Women's Day: The most powerful characters of small screen

Women's Day: The most powerful characters of small screen

The small screen has always had brought the best of the female protagonists who have made an emphatic mark on the viewer's mind.

While women characters told the stories of women empowerment and brought forth various interesting aspects of the society, there have been some female protagonists in English and Hindi soaps who've gone on to become evergreen characters and sometimes even role models that almost every woman relates to. Here's a look at some of the most powerful characters of television who were changemakers in their own way.

Anandi, Balika Vadhu
This one needs one big thumbs up for many reasons. One, the character of the protagonist Anandi is a potent cocktail of endurance, perseverance and a strong will to make life better. While Anandi's character sketch was masterfully done, the viewer found an immediate connect to her story that addressed many issues that still plague the Indian society from thinking 'liberation for women', especially socially.

Sona, Housewife Hai ...
Perky Suhasi Dhami gives another angle of interest to the character of Sona, the show aptly titled Housewife Hai...Sab Jaanti Hai brings to the fore the everyday challenges of the average Indian housewife. The protagonist's point of view is just a reflection of what's going in every Indian woman's life - including kitchen politics and so on

Priya, Bade Acche Laggte Hai
For one moment, the social networking fraternity could not but stop raving about Priya's bold moves in a sizzling love scene that generated lots of viral viewership. Well, there is more to Priya than the Ram-Priya romantic angle. Priya, played by Sakshi Tanwar has it all to make it a point. And the urge within to make life more beautiful around her is what's winning her brownie points in terms of fan following.

Lily Aldrin, How I Met Your Mother
In a story replete with satire and laughter, Lily Aldrin played by Alyson Hannigan manages to grab every younggirl's imagination with her sheer wit. Sometimes, it helps just be 'yourself', that's what the character speaks out. And that's why the instant connect.

Pratigya, Mann Ki Awaaz
The story certainly revolved around cause and effect in the show. What stood out the most was the emphatic Pratigya, played by Pooja Gor, who braved the frontiers of conformity around her. From an ambitious student to a married protagonist reaching out when the situation called for a change in societal circumstances, she grabbed all the required eyeballs as long as the show was on air. The soon to be launched second season of the show keeps every fans wait in anticipation.

Sandhya, Diya Aur Baati...
Great expectations certainly need one to make some sacrifices. This is what Sandhya's story in the show tells every Hindi soap lover. What has clicked with the audience is the way each day the protagonist Sandhya, played by Deepika Singh, faces many difficult frontiers including the kitchen politics only to emerge a winner on any given day. No wonder this daily show has been holding high in terms of maximising reach by garnering more TRPs and fan power in its kitty, thanks to a powerful yet subtle portrayal of the character.

Rachel, Monica and Phoebe, Friends
This girl gang became the talk of town as the troika of Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Courtney Cox indulged in some wonderful comic moments on the small screen. Not to mention the perfect comic timing of the three divas and the ready wit of Rachel, Monica and Phoebe played by Aniston, Cox and Kudrow respectively. What captures every young girl's imagination is the way the three played their parts with conviction that it looks almost like you're watching some real life stuff happening out there.

Archana, Pavitra Rishta
While almost every middle-class Indian woman's story bears a semblance to Archana's character in Pavitra Rishta, what made Archana played by Ankita Lokhande, strike a lovely chord with the audience is her constant endeavour to weather hurdles in life. The script also unraveled adeptly the different subtleties in her character which only enhanced the intrigue value resulting in every fan pondering over 'what's next for Archana'.

Carrey, Sex And...
Does anyone need to be told who Carrey Bradshaw is? Well, certainly not because Sarah Jessica Parker made the character of Carrey in Sex And The City look so believable and so relatable that Carrey with her million watt performance hogged all the limelight. What makes the character stand apart is the undying spirit to stay happy come what may and that indeed seemed to be what every woman and girl wanted.

Laali, Agle Janam Mohe...
A role which catapulted actor Ratan Rajput to the showbiz elite, the character of Laali of Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Ki Jo earned all the eyeballs and TRPs giving other prime time shows a run for their money, err TRPs, rather. Strategically launched when the small screen was eyeing the rural entertainment pie, Laali's character came across as a stealer which included the rigours of women faced in interior parts of India.

Gabrielle, Desperate Housewives
Eva Longoria's flamboyant personality and her svelte look simply complemented the onscreen portrayal of the perky and feisty Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives series. Not to mention Gabrilelle's precious musings, 'was it this? Or was it this?' to Susan Mayor.

Strong and endearing women characters are not a recent phenomenon on TV. Characters like Badki played by Seema Bhargava from Hum Log, the first Indian sitcom, Rajni played by the late Priya Tendulkar in Rajni, that of Kavita Chaudhary in Udaan have offered different perspective in terms of storytelling and strong character sketch. Not to mention English shows which had an equally impressive stint with characters like Eden Capwell in Santa Barbara, the strong Stephanie Forrester in The Bold & The Beautiful, the hard task master Dr Meredith in Grey's Anatomy, all of who became most recalled women characters on TV.

The list would go on as the lead characters in Shanti, Taara, Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kassauti Zindagi Key, Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, Koshish Ek Aasha, Astitva EkPrem Kahaani, Hasratein, Sanjeevani et al have had an emphatic small screen innings.