Bollywood and the Boozed Up Actress: From Meena Kumari to Kangana

How well do you think are drunk heroines portrayed in the Indian cinema?

Have our movies really progressed when it comes to handling female characters with a hard drink? (Photo: The Quint)

In Bollywood films, drinking always comes attached with a moral subtext. More so in the case of a female character. Either she is categorized into the trope of a good-girl-gone-bad, or she is a loose vamp who must suffer because of her dubious morals. Few films have let the female character just be — enjoying her drink — while staying away from the cliche of exhibiting the failings of her character.

But with Indian cinema trying its best to embody the pulse of the globalized youth, moral hangups have finally been shed and female characters are increasingly being written as strong, multi-faceted women who can also enjoy their hard drink. And the great thing is that screenwriters and directors are now adding more layers to their characters instead of just reducing them to a stereotype.