Bollywood's leading ladies are warming up to action roles

Bollywood’s leading ladies are changing, not just in their looks but in the roles they play. They are shifting from dainty damsel to damsels no longer scared of wringing in mud by defining themselves with action roles they take up. Gone are the days of body doubles as our stars bite the bullet when it comes punch packed roles.

A post shared by Katrina Kaif (@katrinakaif) on Dec 6, 2017 at 3:24am PST

Katrina Kaif turned around her image of just being a pretty face in Tiger Zinda Hai as she took on her role of a Pakistani secret agent headlong. Her Instagram videos stand testimony to the time the star spent in perfecting the fight choreography. She punched, hit, and boxed her trainer with practised ease and is repeating her sessions for Thugs of Hindostan as well as she gears up to star aside Amitabh Bachchan.

A post shared by Katrina Kaif (@katrinakaif) on Jan 2, 2018 at 11:57pm PST

Bollywood seems to be getting more and more demanding of its leading ladies, as they now have to look pretty with abs. Fighting has been added to the criterions of acting, dancing and romancing. It is not just Katrina but other stars too who are taking up these action based roles.

A post shared by fatima sana shaikh fanpage (@fatimasanashaikhfeeds) on Jan 10, 2018 at 1:18am PST

Dangal girl Fatima Sana Sheikh rolled in the dirt for an excruciating length of time to play the role of a wrestler. She carried on despite a fractured ankle. While these stars may shoot for second long action shots, their efforts add up to hours at the rehearsal rings.

A post shared by Taapsee Pannu (@taapsee) on Oct 8, 2017 at 9:39am PDT

Currently trending, Taapsee Pannu put her muscles to work as she trained in Krav Maga, Aikado and MMA for Akshay Kumar starrer Baby. When she was placed opposite Karate chopping Kumar, she made sure her efforts did not look bleak.

A post shared by Tellychakkar Official ® (@tellychakkar) on Oct 12, 2017 at 4:46am PDT

Kangana Ranaut is a lady who loves new challenges. The star while shooting for her period based biopic, Manikarnika, hurt herself several times on set as she tried to wield her heavy sword sans a body double.

Nimrat Kaur is the latest to play a female commando struggling to make her mark in a man's world. Her web series Test Case will soon be available after a break of almost 9 months.

A-listers seem to have set off the trend of action roles for heroines in Bollywood. As Priyanka Chopra traversed to Hollywood for Quantico to play the role of an FBI agent, others took notice. This was followed by Deepika Padukone entering Hollywood’s water with her swift gun skills in XXX opposite Vin Diesel.Our leading ladies are not compromising when it comes to action roles, even if it means getting down and dirty.