Of pigtails & pistols

Manpriya Singh

Sitting beside a table, with two plaited pigtails and a pistol, no less; Alia Bhatt as Gangubai Kathiawadi, put the spotlight on the question not often posed. How many of female gangsters are there any way in B-town? While there’s no replicating the Marlon Brando in Godfather, but we have our own Godmother in Shabana Azmi. As for the numbers, if the lady wields a gun, she epitomises women empowerment of the reverse kind. So, taking stock of Bollywood’s lady gangsters, mafia queens and even ‘female Robinhoods’.

From the mafia operations in Porbandar, Gujarat that Santokben Jadeja of Godmother led by the hand to the much more fun and funky leather-jacketed Bholi Punjaban of Fukrey franchise, quite a range of lady goons exists on Indian celluloid.

“Bholi Punjaban is very angry, mean, has spent a year in jail and now that she is out, she only seeks revenge,” said Richa Chadha of her character in Fukrey Returns, and how the lady was nothing but a threat looming large on the three boys. If she had to pick one, actor Sawan Rupowali, who debuted with Harjeeta, would go for the titular character that Shraddha Kapoor played in Haseena Parker. Once again, one of the myriad, in the list of female goons, that themselves are a victim of circumstances, who believe in ends rather than means. Kangana Ranaut in political and black comedy Revolver Rani is another of the onscreen heroes, who as a leader of the political party, Alka Singh, is the ranger, who comes and rescues her hero Vir Das. Probably because it turned the tables on gender, for the actress said the film, even before its release, was a success for her. “We wanted to make it real and shot in the real locations of Chambal.” A place where actual dacoits asked for a selfie with the actress. Which is why for actress Shweta Tiwari Alka Singh in Revolver Rani is one of her favourite female gangsters. “In recent times, a lot of makers have been focusing on making women-centric movies underlining their influential take. One such woman is Kangana Ranaut. Be it Revolver Rani, Manikarnika or now Panga.”

Talk of the much dreaded gangsters, though not well received at the box office, Shraddha Kapoor as the Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parker, both on and off-screen, the coming of a woman who decides to no longer be a victim in a male dominated world. From the blushing bride to the Aapa, who faces as many as 88 cases of extortion, while the court may have taken a sympathetic view of the character, the critics didn’t.

In the pipeline was to be Deepika Padukone as Mumbai mafia queen Sapna Didi, though the film has been shelved for now. But given the Bollywood’s continuing penchant for real-life inspirations, some maker can also take a look at the lives of Reshma Menon and Shabana Menon. Which again brings us to another question, let alone Bollywood, how many female gangsters are there any way on Indian crime graph?