When it comes to love and romance, the set norm is that it is the men, who must woo the women they are interested in. Which is why we rarely get to see women pursue the men they are romantically interested in, on screen. And honestly, that’s a tad bit unfair. So, female characters who own up to their feelings and woo the men they are into, are definitely worth appreciating and applauding. 

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Here is a list of female characters who who admitted their love and took charge of their love lives. Read on. 

1. Laila, from ZNMD

We remember the scene where Laila starts her bike and goes after Arjun to tell him she loves him, right? Laila was the definition of ‘carpe diem,’ in that moment. 

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2. Aisha, from Wake Up Sid

Towards the end of the film, Aisha wrote an article talking about her love for Mumbai, how she fell in love with the city, and how she fell in love with it because she was in love with Sid. It was a public declaration of love, and a very sweet one at that. 

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3. Aaliya, from Break Ke Baad

Aaliya is the one who asks her boyfriend Abhay for a break. But she later realises she’s in love with him and ends up proposing to him right when he’s about to get married to someone else. Yes, chaotic. But, how I see it is, at least she had the self-awareness to realise her feelings and vocalize them! 

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4. Pia, from 3 Idiots

I think we can all agree that Pia was the one who took charge in her relationship with Rancho, then be it turning up at his hostel room to ask if he had feelings for her, or ditch her own wedding because she was still in love with Rancho. We may not agree with all her actions, but you can’t deny she took charge and how. She knew she was still in love with Rancho, and she didn’t feel like she needed over-explain that to anyone, and simply decided to go see him. We love it!

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5. Bitti, from Bareilly Ki Barfi

Bitti goes to great lengths to find the author of a book she stumbles upon because she realises she’s in love with him. She tracks down someone who she thinks is a friend of the author, and writes letter after letter to him. Bitti even goes ahead and gets his ‘friend’ to arrange a meeting for the two! Now that’s how you find the love of your life! 

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It’s so refreshing and heartening to see women in love painted in a different shade than the norm Bollywood has been serving for years.