National Award-winning making filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar is known for hard-hitting realistic movies. Moreover, he's said to be the torchbearer of women-centric films with female protagonists leading many of his narratives. As he gears up for Calendar Girls, produced by Sangeeta Ahir, which sees five girls - Ruhi Singh (Winner, Miss Universal Peace and Humanity, 2014), Satarupa Pyne, Avani Modi, Akanksha Puri and Kyra Dutt - making their Bollywood debut, we look at some of the heroines in his previous movies.

TABU IN CHANDNI BAR
Mumtaz (Tabu) comes to Mumbai to live with her uncle after her family is killed in riots. Tabu won the National Award for her performance in the film that depicts the gritty life of Mumbai's dance bars, prostitution, underworld and gun crime.

RAVEENA TANDON IN SATTA
Anuradha Sehgal (Raveena)'s foray into the murky world of politics begins when her husband, who aspires to become the Chief Minister, is arrested for murder and the family persuades her to contest elections.

KONKONA SEN SHARMA IN PAGE 3
Disillusioned at being told to apolo gise to an actor for an exposé on him, entertainment journalist Madhvi Sharma (Konkona) changes her beat to crime. When she breaks a story of an industrialist's involvement in exploiting children for sexual acts, she is asked to resign.

BIPASHA BASU IN CORPORATE
Despite helping her company to steal a march over their rivals, Nishigandha Dasgupta (Bipasha) is asked by her bosses to shoulder responsibility when authorities conduct a raid and find pesticides in her company's soft drinks.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA AND KANGANA RANAUT IN FASHION
Priyanka and Kangana play models who were inspired by real-life people from the Indian fashion industry. The two also won National Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively for their performances.

KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN IN HEROINE
Actress Mahi Arora's (Kareena) career is on the decline. In an attempt to regain her prime position, she hires a publicist to help reinvent her image and return to the limelight.

Madhur says, “I feel certain issues that are prevalent in society are better conveyed from the perspective of women. Most of Calendar Girls is inspired by society itself.“ Pleased to see more women-centric subjects on screen, he adds, “Now people want to see good movies, irrespective of whether it revolves around a hero or a heroine. The success of women-centric films has encouraged more filmmakers to explore this zone and has also opened up the market.“

Calendar Girls, produced by ManglMurti Films, releases September 25.