My View: The Ladies of Bollywood Have Never Seemed as Confident as They Did in 2016

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not in any way reflect the views of the organisation.

It is no secret that the newest Global Ambassador for the UN, Priyanka Chopra, has been everywhere in 2016. Coming off a triumphant phase in her career, Priyanka has never been more at home or more confident about her success. But there's a moment during one of her interviews (this time with international talk-show host, Ellen Degeneres), that completely communicates her metamorphosis. After exchanging goofy pleasantries, Ellen Degeneres points out that Hollywood basically gave Priyanka the ultimate red carpet treatment inundating her with some of the most plum offers the industry had to offer. It was a compliment. In situations like these, celebrities usually deflect the compliments with a well practiced magnanimous smile or self-deprecating jokes. But not Priyanka. She paused for a beat. And then went, "That's...I mean...kind of...what happened." And then she burst out laughing.

Unapologetic. Confident. Real. And shall we say it? Daring.

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Photo source: Flickr

But Priyanka is not alone. She just happens to be one of a growing number of Bollywood leading ladies who are unrepentant about being who they are and claiming what they want. 2016 was the year Kareena Kapoor decided to school an entire nation on what a pregnant woman can and cannot accomplish by refusing to stand down during her pregnancy. She caustically remarked to The Hindustan Times, "I’m pregnant, not a corpse...It’s the most normal thing on earth to produce a child...Stop making it a national casualty."

Proving her point, she starred in big budget films; walked the ramp at one of the biggest fashion shows in India, appeared in print and television campaigns...all the while gloriously embracing her pregnancy.

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Photo source: Wikimedia

2016 was the year when Alia Bhatt stunned the audiences with her prodigious talent and her sartorial choices that placed her in a league well above all of her peers (male and female). We barely had time to recover from her tour de force performance as a Bihari immigrant in Udta Punjab, when she did a complete 180 with her role as a career woman in Dear Zindagi and stole the movie right from under Shahrukh Khan's nose. In the midst of all the plaudits heaped on her, she took the time to stand up against slut shaming.

"The reason actresses don't talk about their private lives is because in our society there is a lot of slut-shaming. Eventually, I have a responsibility and I have to protect myself."

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