Once Aamir Said “Mhaari Chhoriyan Chhoron Se Kam Hai Ke”
From Leading Solo Missions To Epic battles, our Bollywood Divas proved that action is not only a man’s game. Here we have a list of some kickass films where female protagonists performed some of the best hand to hand combats, stunts and use of weapons.
1. Untitled Spy Universe Film (2026)
Director – Shiv Rawail
Produced by – Yash Raj Films
Release – 2026
Alia Bhatt and Sharvari Wagh are all set to be the face of th first female-led Spy Universe film. They have already started training and the film goes on floors very soon. As per reports, there will be 7 big action set pieces in the film. Not only this, Bobby Deol is the antagonist in the film and will be seen doing some close combat fight sequences with the girls. Saari Duniya Spy Universe Jala Denge?
2. Tiger Franchise (2012-2023)
Director – Kabir Khan, Ali Abbas Zafar, Maneesh Sharma
Produced by – Yash Raj Films
Watch on – Prime Video
Absolutely, Katrina Kaif’s portrayal of Zoya in the Tiger franchise is really unforgettable. Katrina dedicated herself to the role, undergoing tough training under professional fight artists from the US. She is definitely one of the most loved female characters in action films and her action sequences are pure class.
3. Dhaakad (2022) Action Queens
Director – Razneesh Ghai
Produced by – Zee Studios
Watch on – Zee5
Dhaakad promos gave us a glimpse of how we could achieve superb female action films at par with Hollywood. But sadly the screenplay and overall execution got in the way and the film did not fare well both in terms of quality and box office collections.
Kangana underwent training for 3 months along with the other artists who were in the scenes with her. She performed most of the stunts herself and she looked superb on screen.
4. ARTICLE 370
Director – Aditya Dhar
Produced by – Aditya Dhar Films, Jio Studios
Watch on – Netflix
This was the first time we have seen Yami Gautam in an full-fledged action role. She not only performed her action sequences well, but also carried out the demeanour of a soldier in all her scenes, whether they are emotional, investigative, or personal. The film itself was carried on the shoulders of two female protagonists and both were terrific in their respective roles.
5. Pathaan (2023)
Director – Siddharth Anand
Produced by – Yash Raj Films
Watch on – Prime Video
Pathaan was majorly a Srk-John film, but Deepika shined in her limited role in terms of action. She performed some close combat action sequences in the first half while showcased her skills in use of weapons in the second half. We wish to see her do more of action than dance in Pathaan 2.
Imagine a sequence in future Spy Universe film where all the 4 Spy ladies fight together.
6.Mardaani Franchise (2014-2019)
Director – Pradeep Sarkar, Gopi Puthran
Produced by – Yash Raj Films
Watch on – Prime Video
Movies focusing on female police officers happen very rarely In Bollywood. Mardaani was an exceptional franchise with good story, strong villains and Rani Mukherji as a brilliant female cop. Apart from the acting, she even did few fight scenes, which were more raw and real than cinematic.
7. Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota(2018)
Director – Vasan Bala
Produced by – RSVP Movies
Watch on – Netflix
Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota is yet-another underrated action-thriller helmed by Vasan Bala, who’s currently working on Alia Bhatt’s and Vedang Raina starrer, Jigra. In the film Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota, we see Radhika Madan as Supri, who learns Karate and becomes a vigilante. In an interview she revealed that she got trained for the role and performed the close-combats, the kicks and punches herself.
8. Raazi (2018)
Director – Meghna Gulzar
Produced by – Dharma Productions
Watch 0n – Prime Video
Ali played a spy before entering the Spy universe. In Raazi, she plays the role of a RAW agent Sehmat, who gets married to a Pakistani military officer so that she can pass useful intel across the border. Jaideep Ahlawat plays the role of her mentor/training officer, who teaches her the art of deception, use of technology, communication, use of weapons and hand to hand combats. It was a very different role for Alia as per what she was doing before.
Do You Know? Raazi is based on a book called “Calling Sehmat,” written by Harinder Sikka.
9. Naam Shabana (2017)
Director – Neeraj Pandey
Produced by – Cape of Good Films
Watch on – Netflix
Naam Shabana served as a spin-off to Baby (2015) which was released in 2015 starring Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher and Rana Daggubati in the lead. A spin-off is very rare in Bollywood, that too of a character that appeared only for a brief time. Naam Shabana got it’s due on OTT later, where Akshay played a cameo. [insert Ajnabee meme here]
Similar to Raazi, Taapsee too got trained as a secret agent but she had more action pieces which she played beautifully.
10. NH10 (2015)
Director – Navdeep Singh
Produced by – Clean Slate Films
Watch on – Jio Cinema, Zee5
NH10 was Anushka’s first film as a producer and the only action-thriller in her filmography. We can say it was more of a survival film than an action film, but fighting, killing and using anything available as weapon becomes a priority in survival stories. Plus shooting them is equally difficult, hence these may not be similar to big action set pieces, but they can be put into the action category for sure.
11. Mary Kom (2014)
Director – Omung Kumar
Produced by – Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Vicky Bhatia
Watch on – Netflix
Mary Kom is one of the best Motivational-Biography-Sports-Action-Drama film in Bollywood. We can also say it is one of the best From Priyanaka’s filmography.
She played the role of Mary Kom – a female Indian boxer who won the world championship 5 times. She trained day and night for that role, learning new tactics of boxing and mannerisms of a sportsperson. Mary Kom herself used to teach her during the shooting of the film.
12. Akira (2016)
Director – A R Murugadoss
Produced by – Star Studios and A R Murugadoss
Watch on – Disney+Hotstar
How can we miss a perfect action entertainer Like Akira? In the film, Sonakshi proved that she is not limited to just romance and comedy. She underwent serious training for this one, as it had more of close range fight scenes than big action sequences or use of weapons. Her character was aggressive, arrogant and always ready to fight.
If you look at Sonakshi’s filmography, you will see that she has done only one action film in her whole career. It’s sad that actors, directors and producers don’t continue something new or different if it fails in the first attempt.
13. Apurva (2023)
Director – Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Produced by – Star Studios And Cine1
Watch on – Disney+Hotstar
Apurva is a survival drama-thriller, with a whole lot of action (same reason as NH10). The entire story spans less that 25 hours, where Apurva has to survive as it becomes a game of life and death for her.
Running and killing with anything available becomes the basic premise of the film. Tara Sutaria definitely gave her best performance till date.
Which movie or performance you love the most out of these? Let us know if we missed out on any of the action queens that deserve to be in this list.
Also read: Women’s Day Special – 8 Times Bollywood Films Were Carried By Female Protagonists
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