New Delhi: Director Shashanka Ghosh’s Veere Di Wedding that releases 1 June is the story of four friends played by Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania. While Bollywood has mostly focused on themes of “bromance” and male bonding, here are 10 films that took on female friendship.
1. Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017): Director Alankrita Shrivastava’s controversial black comedy focused on the lives of four women in small-town India, each dealing with their own struggles. The Ratna Pathak, Konkona Sen Sharma, Aahana Kumra and Plabita Borthakur–starrer made Rs16 crore at the box office.
2. Sonata (2017): Director Aparna Sen’s film saw her along with fellow actors Shabana Azmi and Lilette Dubey play middle-aged women introspecting on their lives as part of a narrative that spans a few hours. It made Rs25 lakh at the box office.
3. Jia Aur Jia (2017): The Howard Rosemeyer directed film tells the story of two women who bond during a road journey. The Richa Chadha and Kalki Koechlin-starrer made Rs72 lakh at the box office.
4. Pink (2016): Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Tariang play three friends fighting an urban patriarchal society in director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s courtroom thriller. The film starring Amitabh Bachchan made Rs65 crore at the box office besides winning the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.
5. Angry Indian Goddesses (2015): The Pan Nalin directed film took on a range of issues, from female objectification to homosexuality to tribal rights. The Sandhya Mridul, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sarah-Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda, Amrit Maghera and Rajshri Deshpande-starrer, which was described as India’s first female buddy film, made Rs2 crore at the box office.
6. Parched (2015): The Leena Yadav-directed drama narrates the story of three women struggling with individual issues in rural India, who finally come together and into their own. The Radhika Apte, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Surveen Chawla-starrer made Rs1.43 crore at the box office.
7. Dedh Ishqiya (2014): Madhuri Dixit and Huma Qureshi play close confidantes in director Abhishek Chaubey’s black comedy, a relationship that many critics pointed to also having romantic undertones. The film also starring Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi made Rs25 crore at the box office.
8. Queen (2014): An introverted Punjabi girl from Delhi (Kangana Ranaut) meets a free-spirited waitress (Lisa Haydon) while on a trip to Paris and Amsterdam, that was supposed to be her honeymoon. Director Vikas Bahl’s cult classic made Rs61 crore at the box office besides winning two National Awards.
9. Cocktail (2012): Before it turned into a love triangle, Homi Adajania’s romantic comedy focused on a close friendship between its two female leads, Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty. The film earned Rs74 crore in box office collections.
10. Aisha (2010): Sonam Kapoor plays some sort of matchmaker-cum-stylist to friends Amrita Puri and Ira Dubey in Rajshree Ojha’s romantic comedy drama set in upper class Delhi. The film earned Rs15 crore in box office collections.
All figures have been sourced from movie website Box Office India.