International Women's Day: Watch stories of women who are unafraid of owning their choices

As we run in the first week of March, we pick our favourite stories of the recent past from teleplays and TV shows in India that celebrate women in all their complexities, glory and power. Donning a powerful role while being homebound or in a corporate setup, these women show us just how things are run in this mad, mad world.

On International Women’s Day, here’s a list of some clutter-breaking shows and teleplays that have given us some of the most iconic female protagonists with their unique journeys. These stories not only have depth but offer a diversity of women’s experiences.

Watch stories that celebrate women in all their complexities, glory and power. These are stories of women who are not afraid to make mistakes and own their agency. From Agnipankh to Aarya, these include some popular and some not-so-popular choices:

Agnipankh

Written by playwright Prabhakar Laxman Mayekar, and first performed in the 1980s, this Zee Theatre teleplay is named after a Greek mythical bird rising from the ashes. Much like the phoenix, a fiercely self-willed matriarch Durgeshwari or ‘Baisaab’ tries to rise above the impending end of the feudal system in the fifties post India's independence. While she fights to keep her family and her 'zamindari' or feudal estate together, she also has to deal with the changing world.

Gudiya deals with colourism, harsh criticism, and negativity to keep her self-worth intact with humour and unwavering confidence. The show is directed for the stage by Samta Sagar, and stars Shweta Basu Prasad, Virendra Saxena, Samta Sagar herself, Ishtiyaq Khan, Saroj Sharma, Neha Saraf, Vikram Kochhar and Anveshi Jain. Watch this story on March 9 on Tata Play Theatre.

Ok Tata Bye Bye

Writer, director, and actor Purva Naresh in Ok Tata Bye Bye explores notions of morality, female agency, and freedom in this thought-provoking Zee Theatre teleplay. When filmmakers Pooja and Mitch arrive at a village near a highway to document a sex worker's life, their worldview, personal value system, and relationship undergo a major rejig. A confrontation between Pooja and a sex worker rips the veil off hypocritical notions about the meaning of female empowerment. The encounter leads to life-altering revelations that force Pooja to examine her own prejudices more closely.

Penned and directed for stage Purva Naresh, the teleplay is filmed by Ishan Trivedi. It stars Geetika Tyagi, Jim Sarbh, Prerna Chawla and Sarika Singh. Watch it on Airtel Spotlight, Dish TV Rangmanch Active, and D2H Rangmanch Active.

Aarya

Aarya is like no other. The Sushmita Sen starrer offers a female protagonist who tackles the tragedy of her world going upside down when her husband is shot dead and she has a staggering debt to pay off with gangsters after the life of her family. She finds herself turning from a simpleton wife-mother to a warrior who will go to any lengths to save her family, her children and ensure they enjoy the life they deserve.

For three seasons, the show kept audiences on the edge of their seats as Sen in the titular role took life and death decisions with extreme poise and compelling histrionics.

It is co-created by Ram Madhvani and Sandeep Modi, who also directed the series. Watch Aarya on Disney+ Hotstar. It also stars Sohaila Kapur, Chandrachur Singh, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Sikander Kher, Vikas Kumar, and Vishwajeet Pradhan among others.

The story is told from a woman's perspective by a woman director and makes the audience see the world via a female gaze. Directed by Sonam Nair, the show also stars Neil Bhoopalam, Satyadeep Mishra, and Suchitra Pillai and you can watch it on Netflix.

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