Women of Action

These ladies played tough and stormed traditional male bastions

SWARNENDU BISWAS

In the last decade, we have seen more empowered female protagonists in Indian cinema, ones not delimited by feudalistic and patriarchal tropes. Among these are also a few in action-oriented roles in Indian cinema, and South Asian cinema as a whole.

The last trend can be traced to the legacy of swashbuckling female action roles in Indian cinema, a tradition handed down from Fearless Nadia (an Australia-born Indian actress and stuntwoman whose real name was Mary Ann Evans) who ruled from the mid-1930s to mid-1940s.

NADIA, THE HUNTERWALI

Nadia rode horses, wielded swords, guns and whips, fought atop speeding trains, jumped off cliffs, industriously beating up villains throughout all that strenuous activity. She did her own stunts,

risking her life in the process.

The escapist action entertainment was extremely popular with the masses and Nadia went on lead in over 50 women-oriented action films, including “Hunterwali” (1935), “Miss Frontier Mail” (1936), “Diamond Queen” (1940), “Jungle Princess” (1942), and “Hunterwali ki Beti” (1943).

However, for decades there were few women to carry the torch in Hindi and regional Indian cinema.

In the 1990s a few films did finally put women in action roles. “Phool Bane Angaray” (1991) had Rekha in the lead, playing Namrata Singh, a teacher turned superintendent of police); “Bandit Queen” (1994) had Seema Biswas depicted the real-life story of the oppressed Dailt girl turned dreaded dacoit Phoolan Devi; and the Telugu film “Karthavyam” (1990) had Vijayashanti playing a tough and honest IPS officer.

ACTION WOMEN IN BOLLYWOOD

In the second decade of the 21st century, the number of women in action-oriented roles in Indian cinema increased dramatically.

“Mary Kom” (2014), a biopic based on eponymous Indian woman boxer, directed by Omung Kumar, and with Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the title role, deserves special mention. In Bollywood it was – and still is – unimaginable to have a biopic based on the struggles and triumphs of a female boxer.

Surprisingly, despite no hero being in the male lead (a new actor named Darshan Kumar played Mary Kom’s husband), the film, directed by a new director and riding solely on Chopra’s shoulders, went on to become a major commercial success in India, a nation where people are not much interested in any sport other than cricket.

In “Mardaani” (2014), Rani Mukerji essayed the character of Senior Inspector Shivani Shivaji Roy. With rare toughness and sensitivity, the depicted the protagonist tackling human trafficking by the mafia . To prepare for the role, Mukerji even learned Krav Maga. Despite her toughness, the protagonist is shown to have a sensitive side, thereby making the character more appealing. The Pradeep Sarkar-directed film too became a big hit without any main male lead.

In the same year, “Gulaab Gang” became the first film in mainstream Bollywood wherein the protagonist and the antagonist are female. In the otherwise trashy film directed by Soumik Sen, Madhuri Dixit played the main character, and Juhi Chawla the villain. The film was a flop at the box-office.

In “Waarrior Savitri” (2016) Luxembourger actress Niharica Raizada, who has a black belt in taekwondo besides being a qualified doctor (she is a Fulbright Scholar in cardiology), did some spectacular action scenes. The little-known film directed by Param Gill is a modern adaptation of the legendary tale of Savitri. It may not have been a commercial success but film historians will mark it as milestone in female-oriented action drama films in India.

“Dangal” (2017), is the first Indian film to focus on the struggles and triumphs of a real-life female wrestler (Geeta Phogat won the first-ever gold medal for India in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games). The character finds success through inspiration, support and strict coaching of her father. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film is the fourth-highest-grossing film in India. Both Zaira Wasim and Fatima Sana Shaikh garnered critical acclaim for their performances as young and adult Geeta Phogat, respectively.

In “Naam Shabana” (2017), Taapsee Pannu played the title role of a secret agent. Though unsuccessful commercially but the action sequences involving Pannu, who took training in mixed martial arts for the role, were slickly shot.

WOMEN POWER IN REGIONAL CINEMA

Over the last two decades, there have been quite a few action-oriented roles for female leads in regional Indian cinema too. Vijayashanti who did a number of action roles, is often referred to as the action queen of Indian cinema.

Besides the earlier-mentioned “Karthavyam,” “Indiramma” (2004) is another major action films (in Telugu) with Vijayashanti in the lead, playing a commando. In one action scene, she is seen vanquishing a number of goons with one hand! Though the action scenes are cruder than those in “Mary Kom” and “Mardaani” but they resonate with the theme of women empowerment.

Another action film in which Vijayashanthi played the lead was “Bharat Ratna” (1999). The Telugu movie was dubbed in Hindi as “Captain Bhawani.” She played a double role, coming in both as an army captain and a petty thief who replaces the military officer, Captain Bhawani, when the original Captain loses her legs in action.

“Three Roses” (2003) is a Tamil film in which all the three heroines – Rambha, - Jyothika and Laila had multiple fight sequences. Rambha, along with her brother, also produced the movie, which was a commercial failure.

No discussion on women in action roles in Indian cinema would be complete without reference to Ayesha Habib, a black belt in karate. Her toned physique and superlative action moves, and the title of a film she appeared in, earned her the tag Lady Bruce Lee. Most

of the films starring her are action flicks; in some is no discernible male lead.” Jana Gana Mana” (2018), the Kannada movie dubbed in Hindi as “Maajal” and the Telugu “Lady Bruce Lee” (2011) are among the famous action movies starring her.

THE RELATED INDUSTRIES RESPOND

In other South Asian countries too, more women are showing up in action-oriented roles in the last two decades. In Nepali films, Rekha Thapa led in a number of absurd action films wherein she was shown beating or even killing a gang of bad guys singlehandedly. “Lanka” (2012), “Rampyaari” (2016), and “Maaleekaa (2019) are some films in which she is depicted as invincible in hand-to-hand combat.

Namrata Shrestha, also from Nepal, did some amazing action sequences in “Xira” (2019), where she played a mixed martial artist in search of vengeance. As far as Bangladeshi films go, Mahiya Mahhi’s fight sequences in “Agnee” (2014) and “Agnee 2” (2015) were stylish, and stood out in South Asian cinema.

Anjuman can be credited for establishing the concept of action heroine in the Pakistani film industry. Among some films where she was lead and did action sequences, “Hunter Wali,” “Qatil Haseena,” “Daku Haseena” and “Nangi Talwar” deserve special mention.

Actors Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Taapsee Pannu have both played leads in action-packed films