Begum Jaan, Noor, Tumhari Sulu and more: Heroines play lead in 2017 Bollywood

A lot is yet to be done to claim that Bollywood treats women as equals - be it the female actors or our onscreen heroines. However, we must acknowledge that female actors have come a long way from being sidelined as a victim or sex object in the screenplay of a film. Heroines are now taking forward films on their shoulders. Ever since Vidya Balan’s The Dirty Picture, Bollywood has seen a trend where producers and filmmakers do not shy away from putting their money on a female actor. From Deepika Padukone’s Piku to Kangana Ranaut’s Queen, we have seen many a stories that revolved around women, showcased mainly by women.

Here, we take a look at films that are set to hit theatres this year and are helmed by their female actors: 

Begum Jaan

Directed by Srijit Mukherji and produced by Mahesh Bhatt, Begum Jaan is the story of a brothel and its owner’s fight against the divisive politics against the backdrop of partition of India. Vidya Balan plays the brothel owner while Gauahar Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Pallavi Sharda, Chunkey Pandey and Rajit Kapoor play pivotal roles in the narrative.

Noor

Directed by Sunhil Sippy, Noor features Sonakshi Sinha in the titular role. Based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz’s novel Karachi, You’re Killing Me! Noor is a journalist who juggles her work, love and personal life on a day-to-day basis. One day, Noor’s life takes a dramatic turn when she comes across an eye-opening investigative news story.

Tumhari Sulu

Tumhari Sulu is directed by Suresh Triveni. The film revolves around RJ Sulochana aka Sulu (Vidya Balan), who is a happy go lucky person and works for the late night shows. She hosts semi adult show and was one of the most well-known Radio Jockeys during 2015 India-Pakistan World Cup match.

Simran

Directed by Hansal Mehta, Simran features Kangana Ranaut in lead role. Simran will be shot entirely in the US. It’s a story of an Indian-origin nurse dubbed as Bombshell Bandit after robberies in the US. Kangana plays a Gujarati NRI nurse, who gets involved in crime. The story is inspired by the life of a real-life US nurse Sandeep Kaur, who was sent to prison for robbing a bank to pay off certain debts.

Maatr

Raveena Tandon is set to make her comeback with Maatr. The film is a revenge saga where Raveena avenges her daughter who was raped and murdered. Directed by Ashtar Sayed, the film is set to hit theatres on April 21.

Jia Aur Jia

Directed by Howard Rosemeyer, Jia Aur Jia is a story about two women who share the same name. Together, they embark on a life-changing journey heading to the same fate. Richa Chadha and Kalki Koechlin essay the roles of Jia in the movie. The film is written by Mudssar Aziz and is slated to release in 2017.

Mom

Four years after playing the sweet and innocent Shashi in Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish, Sridevi will return to the silver screen in a fierce avatar with Mom. Directed by Ravi Udyawar, Mom will release on July 14. Nawazuddin Siddiqui will also be seen in the film.

Love Sonia

Love Sonia is directed by Tabrez Noorani. The film features newcomer Mrunal Thakur as the title character along with Richa Chadha, Freida Pinto, Demi Moore, Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher, Rajkummar Rao and Sai Tamhankar in pivotal roles. Love Sonia tells the heartfelt and brave story of Sonia, a young Indian village girl whose life irrevocably changes when she is entrapped into the vicious global sex trade network. The film is slated to release in 2017.

Naam Shabana

Recently, we saw Taapsee Pannu’s story of the making of a spy in Neeraj Pandey’s Naam Shabana. Directed by Shivam Nair, the film is a spin-off from Akshay Kumar’s Baby (2015).