickled … she has been known to cite *Amar Akbar Anthony* when asked to name her favorite role (though her “serious” answer is *Arth*).
I’d have to give some thought to my own list; with a number as small as five I’d need to think about the criteria. Character I most identify with? Character I most enjoy watching? Best performance? The possibilities are endless!
April 16, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I know; also I didn’t say much about her but talked about Neetu instead (because Shabana does get her rightful place in film history).
But she and Neetu are so funny and smart in this film. And looked like they were hugely enjoying themselves :-) I just LOVE them. It’s a similar film to “Amar Akbar Anthony”—even the cast is largely the same.
April 16, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Nice post memsaab. I absolutely agree with your thoughts on Neetu Singh (Amar Akbar Anthony is my favorite movie starring her). I haven’t yet seen Maqbool, and shall look forward to checking it out now. Here are some I enjoyed (in no specific order):
Madhuri Dixit in Devdas
Bhagyashree in Maine Pyar Kiya
Jaya Badhuri in Abhimaan
Hema Malini in Sholay
Gracy Singh in Lagaan
April 17, 2008 at 2:28 am
Neetu, Shabana, Hema, Nargis, Tabu - vah, I love them all! Wonderful choices, I wouldn’t change a thing. Actually, I’d also include Rekha in there - but from a good ol’ masala movie, e.g. Suhaag or Immaan Dharam. And my Nargis movie would definitely be Awaara. (That said, haven’t seen Mother India yet!)
April 17, 2008 at 7:35 am
Bollywood Fan: good list, I agree they are all good! :-)
PPCC Peep: I’m not on board with Rekha yet, mostly because I haven’t seen many of her films—I tend to avoid movies from the ’80s as largely unbearable. But perhaps I should give her a try (I did really like her in Umrao Jaan)…And I think Nargis sadly wasted most of her productive years on Raj Kapoor. I liked Awara better than his other films, but again it was mostly all about him, him, him (and his father).
April 17, 2008 at 9:37 am
Memsaab, wonderful post. Like sitaji, I’m going to try to see all of the films you mention.
For my own list of heroines (trying not to duplicate anyone else’s choices, or slight heroines such as Tabu or Kajol or Juhi), I would nominate Madhuri Dixit in Beta or Khal Nayak (like theBollywoodfan I also think she’s the most appealing character in Devdas), Preity Zinta in Kya Kehna, Shabana Azmi in Fire (OK, it’s not strictly a Bollywood film), Madhubala in Mughal-e-Azam, and Rani Mukherjee in Chori Chori (although, like Madhuri, Rani tends to be the center of interest of any film she’s in).
April 18, 2008 at 1:43 am
I would add to your list and the others’
Hema Malini in ‘Seeta aur Geeta’. I can watch this film again and again, not only is Hema Malini really gorgeous in this film, but she does a great job with a double role. And she manages to upstage Sanjeev Kumar and Dharmendra.
April 18, 2008 at 7:24 am
Rani in ‘Chori Chori’! How can I not agree with that :-) although I think Ajay holds his own too—their chemistry together is what I love about the film.
Sanni had put Hema in ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’ on her original post, and I absolutely agree that she is great in that. As I said, it should really be Hema in everything she did :-)
April 19, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Of these films, I’ve only seen ‘Mother India’, but they sound very intriguing and I will have to look out for them. I haven’t come across any of Vyjayanthimala’s movies yet, but Tabu, Shabana and Hema almost always make their roles memorable. I LOVE Neetu Singh too - I’ve loved her in everything I’ve caught her in, even in otherwise mediocre films, and I certainly agree that she hasn’t gotten her due. Nargis’ performance as Radha in ‘Mother India’ is amazing and would definitely be on my list too.
April 21, 2008 at 10:15 am
Rekha - I find her present avatar creepy as well, but she really was very good in her day.
I’d nominate Umrao Jaan, Utsav (Rekha was fantastic in that movie), and surprisingly, Rekha in Khoobsurat - one of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s later films, it doesn’t hold up as well as his older ones, but Rekha was good in her role, and it really was her movie…it is also surreal to see her romancing Rakesh Roshan in that - pudgy and with a really bad wig on…but I still think he was cute!
M
April 21, 2008 at 10:25 am
I got to watch Rekha and Hema Malini shooting a new film (called Sadhiyan, with Rishi and Shatrughan Sinha’s son Luv–what a name!) for a while when I went to India in January. They both still look phenomenally beautiful! I will look for Utsav and Khoobsurat; it’s not that I dislike Rekha, it’s just that I haven’t seen her in much.
April 22, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Great picks all around! These picks do probably say more about the viewer than they do about Hindi cinema and its heroines. I went for sassy, talkative & independent young heroines because while I like other types of female roles, I don’t get that much out of a tragic heroine or a mother character.
April 23, 2008 at 8:24 am
Yes, I think any kind of “Top” list reflects the viewer more than anything.
Probably because I’m older (46) myself, I tend to really love films that condemn sexism (since I’ve been at the receiving end of it more times than I can count); and celebrate women’s strength (because I’m at a stage in life where I finally understand how much power I really do have).
And I love that women 10 or 20 years younger than I am don’t have to face the same issues that I and my peers did :-)
May 1, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Ah Parvarish, such a completely fantastic movie. And I agree totally about Neetu - she’s always great.
As for me, I need to think more, but my only gut answer so far is: Vimmi/Babli, definitely.
May 13, 2008 at 12:09 pm
And PS - the subtitles on that first picture are perhaps one of the very finest bits of dialogue I’ve ever seen. Vah vah!
May 13, 2008 at 12:15 pm
They are actually lyrics in a song she’s singing, written by my favorite lyricist and poet, Sahir Ludhianvi. There’s a lot more like that in that film!
May 19, 2008 at 8:08 am
memsaab,
You might also want to consider Zeenat (played by Gul Panag) in Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dor as a candidate. A beautifully written role, played with strength, quiet conviction and oodles of charm.
Then there’s Chitrangada Singh in Hazaaron Khwaaishein Aisi, Shabana Azmi in Arth (who doesn’t start out strong, but finds herself along the way), Simran in Kannathil Muthamittal (a Tamil movie by Mani Rathnam, definitely worth a watch)…
~r
May 19, 2008 at 8:17 am
Good suggestions, Ramsu—I haven’t seen Dor or Hazaaron Khwaaishein Aisi, although I really want to see both. I’m not sure that Arth won’t be too “artsy” for my lowbrow taste! Kannathil Muthamittal is a great film and Simran is wonderful in it, you are right :-)
May 19, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Dor is soooooooo goooooooooooood.