Alia Bhatt’s ‘Raazi’ to Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Manikarnika’ and Sonam Kapoor’s ‘Neerja’ – Bollywood’s highest grossing female centric films

Bollywood is no longer the men’s arena and actresses are also championing female characters on the silver screen. While Vidya Balan painted the story of Silk Smitha in ‘The Dirty Picture’, Sonam Kapoor brought to life the story of ‘Neerja’ and Alia Bhatt essayed the brave role of Sehmat in ‘Raazi’ – all of these were not just massively popular films but also set the cash registers ringing out loud. Ahead of Women’s Day, here’s taking a look at Bollywood’s female centric films which were top grossers at the box office.

This film was inspired from a team of Indian Space Research Organisation scientists who worked on the Mars Orbiter Mission, India's first interplanetary expedition. Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Nithya Menen and Kirti Kulhari came together to represent women involved in this mission and earned a worthy applause for their performance. ‘Mission Mangal’ raked in a whopping collection of Rs 192 crore. The film released in August 2019 also featured Akshay Kumar in a pivotal role.

Alia Bhatt delivered one of her best performances with ‘Raazi’. The 2018 thriller featured Alia in the role of a spy by the name of Sehmat. The narrative of ‘Raazi’ featured Alia taking up a brave undercover mission for the sake of her country. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, ‘Raazi’ earned a whopping Rs 122 crore at the box office. The film was massively popular and also featured Vicky Kaushal in a pivotal role.

Kangana Ranaut has often portrayed some truly entertaining female characters in films like ‘Tanu Weds Manu’, ‘Fashion’ and ‘Queen’. But with ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’, the actress got to essay a powerful warrior on the silver screen and her brave act earned a massive Rs 90 crore at the box office. She not just played the character of India’s iconic warrior queen but also co-directed the film with Krish. Also, Kangana's double role in 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' was massively applauded by the audience and the film raked in a whopping Rs 140 crore at the box office.

Vidya Balan has championed women in several films and one of her best performances was in 2012 release ‘Kahaani’. As a pregnant lady on a search for her husband’s killer and to avenge his death - Vidya's act was truly brave. Her role of a woman on mission was loved by the audience. The film earned Rs 57 crore at the box office. Apart from this, Vidya’s performance in ‘The Dirty Picture’ was also a huge hit. The film painted the story of South sensation Silk Simtha on the silver screen and earned Rs 79 crore, almost a decade ago.

Deepika’s simple avatar in ‘Piku’ was loved by fans. Her doting daughter act was aptly supported by Bollywood’s acting stalwarts – Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan. The Shoojit Sircar directorial narrated the story of a father suffering from constipation and his short-tempered daughter. ‘Piku’ hit the screens in 2015 and earned Rs 78 crore. ‘Piku’ focussed on the father-daughter relationship and went on to win hearts.

Sonam Kapoor earned a special mention honour at the 64th National Film Awards for her performance as she brought to life the story of Neerja Bhanot. Her heart-warming act of an air hostess who gave up her life to save that of the passengers was truly moving. The film received a lot of accolades and went on to earn Rs 71 crore at the box office. ‘Neerja’ is one of Sonam’s top grossers and her stirring solo performance is still remembered by many.