The World is celebrating International women’s day but rather talking about the contribution of women in Bollywood and in other different areas of work we would like to attract your attention towards the films of Bollywood in which the male actors are empowering women through the strong and independent characters.

Bollywood has been blamed for being male-dominated since forever now but these few actors have come up with movies and made us so proud of them. Yes, we are talking about the actors like Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas and Shahrukh Khan’s movies.

Nowadays Bollywood actresses are being paid more than the male actor. We know that some of the feminists are not going to agree on this but it is like,  ‘every cloud has a silver lining’. Also, thanks to these men, films like Pink, Chak De! India, Toilet – Ek Prem Katha got the kind of reach they deserved. Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Naa apne aap mei Ek Pura vakya hai,’ was what reluctant men needed to hear to accept that ‘no’ actually means ‘no’!

Now let us tell you how they did it:

Amitabh Bachchan – Pink

Scene 1: Amitabh Bachchan proves to everyone why society needs to grow up and stop judging when a girl meets a boy alone

Andrea, the girl from Meghalaya, who was one of the victims, gets questioned by the public prosecutor as to why did she go in a room alone with a boy, even if it was to use the washroom. Amitabh Bachchan then reproves/criticize the lawyer in particular and the society at large for implying that just because a woman is going into a room with a man, she has given him the permission to touch her wherever he wants. It’s a dig at all those men who feel that if a woman talks to you, you can assume that she is interested.

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Scene 2: Amitabh Bachchan proclaim the real meaning of ‘No’

When Meenal Arora (Taapsee Pannu) exactly describes what she told Rajvir while resisting his advances, Amitabh Bachchan makes a valid point… something women have been trying to make men understand since eternity. The concept of permission – something no one cares about especially when it involves a woman. Bachchan asserts here that ‘No’ means ‘No.’ “Ladkiyon ki naa mein unki Haan chupi Nahi Hoti,” is a dialogue we long needed in Bollywood where hasee toh phasee is the standard.

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Prabhas – Baahubali 2

Scene 1: Beheading a man for groping a woman

In this scene, a man from the royal court was seen groping women while they were climbing the stairs to a temple. Since Devasena has been shown to be a strong-willed, fierce warrior she doesn’t take it lying down. When he tries to do the same with her, she chops off his fingers. She is taken to court for a sentence when Amarendra Baahubali arrives. When he realizes what has happened, he doesn’t hesitate even for a moment to behead the miscreant. He even reasons that you shouldn’t just chop off a person’s fingers if he disrespects a woman, but instead be off with his head! What wouldn’t we do be with a man who respects a woman’s honor, which is a rarity in real life!

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Aamir Khan – Dangal

Scene: Aamir Khan realizes that a gold medal can be won by anyone be it a girl or a boy

Aamir Khan plays the father Mahavir Phogat, who loves his daughters a lot but wants a son, whom he can groom to become a celebrated wrestler. Something he couldn’t be due to family issues. But one day, when someone complains about Geeta beating the s**t out of a guy, he realizes he doesn’t need a boy. His girls are enough to win gold and they eventually do. In a country where female infanticide is rampant, such a film is an eye-opener. This film taught us about what gender equality is!

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Shah Rukh Khan – Chak De India

Scene: Shah Rukh Khan lets the girls beat up the goons for a change

There are many scenes in this film which are iconic but the one that gives us a kick is the one where Shah Rukh Khan, despite being the hero, lets the women take charge. It is the scene where he takes the team out to a burger joint and a few men eve-tease the ladies and they lose their sh*t over it. SRK just sits and lets the women do all the fighting. It’s so empowering to see such a scene in a film which has a Khan top-lining it. It is said that girls don’t get enough screen space in their movies but Chak De! India will always be an exception.

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Akshay Kumar – Toilet Ek Prem Katha

Scene: When Akshay Kumar resolves to get a toilet for his wife

Akshay is shown as a person who wouldn’t say or do anything that doesn’t please his father. But in this scene, when his father refused not to listen to Bhumi Pednekar’s request for a toilet, he criticizes him saying how his village doesn’t mind their women folk undressing in the open but they have an issue making a toilet at home to keep them safe. He goes against his father, his village, and traditions to ensure his wife is safe. How we wish men are always like that!

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We should applaud those who are trying to bring in a change here. After all, men are heard more in India than women!

Happy International Women’s Day to all those who gave us the real meaning of equality.

Published by Soniya Kaur on 08 Mar 2018