In the landscape of Bollywood in 2025, where box office numbers often overshadow artistic merit, several female performances have shone brightly, deserving more recognition than they initially received. This article highlights three such performances: Triptii Dimri in "Dhadak 2," Shalini Pandey in Netflix's "Dabba Cartel," and Fatima Sana Shaikh in "Gustaakh Ishq."
Triptii Dimri, following her impactful role in "Animal", took on the character of Vidhi in "Dhadak 2," a spiritual sequel to "Dhadak" (2018) and a remake of the Tamil film "Pariyerum Perumal" (2018). The film tackles caste-based discrimination through the love story of Vidhi, an upper-caste student, and Neelesh (Siddhant Chaturvedi), a Dalit student. Critics noted that Dimri's performance broke away from previous typecasting, portraying a character grappling with societal prejudice and personal feelings. Shazia Iqbal, the director of the movie, tailored it to reflect the social landscape of the remake’s setting, while retaining the spirit of the original source material. Despite positive reviews praising its performances and socially relevant themes, "Dhadak 2" underperformed at the box office, making Dimri's nuanced portrayal somewhat underrated. Some found the film to have a grounded narrative that held emotional depth, and that its attempt to blend romance with meaningful social themes made it a film that deserved more discussion and appreciation than it received.
Shalini Pandey starred in Netflix's "Dabba Cartel," a crime drama that premiered on February 28, 2025. The series features an ensemble cast, including Shabana Azmi, Jyotika, Nimisha Sajayan and Anjali Anand. "Dabba Cartel" explores the lives of five middle-class women in Thane, Mumbai, who become involved in a high-stakes drug delivery operation through their dabba (lunchbox) service. Pandey's performance added to the show's appeal, as the easy camaraderie of the women was one of the highlights of the show, helping it reach Netflix's global non-English chart. The series is created by Shibani Akhtar, Vishnu Menon, Gaurav Kapur, and Akanksha Seda. The show is about how the women-led cartel is thrust into peril, while the men, employees of a pharmaceutical company called Viva Life, at the center of this syndicate, are being investigated for ties to an illegal pharmaceutical drug.
Fatima Sana Shaikh starred alongside Vijay Varma in "Gustaakh Ishq," a romantic drama directed by Vibhu Puri and produced by Manish Malhotra. The film, set in Old Delhi, was released on November 28, 2025. "Gustaakh Ishq" explores a love story with retro romance vibes. The movie was earlier slated to release on November 21, 2025, but was postponed to avoid a clash with 120 Bahadur, but ended up clashing with another romantic drama film, "Tere Ishk Mein". Malhotra described the film as a project born out of passion, poetry, and a celebration of love in all its forms. Shaikh's portrayal, along with Varma's, aimed to evoke a sense of nostalgia.
These three actresses, Triptii Dimri, Shalini Pandey, and Fatima Sana Shaikh, delivered performances in 2025 that showcased their talent and dedication to their craft. While the films themselves may have had varying degrees of success, these performances remain noteworthy examples of the talent present in Bollywood today.
