Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a man who gave strong female characters to Indian Cinema

Annie (Manisha Koirala – ‘Khamoshi’)

Having deaf and mute parents and handling them would be so difficult, but Bhansali’s character Annie, played by Manisha Koirala managed that wonderfully. Manisha’s character in the film was so inspiring. The actress had portrayed the role amazingly and had won Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.

Paro, Chandramukhi (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit – ‘Devdas’)

Both Paro and Chandramukhi looked stunning and danced beautifully. But, their characters were as strong as Devdas. Paro got married to a man her mom found for her, but kept loving Dev. On the other hand, Chandramukhi left dancing for other people and surrendered her whole life for Dev. Both Aishwarya and Madhuri stole many awards for their performances.

Michelle McNally (Rani Mukerji – ‘Black’)

‘Black’ is one of the best works of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and even one of the best performances by Rani Mukerji. The story of a blind girl and her dream to achieve a graduation degree, ‘Black’ surely had one of the strongest female characters we had ever seen. Rani won all the Best Actress awards that year.

Sofia (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – ‘Guzaarish’)

Sofia in ‘Guzaarish’ gave 12 years of her life to take care of a paralyzed magician-turned-Radio jockey, Ethan Mascarenhas. Aishwarya’s character was of a nurse who is taking care of Hrithik’s character. Of course, they fall in love, and their love story too was explored in a very subtle manner. We still cannot forget her scene in the courtroom where she speaks on Ethan’s behalf, and also when she dances her heart out in the song ‘Udi’. What a brilliantly written character!

Leela (Deepika Padukone – ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela’)

A girl, who dares to love a guy from the rival family, gets married to him and then fights with her family to spend life with him. Leela showed what the true love is. The film was set in a rural area of Gujarat, and the character played by Deepika was something we don’t expect from girls in rural area. The actress nailed it in the film.

Mastani, Kashibai (Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra – ‘Bajirao Mastani’)

‘Bajirao Mastani’ was a love story between Bajirao and Mastani, but our heart went out for Kashibai and Mastani both. Mastani fought with the world to be with Bajirao, and Kashibai toughly accepted her husband’s extramarital affair, by accepting Mastani. And yes, not forget Deepika and Priyanka won awards for their excellent performance in the film.

Rani Padmavati (Deepika Padukone – ‘Padmavati’)

The movie has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. But, we are sure that like his other characters, Sanjay Leela Bhansali will also showcase the brave Rani Padmavati wonderfully in ‘Padmavati’. And believe us, we have full faith in Deepika that she will once again rule the award functions.