1. 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' (2017)
The comparison here is all about righteous, unyielding female rage. Frances McDormand’s Oscar-winning role as Mildred Hayes, a grieving mother who takes on her local police force, channels the same ferocious energy Alia Bhatt brought to 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'.
Both characters are women pushed to the edge who refuse to back down, becoming unlikely leaders in a fight against a corrupt or indifferent system. While Mildred’s battle is deeply personal and Gangubai’s is for her community, they share a core of defiant strength, using sharp wit and sheer force of will to command respect and demand justice in a man's world.
2. 'Promising Young Woman' (2020)
Emerald Fennell’s dark-comedy thriller feels like a spiritual cousin to Bhatt’s 2022 film, 'Darlings'. Both films use a deceptively bright, candy-coated aesthetic to explore the grim reality of violence against women. Carey Mulligan's Cassie and Bhatt’s Badru are women who, after suffering trauma, decide to take matters into their own hands. They weaponize societal expectations of female behavior—sweetness, forgiveness, and vulnerability—to execute meticulous revenge plots. The tonal tightrope walk between dark humor and genuine horror is a signature of both films, proving that a story about retribution can be as bitingly funny as it is deeply unsettling.
3. 'Room' (2015)
The central theme of finding freedom in confinement is the powerful thread connecting 'Room' to Alia Bhatt’s breakout dramatic role in 'Highway'. In 'Highway', Bhatt’s character is kidnapped and develops a complicated bond with her captor, finding a strange liberation on the road away from her stifling family. 'Room' explores a more terrifying version of this, with Brie Larson as a woman held captive for years with her young son. Both performances are masterpieces of internalized emotion, showcasing women processing immense trauma while discovering their own resilience in the most harrowing of circumstances. They are stories of survival, but more importantly, of the psychological journey from victim to survivor.
4. 'Erin Brockovich' (2000)
Long before 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' solidified Alia Bhatt as the face of the female-led biographical drama, Julia Roberts owned the genre with 'Erin Brockovich'. Both films celebrate uncompromising, underestimated women who challenge powerful institutions on behalf of the disenfranchised. Erin, an unemployed single mother, and Gangu, a sex worker who becomes a political force, are initially dismissed because of their class, gender, and perceived lack of sophistication. Yet, they both use their street smarts, empathy, and refusal to be silenced to achieve extraordinary victories. The comparison lies in the shared narrative of a woman finding her power by embracing exactly who she is, and in the process, becoming a voice for the voiceless.
5. 'I, Tonya' (2017)
This darkly comedic biopic shares DNA with many of Alia Bhatt’s roles that explore morally gray female protagonists. Margot Robbie’s portrayal of controversial figure skater Tonya Harding is a masterclass in playing a character who is simultaneously a victim and a culprit, sympathetic and deeply flawed. This complexity is a hallmark of Bhatt's best work, particularly in films like 'Raazi' and 'Darlings', where she plays women who make questionable choices for what they believe are righteous reasons. 'I, Tonya' and Bhatt’s filmography both challenge audiences to look beyond easy labels, presenting women who are messy, ambitious, and refuse to be neatly categorized as either heroes or villains.
