On International Women's Day, we celebrate the women who have made an indelible mark in literature, cinema, and the arts over the past year. Their exceptional work highlights the power of women telling their own stories, offering unique perspectives that shape narratives across the globe. Today, we honor their contributions, creativity, and resilience, acknowledging the incredible impact they have made in these industries and beyond.
Anita Desai
At the age of 87, Desai returned to the literary scene with her first novel in a decade last year. Rosarita explores the gulf between a mother and daughter in around hundred pages. She takes us to San Miguel, Mexico, where we meet Bonita, a woman who encounters an elderly stranger claiming to be a friend of her deceased mother. Rosarita is a powerful exploration of the challenges migrant women face as they navigate borders, cultures, time, and identity, shedding light on the often unseen lives of mothers.
V.V. Ganeshananthan
V.V. Ganeshananthan won the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction with her powerful novel, Brotherless Night. Set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's early years of civil war, the book offers a poignant exploration of one woman’s moral journey, reflecting the lasting impact of war and the deep ties of home. She explores women's strength and survival amid violence, drawing inspiration from the experiences of women who have endured conflict.
Shahnaz Habib
Shahnaz Habib, renowned for her translation of the 2018 JCB Prize-winning book, Jasmine Days, ventured into the world of travel writing with her book, Airplane Mode: A Passive-Aggressive History of Travel, for which she won the 2024 New American Voices Award. As a translator, Habib often traveled through languages, making distant and culturally estranged places accessible to English readers. This linguistic journey naturally extended to her writing about real-world adventures. Her book provides a witty and personal account of the history of travel through the perspective of a Muslim woman from the global south.
Payal Kapadia
Filmmaker Payal Kapadia made history last year when her debut fiction feature, All We Imagine as Light, became the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix, the second-highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival. The film poetically explores the lives of three nurses navigating loneliness and longing in fast-paced Mumbai. It focuses on female friendship, hope, desire, and self-liberation amid the city's promises and distractions.
Kiran Rao
Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies was chosen as India's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. The film captivated audiences nationwide by highlighting the struggles and resilience of women, offering a powerful commentary on societal norms and gender dynamics, all while balancing humor and poignancy.
Nitya Mehra
Nitya Mehra's Amazon Prime series, Big Girls Don’t Cry, explores into the lives of girls during teenage years. The series follows a group of young girls navigating the complexities of independence, rebellion, friendship, love, heartbreak, and dreams, all while challenging societal and school norms. Throughout their journey, each girl grapples with the internal struggle to stay true to her identity. This seven-part series offers a raw and realistic exploration of the struggles and triumphs of adolescence.
Shuchi Talati
Shuchi Talati released a cinematic tribute to the journey of womanhood and the complex dynamics of the mother-daughter relationship last year. Girls Will Be Girls follows Mira, a young girl navigating her sexuality and love in a patriarchal society. The film made history by winning the John Cassavetes Award at the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards. It also premiered in the World Dramatic Feature category at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award and the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting.
Sujata Setia
At the intersection of personal experience and artistic expression, British Indian photographer Sujata Setia has created a body of work that dares to look at the most painful, silenced parts of society. Her recent project A Thousand Cuts, showcased at the recent edition of Madras Art Weekend, reinterprets the metaphor of Lingchi, an ancient Chinese form of torture known as 'death by a thousand cuts,' to reflect the cyclical nature of domestic abuse. She has won BJP’s Women in Focus, 2024 Creative Category in the Sony World Photography Awards, Gold at the AOP, Fine Art Portrait at the International Photography Awards and many more.
Words Platform Desk
Date 06.03.2025