Thursday, 09 April 2026
Thursday, 09 April 2026
On screen and behind the camera, women in Indian cinema have long fought for space to tell stories on their own terms. For decades, narratives around women were largely shaped by male filmmakers. But over the past few years, a growing number of women directors have begun reclaiming that space. On International Women’s Day, here are six films directed by women that placed women’s voices firmly at the centre of the story.
Laapataa Ladies
Directed by: Kiran Rao
Released in 2024, Laapataa Ladies is a charming yet pointed social satire set in rural India. The film follows two newlywed brides — Nitanshi Goel and Pratibha Ranta — who get accidentally swapped during a train journey, triggering a chain of events that exposes the absurdities of patriarchal customs.
Rao uses humour to address serious issues — from female agency to the expectations placed on women within marriage. Instead of heavy-handed messaging, the film lets its characters grow and question the systems around them.
Streaming on: Netflix
Lipstick Under My Burkha
Directed by: Alankrita Shrivastava
Few films in recent years have captured women’s suppressed desires as boldly as Lipstick Under My Burkha. The film follows four women — Ratna Pathak Shah, Konkona Sensharma, Aahana Kumra, Plabita Borthakur — from different age groups and backgrounds, each grappling with personal dreams that clash with social expectations.
Shrivastava’s storytelling refuses to sanitise female desire or aspiration. Instead, she places it at the centre of the narrative, presenting women who are flawed, restless and determined to carve their own paths.
Streaming on: Prime Video
English Vinglish
Directed by: Gauri Shinde
English Vinglish remains one of the most heartfelt stories in Indian cinema about a homemaker realising her self-worth. The film follows Shashi (Sridevi), a homemaker who feels undervalued by her family because she cannot speak English fluently. During a trip to New York, she enrolls for an English language class and gradually discovers confidence and independence.
Shinde’s storytelling avoids melodrama, focusing instead on quiet moments of Shashi’s personal growth. The result is a deeply relatable portrait of a woman reclaiming respect — both from others and from herself.
Streaming on: ZEE5
All We Imagine as Light
Directed by: Payal Kapadia
Set in Mumbai, All We Imagine as Light is a meditative exploration of friendship, loneliness and longing among working-class women — Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam — navigating life in a vast city. Kapadia’s film unfolds through the intertwined lives of nurses who are far from home yet bound by shared struggles and hopes.
Rather than relying on dramatic plot twists, the film leans into atmosphere and emotional depth, offering a poetic glimpse into the interior worlds of its female characters.
Streaming on: JioHotstar
The Mirror
Directed by: Konkona Sensharma
Starring Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash, The Mirror is a short film part of Netflix’s Lust Stories 2 anthology. It offers an intimate look at female desire across class divides. When Isheeta (Tillotama Shome) discovers her house help Seema (Amruta Subhash) having sex with her husband in the former’s flat, the initial shock slowly turns into voyeuristic curiosity. As Isheeta begins watching the encounters through a mirror, both women develop an unspoken understanding that goes beyond lust.
Konkona’s film is a rare portrayal of women exploring their sexuality without shame, using the mirror as a metaphor for hidden desires and self-realisation.
Streaming on: Netflix
Mrs.
Directed by: Arati Kadav
In Mrs., director Arati Kadav reimagines the 2021 Malayalam drama The Great Indian Kitchen. Sanya Malhotra plays Richa, a dance teacher who marries gynecologist Diwakar (Nishant Dahiya) and moves into a seemingly comfortable home with his father (Kanwaljit Singh). Beneath the polished kitchen and privilege lies an unending cycle of unpaid domestic labour.
Kadav replaces the original’s simmering rage with a slow, claustrophobic despair, using everyday details — leaking sinks, mounting chores, stagnant water — to expose how patriarchy quietly erodes a woman’s autonomy.
Streaming on: ZEE5
