Female actors from the age of 60-plus to age 12 came into their own in the first half of 2024.

The Women never had it so good. At least not in commercial mainstream cinema. In Shirsha Guha Thakurta’s exquisitely enchanting Do Aur Do Pyaar, Vidya Balan wowed us as a wife who can’t seem to follow her heart . Vidya’s performance was so warm and lived-in, it felt like real life.

And yes, Vidya is the only actress I’ve seen since Kate Winslet in Mare Of Easttown who actually EATS the food that she is supposed to instead of pretending to do so.

Another scene-chewer came at the end of the first half of the year. How about a standing ovation for little Vanshika Taparia in Sharmajee Ki Beti, also co-produced by Applause Entertainment, who gives Sakshi Tanwar a run for her ‘Mummy’.Where did Tahira Kashyap find this bomb?!

Bhumi Pednekar as smalltown Bihari reporter unearthing a nasty child prostitution scam in Pulkit’s Bhakshak, was unconditionally convincing.Bhumi surrendered to her doughty part .

As for the all-female sexy Crew, Tabu may have impressed some critics, although she brought nothing to the script that she had not done before. My favourite Crew enchantress was Kareena Kapoor Khan. She is capable of so much that she knows nothing about. She proved it again.

Yami Gautam Dhar in Article 370 blended spunk with sensitivity,political pluck and street wisdom . Her fire-and-ice performance was a surprise,and a pleasant one at that.

Chaya Kadam in Kiran Rao’s Laapata Ladies as the hardnosed woman of the world who sells samosas and wisdom on the railway platform was impeccable, though I do feel she is over-selling herself to the audience after the Cannes experience. We don’t want her turning into another Nawazuddin.

Monika Panwar in Dukaan as a womb with a view , smartened up and shouldered a film that was inclined towards going over the top.A pity Panwar’s performance got lost in the narrative’s shrill will.

Parineeti Chopra as Mrs Chamkila in Imtiaz Ali’s troubled and troublesome biopic was effective, but not as good as, say, a younger Mita Vashisht would have been in the same role. Parineeti found her mojo in Chamkila but didn’t quite nail the Missus’ innerworld.She was fine, but not fire.

Divya Khossla in Abhinay Deo’s Savi shouldered a revenge story as hero seeking to rescue her husband. She gave it her all.

The disappointing female performers during the first six months were Katrina Kaif in Merry Christmas(she just didn’t get it) and Sara Ali Khan in Ae Watan Mere Watan(by merely wrapping a cotton saree you don’t become a character) .