Films about women in India

Thaai Kizhavi (transl. Godmother) is a 2026 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by Sivakumar Murugesan, in his directorial debut. Produced by Sudhan Sundaram and Sivakarthikeyan under Passion Studios and Sivakarthikeyan Productions, the film stars Radikaa Sarathkumar in the titular role, alongside Singampuli, Aruldoss, Bala Saravanan, and Munishkanth. Thaai Kizhavi released in theatres on 27 February 2026 to critical acclaim and commercial success.

2002 Hindi film by Sanjay Leela Bhansali

2016 film directed by Nitesh Tiwari

1957 film directed by Mehboob Khan

2007 film directed by Shimit Amin

2005 film by Deepa Mehta

2012 film by Gauri Shinde

Neerja is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical thriller film directed by Ram Madhvani and written by Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh. It was produced by Atul Kasbekar's company, Bling Unplugged, alongside Fox Star Studios. The film stars Sonam Kapoor as the eponymous lead, with Shekhar Ravjiani, Shabana Azmi, Yogendra Tiku, Kavi Shastri and Jim Sarbh in supporting roles.

1992 film by Raj Kanwar

2014 film directed by Vikas Bahl

1996 film by Deepa Mehta

2001 film by Santosh Sivan

Charulata (, ; also known as The Lonely Wife) is a 1964 Indian drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Based on Rabindranath Tagore's novella Nastanirh, it stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, and Shailen Mukherjee. The film is widely regarded as one of Ray's finest works.

1994 film by Shekhar Kapur

Anjaam () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language psychological crime thriller film directed by Rahul Rawail. It stars Madhuri Dixit and Shah Rukh Khan in lead roles with an ensemble supporting cast including Sudha Chandran, Tinnu Anand, Johnny Lever, Beena Banerjee, Kiran Kumar, Kalpana Iyer and Himani Shivpuri, with Deepak Tijori in a guest appearance. This was the first time that Dixit and Khan were paired together. The film's music was composed by Anand–Milind, with lyrics written by Sameer. The film is about a woman facing the brunt of her obsessive lover. It also focuses on the atrocities commit

2008 film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar

2011 film by Milan Luthria

2014 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports film

Kahaani (; ) is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Sujoy Ghosh. It stars Vidya Balan as Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman looking for her missing husband in Kolkata during the festival of Durga Puja, assisted by Assist Sub-Inspector Satyoki "Rana" Sinha (Parambrata Chatterjee) and Inspector General A. Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui).

Fiza, elaborately known as Fiza: In Search Of Her Brother, is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action-thriller film written and directed by Khalid Mohamed, and produced by Pradeep Guha. The film stars Karisma Kapoor in the title role, alongside Hrithik Roshan and Jaya Bachchan, with supporting performances by Manoj Bajpayee, Bikram Saluja, and Isha Koppikar. Set in the aftermath of the 1993 Bombay riots, the narrative follows Fiza Ikramullah’s search for her brother Amaan, who had gone missing during the riots. When she finally reunites with him years later, she discovers that he has joined a mili

Mahanagar (, ) is a 1963 Indian Bengali-language drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Starring Madhabi Mukherjee in the leading role and based on the short story Abataranika by Narendranath Mitra, it tells the story of a housewife who disconcerts her traditionalist family by getting the job of a saleswoman. The film marked the first screen appearance of Jaya Bhaduri, one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses.

Zubeidaa is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Shyam Benegal and written by Khalid Mohammed. It stars Karisma Kapoor, Rekha, Manoj Bajpayee, Surekha Sikri, Rajit Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, and Shakti Kapoor. A.R. Rahman scored the background music and soundtrack.

2005 film by Pradeep Sarkar

2011 film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj

1962 film by Abrar Alvi

Mardaani () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Pradeep Sarkar and produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films. The film stars Rani Mukerji in the lead role, with Jisshu Sengupta, Tahir Raj Bhasin, and Anant Vidhaat Sharma in supporting roles. It is the first instalment in the Mardaani Trilogy. The narrative follows Shivani Shivaji Roy, a policewoman whose interest in the case of a kidnapped teenage girl leads her to uncover the secrets of human trafficking by the Indian mafia.

1960 Indian Bengali drama film directed by Satyajit Ray

1977 film by Shyam Benegal

1974 film by Shyam Benegal

2014 film directed by Imtiaz Ali

2005 film by Madhur Bhandarkar

1966 film by Lekh Tandon

2017 Indian film directed by Shree Narayan Singh

Thappad () is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed and co-written by Anubhav Sinha, starring Taapsee Pannu and Pavail Gulati. The film released theatrically on 28 February 2020. This film received positive reviews from both critics and audience.

2001 film by Rajkumar Santoshi

2018 film directed by Krish and Kangana

2000 film by M. F. Husain

1984 film by Satyajit Ray

2002 film by Krishna Vamsi

2011 film by Raj Kumar Gupta

Rudaali (pronounced "roo-dah-lee"; ) is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Kalpana Lajmi, written by Lajmi and Gulzar and based on a 1979 short story of the same name by Bengali author Mahasweta Devi. Set in a small village in Rajasthan, the film stars Dimple Kapadia as Shanichari, a lonely and hardened woman who, despite a lifetime of misfortune and abandonment, is unable to express grief through crying and is challenged with a new job as a professional mourner. Raakhee, Raj Babbar, and Amjad Khan appear in supporting roles. Produced by the National Film Development Corporati

2016 Hindi film directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury

2017 film directed by Ravi Udyawar

2015 film by Pan Nalin

2006 film by Nagesh Kukunoor

2020 film directed by Sharan Sharma

Aandhi () is a 1975 Indian political drama film starring Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen, and directed by Gulzar. At the time it was alleged that the film was based on the life of the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her relationship with her estranged husband, but in reality, only the look was inspired by the politician Tarkeshwari Sinha and Indira Gandhi. The story is based on a chance meeting of an estranged couple after several years, when wife Aarti Devi, now a leading politician happens to stay in the hotel run by her husband during an election campaign. The movie is noted for its so

1988 film by Rakesh Roshan

Mohra () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written, edited and directed by Rajiv Rai and produced by his father Gulshan Rai. It stars Naseeruddin Shah, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Poonam Jhawer, Raza Murad, Paresh Rawal, Gulshan Grover, and Sadashiv Amrapurkar. The film was also the first collaboration among the trio of Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal, who went on to collaborate several times later on.

Astitva () is a 2000 Indian film made simultaneously in Marathi and Hindi languages, written and directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. The film tells the story of Aditi Pandit, a happily married woman whose husband Srikant Pandit becomes suspicious when she unexpectedly receives a fortune willed to her by her former music teacher, Malhar Kamat. Srikant tries to figure out why she had received the inheritance from Kamat, many years after the music classes had ended, and subsequently makes a discovery.

1980 film by Govind Nihalani

2016 film directed by AR Murugadoss

2001 film by Madhur Bhandarkar

Chhapaak () is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the film stars Deepika Padukone in leading role of a character inspired by Agarwal alongside Vikrant Massey and Madhurjeet Sarghi. It marked Padukone's production debut, and acting comeback after two years since Padmaavat (2018). The film was jointly backed by Fox Star Studios, Ka Productions, Avernus Productions and Mriga Films.

2024 Indian film directed by Shuchi Talati

1961 film by Satyajit Ray

1975 film by Shyam Benegal

1953 Indian film by Bimal Roy

2020 film by Anu Menon

2019 film directed by Gopi Puthran