Hema Malini to Priyanka Chopra: Bollywood’s women police officers

Priyanka Chopra in ‘Jai Gangaajal’

There have been innumerable cop films in Bollywood. But Prakash Jha’s ‘Jai GangaaJal’ stands out since it portrays a woman police officer, played by Priyanka Chopra. Looking back, one would realise that this is indeed a rare occurrence in Bollywood since characters of police officers are usually played by male cops. This is indeed surprising considering such a high number of females in the police force.

Have a look at those rare Bollywood films that successfully paid tribute to our female cops by clicking the following slides…

Tabu in ‘Drishyam’

Tabu brought out the most intense portrayal of a woman police officer in Bollywood, in Nishikant Kamat’s ‘Drishyam.’ She was appreciated for underplaying her character and emoting through her expressions and body language, despite entering the scene at interval point. She had her task cut out since actress Asha Sarath, who played the same role in the original Malayalam film, was highly appreciated.

Rani Mukerji in ‘Mardaani’

A majority of times, only males are associated with the image of a tough cop as far as Hindi cinema is concerned. But Rani Mukerji broke all stereotypes with a bold character in Pradeep Sarkar’s ‘Mardaani.’ The audience was also surprised to see a female character resorting to violent fight scenes and a banner like Yash Raj Films making a film in a completely un-Yash Raj manner.

Bipasha Basu in ‘Dhoom 2’

‘Dhoom 2’ wasn’t all about action and the chor-police game between Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan. The film had, by far, the most glamorous avatar of a female cop in Bollywood films. Being a film from the ‘Dhoom’ franchise, this doesn’t come as a surprise. Therefore, needless to say, Bipasha was not seen in a khakee vardi even once. But she does get to flaunt her cop-ness more than once.

Hema Malini in ‘Andha Kanoon’

Director Tatineni Rama Rao’s ‘Andha Kanoon’ is known for two reasons – the priceless pairing of Amitabh Bachchan-Rajinikanth and the title song. But the film had a rarity in the form of Hema Mailini playing a cop. She managed to do justice to her character by displaying confidence and aura. Despite the presence of stalwarts like Big B and Rajinikanth, Malini managed to get more than noticed.