By Rajesh Ahuja

New Delhi, Dec 26 (UNI ) The world of Bollywood, known for its predominance of stories revolving around men, this year saw women holding the centrestage with a number of films released in 2017 reflecting their desires and preferences.

Films like 'Anarkali of Arah', 'Simran', 'Tumhari Sulu', 'Bareilly ki Barfi ' and 'Lipstick Under My Burqa' saw

women being the focus of attention rather than their male counterparts.

Whether it be the story of a bored housewife trying her hand at being a radio jockey as a means to escape

her humdrum existence in 'Tumhari Sulu', an unconventional girl looking for a suitable boy for herself in

'Bareilly ki Barfi ' or women from different walks of life trying to fulfill their secret desires in a male-dominated system in 'Lipstick under my Burqa ', the year 2017 saw Bollywood increasingly come up with films that

reflected a society where women are increasingly forthright about their desires and their choices.

This year saw release of 'Tumhari Sulu', a slice-of-life film reflecting the desire of a housewife Sulochana

(Vidya Balan) to get out if her humdrum existence and carve an identity for herself.

Directed by Suresh Triveni', 'Tumhari Sulu' is about a happy go lucky housewife Sulochana who dreams

and desires for a life beyond the confines of her home. It is this desire that leads her to become a night RJ

in a radio station.

The film struck a chord with its depiction of insecurities existing in housewife in middle-class nuclear households.

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s 'Bareilly Ki Barfi ' dealt with the story of an unconventional small town woman Bitti

(Kriti Sanon) looking for acceptance in a society which expects its women as paragons of virtue.

Featuring Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi and Seema Pahwa in key roles, the film shows how Bitti, a small town modern woman who drinks and does break dance, wishes to be accepted as she is. Having found acceptance in the pages of a book titled Bareilly Ki Barfi, Bitti sets out to meet Pritam Vidrohi (Rajkummar), the author of the book with help from Chirag Dubey (Ayushmann), who incidentally is

the actual author.

The film won rave reviews from critics and turned out to be an above average grosser.

'Lipstick under my Burqa ' was another film that bought alive on screen the efforts by women to fulfill their desires in a male dominated system.

Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, 'Lipstick Under My Burkha' deals with lives of four middle-class womanhood living in a small town but looking to fulfill their desires.

Featuring Ratna Shah Pathak, Konkona Sensharma, Plabita Borthakur and Aahana Kumra, released, evoked controversy with the censor board due to its depiction of women’s sexual desires .

Another film that focused on a girl's desire to realize her dreams was 'Secret Superstar ' .

Advait Chandan’s debut film Secret Superstar is a story of a 10th class student Insiya Malik ( Zaira Wasim), who dreams of becoming a successful singer in Bollywood in the face of fierce opposition from her father. The film charts Insiya's journey to realise her dream.

The year also saw the release of films like 'Shaadi mein Zaroor Aana' and 'Badrinath ki Dulhanian', which showed their women protagonists (Kriti Kharbanda & Alia bhstt) elope from their marriage function to fulfil their dreams of becoming an IRS officer and a flight attendant.

Another film where women held centre stage this year was 'Anarkali of Arah'.

Written and directed by debutant Avinash Das, 'Anaarkali of Arah' was about a small-town erotic folk

dancer in Arah in Bihar (Swara Bhaskar). The film revolves around her confrontation with a vice-chancellor played by Sanjay Mishra.

In an industry known for its predominance of stories revolving around men, films like 'Anarkali of Arah', 'Simran','Tumhari Sulu', 'Bareilly ki Barfi ' and 'Lipstick Under My Burqa' featuring women at the centrestage , came as a breath of fresh air.

Trade experts feel that the reasonably good showing by many of these films like Tumhari Sulu', 'Bareilly ki Barfi ' and 'Lipstick Under My Burqa' at the box office could well pave the way for many more such films in the coming years.

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