13 movies on strong female friendships to stream on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and more

For many years, true onscreen friendships were shown from a male perspective, with men at the heart of the stories. Think Sholay and its Jai and Veeru. More contemporary features like Dil Chahta Hai and 3 Idiots, too, proved that men can share an everlasting bond with each other. But where was the depiction of female friendships?

In Nagesh Kukunoor’s poignant film, Dor (2006), fate soon brought together Meera and Zeenat who belonged to different backgrounds, giving us one of the most beautiful onscreen female alliances. The 2015 Pan Nalin-directorial, Angry Indian Goddesses, was billed as India’s first female buddy film and was truly a trailblazer in its depiction of women who stand by each other through thick and thin. While there were a few other stories that almost made the cut to the list, here’s our edit of movies on female companionship that you should watch at least once with your best girls. 

Veere Di Wedding (2018)

With four friends and a wedding—thankfully no funeral—Veere Di Wedding is about BFFs Avni (Sonam Kapoor Ahuja), Sakshi (Swara Bhaskar), Meera (Shikha Talsania) and Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor Khan) who reunite for Khan's wedding. Themes like female sexuality and patriarchy found their way in as well. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was lauded for its performances by the cast.

Streaming on ZEE5

Sex and the City (2008)

In a conversation about onscreen female friendships, it’s impossible not to think of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. The four friends navigating their way through heartaches and relationships in New York City were the perfect plot for the comedy-drama series based on Candace Bushnell’s book by the same name. In the film, the fashion-forward girl gang goes through their share of heartbreaks and re-unions and at the end, it’s the sight of the four of them sipping on cocktails that tells you that all is well in their world.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Aisha (2010)

Meddling in your friends’ lives can sometimes create havoc, and Aisha’s attempts to find the right match for her friends often lead her into tricky situations. But true friends stick together. When Aisha and her bestie Pinky (Ira Dubey) have a falling out, they are there for each other when it matters the most in this adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, Emma.

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)

Oh, what wouldn’t we do to go back to our teenage lives, when summer holidays meant spending all our free time with the girlfriends and making plans for the future! While we can’t do that anymore, watching Lena, Tibby, Carmen and Bridget’s adventures as they spend their first summer away from each other, is like a trip down memory lane. 

Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

Fashion (2008)

Aspiring model Meghna (Priyanka Chopra) comes to Mumbai to make it big in the fashion world and finds a mentor and guide in Janet (Mugdha Godse), a model herself. Post a fallout, once again, it is Janet who comes to Meghna’s rescue, proving that competition and ego don't exist when it comes to real friendship. It is this lesson that also encourages Meghna to reach out to another model, Shonali (Kangana Ranaut), when the latter is in trouble.  

Streaming on Netflix

Mamma Mia! (2008)

When Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) decides to get married, it gives her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) the perfect excuse to reunite with her besties Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski). The movie truly comes alive in the scenes that involve these three women dropping their guard and letting their hair down with each other. Long-term friendships that make life a little more worthwhile—that’s what this tight-knit trinity is all about.

Streaming on Netflix

Queen (2013)

A conservative and unhappy Rani (Kangana Ranaut) is on a solo honeymoon to Paris after being dumped by her fiancé a day before their wedding. Drunk and dejected, she bumps into Vijayalakshmi (Lisa Haydon), a free-spirited woman who lives life on her own terms. The duo form an unlikely friendship, roaming around the streets of Paris, falling into adventures and living it up in the City of Light.

Streaming on Netflix

Clueless (1995)

Considered to be one of the best teen films of all time, the coming-of-age movie has acquired a cult status among its followers over the years. The friendship between Cher (Alicia Silverstone), Dionne (Stacey Dash) and Tai (Brittany Murphy) might look superficial, but it’s actually pretty rich and compelling. Initially, Cher thinks of Tai as her project but by the end, the girls allow each other to tread their own paths, without any judgments. Now, isn’t that what real friends do?  

Streaming on Netflix

Parched (2015)

Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee), Lajjo (Radhika Apte) and Bijli (Surveen Chawla) aren’t sitting around, partying, gossiping, or having fun. Their friendship is based on the shared experience of facing injustice and atrocities in the face of patriarchal norms. The bond of sisterhood that forms between the trio gives them the courage to protect each other and ultimately, run away and escape their trapped lives.  

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Girl, Interrupted (1999)

When things threaten to spiral out of control, it’s your friends you turn to. And when the setting is a psychiatric hospital, even more so. Susanna (Winona Ryder), a troubled young woman, finds a mentor and friend in Lisa (Angelina Jolie), as she tries to make sense of the thoughts inside her head and the messy world outside. She also forms a kinship with her roommate Daisy (Brittany Murphy). While the ending is not entirely happy for the gang of friends, it's a realistic depiction of friendships that sometimes can even be toxic. The film is set in the late 1960s and based on a true story.

Streaming on Netflix

Cocktail (2012)

When the painfully shy and traditional Meera (Diana Penty) meets party girl Veronica (Deepika Padukone), it seems highly unlikely that the two would have anything in common to bond over, forget turning into besties. But opposites do attract—at least that’s what happens in with the duo, who, unfortunately, also fall for the same man. Veronica sacrifices her love for the sake of friendship, proving that while boys may come and go, girlfriends are forever.

Streaming on ZEE5

Thelma and Louise (1991)

There is a reason some films become classics. In the case of this Ridley Scott-directorial, about two female friends on the run from the law after one of them shoots a man for attempting to rape the other, there were many. But foremost among them was the friendship between the leads, Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon). It’s the kind of relationship where there is freedom and empowerment; the kind where you would be willing to kill for the other, literally.    

Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

Steel Magnolias (1989)

Sally Field, Sarah MacLain, Dolly Parton, Darryl Hannah and Julia Roberts play a group of friends in a small-town community and catch up with each other in a Louisiana beauty parlour. Amidst the hairstyling and nail polishing, they also share stories of love, loss and life. They are there for each other in their most difficult times and even have you come out laughing on the other end.

Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

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