Are These Five Movies With Social Message On Your Watchlist?

Entertainment can be an agent of social change. Social messages delivered through movies reach the right audience scattered across class, caste and culture. Through their engaging and relatable plots, movies with social messages democratise the responsibility of social change by making it a phenomenon of the commons and not the elites. So for your next binge-watch, we bring to you a list of Bollywood movies that intimated social message through interesting plots.

BY RUDRANI GUPTA

1. Kali Khuhi

Kaali Khuhi is a horror movie addressing the issue of female infanticide. It is a story of a village that is haunted by the ghost of a girl child who was killed. It revolves around a village where a well harbours ominous secrets and becomes the centre of the supernatural plot. The movie shows that not only men but women too are responsible for perpetuating patriarchal oppression in society. Kaali Khuhi leaves us with a message that the millennial generation, especially millennial women, embodied by Riva Arora, have the strength to fight off the patriarchal oppressions being followed for a long time. The film also stars Sanjeeda Sheikh, Shabana Azmi, Satyadeep Mishra and Leela Samson in lead roles.

2.Chhalaang

Raj Kumar Rao, Nushrratt Bharuccha and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub’s Chhalaang is a feel-good movie delivering a message on gender equality. The movie breaks the stereotype that women are made for the kitchen and not for sports. Through a comic plot of a sports competition played by a team that includes girls, the movie shatters many gender stereotypes. Especially in the time when women have earned medals and names in the Olympics and Paralympics, watching this movie can be really empowering.

3. Pagglait

Starring Sanya Malhotra, Sayani Gupta and Shruti Sharma amidst other impactful casts, Pagglait is a powerful movie that breaks the stereotypes around widowed women. The movie represents widows not as tragic figures but as women with the right to be happy and independent. Rather than sulking in the corner wrapped in a white saree drenched in tears, Sandhya Malhotra’s character realises her right to be financially and socially independent. Through an engaging plot, the movie delivers the message that even if the world calls us mad, women shouldn’t stop being defiant and independent.

4. Madam Chief Minister

Madam Chief Minister stars Richa Chadha in the role of a Dalit woman chief minister. Through a plot that is not only intriguing but also deeply rooted in reality, the movie talks about the struggles that Dalit woman faces in the society. It is not a hidden fact that our society still believes in hierarchies based on caste and gender. Watching this movie’s empowering plot of a journey from rags to riches will reinstate your belief in caste and gender equality. The film also stars Akshay Oberoi and Manav Kaul amidst other powerful actors. We must add though the film’s poster was controversial as it showed Richa Chadha using a broom, stereotyping portrayal of Dalit people.

5. Sherni

Vidya Balan‘s most recent film Sherni is a movie that deals with social issues of wildlife conservation, corruption, stagnancy and male dominance in the state machinery and the patriarchal mindset of the general public. Through Balan’s character, a committed female forest officer, the movie talks about the importance of conserving wildlife and including more women in government services. Forest officer Vidya not only makes herself heard in the male-dominant space but also poses a quiet resilience against the state’s patriarchy. The film also stars Sharat Saxena and Vijay Raaz in pivotal roles. Watching this movie will give you a glimpse of the struggles and stereotypes that female officers face in government services and field works.

Courtesy : shethepeople

Note: This news piece was originally published in shethepeople.com and use purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights objectives.