5 Women In Bollywood Who Live Life On Their Own Term!

Women’s Day 2020 Special: Bollywood is not a place for non-conformists. Women  who live  life on their  own terms  are seen as trouble-makers and shunned.  And yet there are some  who have overcome the shun and made a place for themselves under the sun.

1.     Ekta Kapoor:  She started  her  career  as a television producer in her father actor  Jeetendra’s garage. Ekta’s Balaji Telefilms  soon grew into a multi-million  corporate   empire. Ekta singlehandedly changed the  tele-viewing habits  of  Indians. For better  or for worse,  we are not saying. Eventually she branched  out  as a  movie producer as well. Opting not to marry, Ekta had a child through surrogacy last year.Headstrong and  unshakeable in  her beliefs she  wears  her multiple religious rings on her fingers  with as much pride as she occupies the chair  of  the first  female tycoon  of the Indian television industry.

2.     Sushmita Sen:  She is a full-blown non-conformist which is why Aishwarya Rai who won  the  Miss World crown during the same  year when  Sushmita  won Miss Universe, raced far ahead.Bollywood  just couldn’t decide where to place  Sushmita. They still can’t. Stunning, vivacious,  uninhibited, bohemian and self-willed  Ms Sen changes   her  boyfriends  as frequently as her heart wills without worrying over  log kya kahenge. She is  the superstar of  her own screenplay.She  lives  queen-size with her two  adopted daughters and does her own thing although  she has zero films on hand. More power to you.

3.     Hema Malini:  Indian cinema’s most successful  female hero  ever  has always done  what she liked.No  compromises. Almost every major leading man  of her times wanted to marry her. But Hema chose  the  much-married Dharmendra. They have  been together  and yet apart  for 40 years now. Hema has  maintained economic freedom  and brought up their two daughters singlehandedly. She  was  very clear about one thing. She  would never be  a homebreaker  and  never be called  the Second Wife.Celluloid  superstar, danseuse, wife, mother  and politician…When you are as  powerful and successful as  Hema you can change the rule of social decorum.

4.     Neena  Gupta: At 60 Neena  Gupta continues  to be the impetuous hottie who  can’t be  boxed into  any slot.At  30, Neena  Gupta became  Bollywood’s first unwed mother  when she gave  birth to her daughter  Masaba with West Indian cricketer Vivian Richards. As  she  told me , Neena never thought  of how she  would bring up her child alone. It was  tough . Bollywood had no place for her. And  the Shyam Benegals whom Neena got to work with were  known not to pay.Neena  still managed  to  bring up her daughter with dignity. The second  innings  of  her career started with Badhaai Ho in 2019 where  she plays an impregnated  55-plus  mother  of grownup  children .

5.     Dimple Kapadia: At 15,when the world was at her feet  after Bobby,Dimple threw  it all away and  impulsively married  India’s biggest superstar Rajesh Khanna  who  was twice her age. At 18 she was mother of two. At 22, she  was  out of her abusive  husband’s  home determined to rebuild her  film career and  to bring up her daughters  on her own.  With Sunny Deol by her side Dimple has managed  the impossible .She has made a dream  out of her nightmarish life.