"Peeli dhoop pehenke tum Dekho baag mein mat jaana
Bhanwre tumko sab chhedenge
Phoolon mein mat jaana"
21 Years of Saathiya (20/12/2002). Saathiya is directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Mani Ratnam and Yash Chopra. The film stars Rani Mukerji, Vivek Oberoi, Sandhya Mridul, Sharat Saxena, Shahrukh Khan and Tabu. Songs by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar.
On December 2 of 2019, I posted my “32 Underrated Male Actors of Bollywood” list. In that post, I promised an underrated female actors list soon, and after two long months, I finally got to finishing it. The biggest reason why it took such a long time for me to put this up (apart from spending more time on my other posts) was that there was just way too many unnoticed talents to mention. Many of the women mentioned here don’t fit the typical mold of a Bollywood heroine, but possess such immense talent that it should be a crime to not notice them. So without any further ado, here are 32 underrated female actors of Bollywood. Keep in mind, I am willing to make add more as time passes on so please leave me some suggestions :)
Notable performances : Taare Zameen Par (2007), Qissa (2013), Rahasya (2015), Firaaq (2007), Bioscopewala (2017)
10. SUPRIYA PATHAK
Notable performances : Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (2013), Khichdi (2002-2004), Bazaar (1982), Wake Up Sid (2009), Love Per Square Foot (2018)
11. KONKONA SEN SHARMA
Notable performances : Wake Up Sid (2009), Page 3 (2005), Talvar (2015), Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016), 15 Park Avenue (2005), Luck By Chance (2009), Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), Mirch (2010), Aaja Nachle (2007), Kadambari (2015), Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? (2010)
Notable performance : Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), Made In Heaven (2019-), Bard of Blood (2019-), Ghost Stories (2019)
16. KUBBRA SAIT
Notable performances : Sacred Games (2018-), Jawani Jaaneman (2020)
17. TANNISHTHA CHATTERJEE
Notable performances : Angry Indian Goddesses (2015), Rough Book (2016), Brick Lane (2007), Parched (2015), Monsoon Shootout (2013), Watch Indian Circus (2011)
18. ANUPRIYA GOENKA
Notable performances : Criminal Justice (2019-), War (2019), Padmaavat (2018)
19. RATNA PATHAK SHAH
Notable performances : Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016), Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai (2004-2017), Kapoor & Sons (2016), Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008), Golmaal 3 (2010), Nil Battey Sannata (2015), Love Per Square Foot (2018)
20. HUMA QURESHI
Notable performances : Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Gangs of Wasseypur II (2014), Leila (2019), Badlapur (2015), Ek Thi Daayan (2013), Jolly LLB (2017), Dedh Ishqiya (2014)
Notable performances : Aisha (2010), Dear Zindagi (2016), The President Is Coming (2009), M Cream (2014), 30 Days in September (2017), Aisa Yeh Jahaan (2015)
30. KALKI KOECHLIN
Notable performances : Zindagi Na MIlegi Dobara (2011), Margarita With A Straw (2014), Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani (2013), Dev. D (2009), Shaitan (2010), Gully Boy (2019), That Girl in Yellow Boots (2010)
31. YASHASWINI DAYAMA
Notable performances : Dear Zindagi (2016), Delhi Crime (2019-), Phobia (2016), Made In Heaven (2019-)
32. LILLETE DUBEY
Notable performances : Kal Ho Na Ho (2003), Monsoon Wedding (2001), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), The Second Best Marigold Hotel (2015), The Lunchbox (2013), Break Ke Baad (2010)
I want to say it; I wish I could say it. This is a beautiful film. I can’t say it because it’s just not true. It’s not a bad movie, so I won’t rip it. Something about it is triggering for me. So, I would’ve approached it differently. Let’s just say there was room for improvement.
Awards : Best Short Film, Jio Filmfare Awards 2018, Best Actress – Short Film, Jio Filmfare Awards 2018
Synopsis :
One of the numerous traditions ailing the Indian family system even today is the male domination. Shefali Shah immaculately portrays an oppressed housewife who is over-burdened by household chores and duties while her husband comfortably sits with friends chatting, laughing, drinking and eating. When things go beyond tolerance, she expresses her anguish and pain by protesting in the most unique manner… a glass of juice in one hand and stern silence.
KALKI KOECHLIN : THE THOUGHT OF YOU
Director : Ahmed Roy
Views : 234,268 and counting
Award : Winner of Perfect 10 at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival
Synopsis : Kalki Koechlin, her husband and her friend are having a late-night party. Kalki gets suspicious about her husband’s illicit relationship with her friend when she sees them cosying up together. Upset, she leaves the party along with her husband. In the car Kalki enters into an ungly argument which culminates with an accident. Her husband, who is not wearing a seat belt, is grievously injured. In the hospital, Kalki’s friend accuses her of murdering her husband.
JACKIE SHROFF : SHUNYATA
Director : Chintan Sarda
Views : 573,584 and counting
Synopsis : A dark narrative about the life of a gangster played by the doyen of Bollywood Jackie Shroff, Shunyata is about how unforgiving and brutal are the ways of the underworld. The film highlights the grim fact that it takes only a moment of vulnerability to crossover to the dark side making the return impossible. And even if you manage to overpower the crucial moment, the people around will not let you escape, pulling you down using their gruesome might.
SANDHYA MRIDUL, RADHIKA APTE : THAT DAY AFTER EVERYDAY
Director : Anurag Kashyap
Views : 39,34, 571 and counting
Synopsis : A story extremely relevant to today’s day and age, inspires women, who face harassment by eve-teasers, road-side-romeos and goons, to give them back with courage and confidence. A slice-of-life short film captures the fear and dilemma of Radhika Apte, Arnnya Kaur and Gitanjali Thapa, who play typical lower middle-class housewives and victims of eve-teasing by local ruffians. Sandhya Mridul plays a superlative cameo who help and inspire the trio to fight back.
Synopsis : Set in the year 2067, the story explores the world without oxygen. With green house gases slowly engulfing our planet, the writer-director duo visualises the age when carbon with replace oxygen in the atmosphere, and oxygen would be sold and smuggled like gold, diamonds and drugs. Jackky plays a negative protagonist while Nawaz is a traveller from Mars. Prachi plays the love interest of Jackky who turns out to be a robot.
Synopsis : In a world where extra-marital relationships are on the rise, Chhuri shows the way to deal with husbands who take their wives for granted. Tisca Chopra plays a simple, down-to-earth wife who keeps ignoring his husband’s, played by Anurag Kashyap, immoralities… till the time she is chided by her own daughter for being too passive. The story narrates how she takes a sweet revenge on her husband by throwing a spanner in his extra-marital life.
Synopsis : A touching tale of a terminally ill person who sets out to seek the truth of life after his doctor gives him maximum two months to live. He travels to Varanasi, the land of Moksh, according to Hindu scriptures, where he comes face to face with different facets of life and how people view death from their own unique perspective. It’s a film that explores the delicate and eternal relationship between life and death.
SAURABH SHUKLA : ANUKUL
Director : Sujoy Ghosh
Views : 14,66,360 and counting
Synopsis : Man v/s machine. Originally written by Satyajit Ray, Anukul is a story of a robot called Anukul who is more a human than machine. In the world of automisation, where robots are being increasingly bought to replace humans at workplace, Anukul highlights the anguish of the people who lose their jobs in favour of these machines. There is a twist in the tale with robot proving to be a fortune for his master and death warrant for his detractor.
ASHUTOSH RANA : TEST DRIVE
Director : Sameer Chand
Views : 14,57,848 and counting
Synopsis : The film is a take on the trouble and the tribulations that struggling actors have to go through to find their feet in the highly competitive and mean Bollywood industry. Ashutosh Rana plays the role a struggling actor who meets with rejections and insults whenever he tries to prove his talent; his fifteen years of theatre experience notwithstanding. Test Drive is the real picture of what lies behind the glamour and glitz of film industry.
MILIND SOMAN, YASHPAL SHARMA : MUKTI
Director : Manu Chobe
Views : 15,67,144 and counting
Synopsis : This griping film is about India’s 1971 war with Pakistan. Milind Soman, in the role of Major General J. F. R. Jacob, is a masterclass and Yashpal Sharma, his Pakistani counterpart is equally brilliant. The film narrates behind the scene drama of how Major General Jacob negotiated India’s victory over Pakistan, leading to the birth of Bangladesh, an independent country free from Pakistani rule and regime.
VINAY PATHAK : DARK BREW
Director : Akash Goila
Views : 259,134 and counting
Synopsis : Love is perhaps the most complex of emotions to understand. Dark Brew, explores the grey area of this universal emotion by trying to delve into the question : What really makes someone fall in love even after having a beautiful, loyal and dedicated spouse? Vinay Pathak is superb in his portrayal of the character called Anil who loves his wife dearly but is also unable to leave his girlfriend. He wants them both but is not willing to accept the truth.