Kollywood in portraying female characters
By: Giridharan Shanmugavel
Tags: Feminism, Cinema, Kollywood, Indian Cinema, Society

Kollywood has always been a pioneer in portraying females as lead or holding gravity female roles.

Let’s start this list in chronological order.

Kalathur Kanamma (1959):

This movie released in 1960 was positively received and declared a hit. The name ‘Kannamma’ in the title is the female lead of the movie. Notably, this is the maiden movie of Kamal Hassan.

Pasa Malar (1961):

This is a trendsetting movie for brother-sister affection in Tamil cinema. This is surely one of the best movies of actress Savithri. There is an interesting instance to be remembered while the shoot of this movie. After an emotional scene in the movie was shot, Sivaji Ganesan and Savitri literally cried for one hour just because they can’t come out of their roles easily. Such a meaty and intense role, Kollywood has offered females way back in 1961.

Vani-Rani (1974):

This movie portrays the female role in a double act. The entire film revolves around the chaos created when the duo swaps their positions. And this movie also deemed to be a blockbuster.

Aval Oru Thodar Kadhai (1974):

This Balachandar directed masterpiece totally revolves around a middle-class woman who sacrifices her life to support her family. This director played a vital role in carving a stature for women in Tamil Cinema. He just reflected the plight of middle-class women in this movie.

Enipadigal (1979):

This Sivakumar starred movie revolves talented young girl becoming a movie star.

Moondram Pirai (1982) :

This movie portrays Sridevi as a mentally challenged girl who seeks asylum under Kamal Hassan. The actress is still remembered for this role.

Sindhu Bhairavi (1985):

One of the very early movies to deal with polygamy. This musical blockbuster is yet another testimonial to Balachandar’s brilliance.

Mouna Raagam (1986):

Then there came the master Mani Rathnam to the stage. Every movie of his will surely have a strong female role. This movie is no exception. Or probably the best movie of his to showcase a strong female role in the industry. The character ‘Dhivya’ depicted by actress Revathy is one of the most intense female roles.

Anjali (1990):

This movie moves around a mentally challenged young girl and her survival. Again a cult classic by Mani Rathnam.

Roja (1992):

The entire POV of the movie is from a rural girl Roja, who struggles in Kashmir to retrieve her husband from terrorists. Both a female lead and patriotic movie by Mani Rathnam.

Karuthamma (1994):

This movie accentuated the importance of a girl child in the state. The movie was well-received.

Padayappa (1999):

This blockbuster gave us ‘Neelambari’, the testimonial to any villain female lead in the industry. Probably one of the very few Rajni-starred movies where another character held equal gravity in the movie as the hero role.

Alaipayuthey (2000):

This love story showed a very intense female character played by actress Shalini. Easily one of the best movies of the decade.

Kannathil Muthammital (2002):

A movie that’ll surely stir us from inside. This film revolves around a girl adopted from a Srilankan-Tamil mother who denounces her during a chaotic situation, goes to Srilanka to see her parents. There are two female leads in the movie. One is the Amudha (the protagonist girl) and the other is Indira (an affectionate mother of the girl).

Maaya (2015):

This horror movie has no male lead. The film was well-received to become a box office hit.

Iraivi (2016):

The movie’s name itself means a “Goddess”. The film shows how a man’s action affects his family, who are in no way responsible for the act.

Aram (2017):

Another movie to have no male lead. This movie revolves around a woman collector and her life.

Aruvi (2017):

A rare movie to deal with AIDS and that too with a female lead. Yes, the movie revolves around a young girl who got infected with HIV and her life aftermath. Surprisingly the movie became a blockbuster proving that the industry encourages even a controversial movie with a female lead.

So, here I conclude. I know what I listed are very few among the plethora of movies out there. I gave a bit more importance to old movies as they are less likely to be known. Suggest me if you know any.