Bhool gayi kitne bacchon ko uthwaaya aaj tak, hazaaron mein toh hongi hi.” Mallika Prasad’s chillingly understated line as Amma inMardaani 3lands with quiet menace. Amma, the primary antagonist of the upcoming police procedural thriller, runs a beggar mafia from Delhi’s Kusumpur slums, initially targeting young girls. As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that her criminal enterprise is far more sinister than it first appears.
When Rani Mukerji returns as DCP Shivani Shivaji Roy on January 30, the franchise introduces an antagonist unlike anything seen in its earlier instalments. For the first time, the face of evil is female. The she-llain, as one might call her, marks a rare departure in mainstream Hindi cinema, where villainy has traditionally remained a male preserve.
Amma is ruthless, power-hungry and utterly devoid of mercy. She eliminates children without hesitation to sustain her empire. Played by Mallika Prasad, a Kannada cinema regular with formal training from the National School of Drama, Delhi, and Goldsmiths, University of London, the character promises to push Shivani Roy to confront a darker, more complex form of crime. Amma appears to be the nemesis the franchise needs to elevate its stakes.
In terms of character design, Amma shares striking similarities with another recent she-llain: Huma Qureshi’s Badi Didi inDelhi CrimeSeason 3. Qureshi’s Meena Choudhary runs an expansive trafficking network spanning multiple Indian states and even international borders. On the surface, Badi Didi appears more urbane, dressed in western attire and operating with logistical sophistication. Yet beneath that polish lies the same unapologetic cruelty that defines Amma. Their menace is cold, calculated and disturbingly ordinary.
What distinguishes these modern female villains is the complete absence of moral ambiguity or redemption. This brand of swagger, once reserved almost exclusively for male antagonists, signals an evolution in how women are written in Hindi cinema. While this shift is welcome, it also raises questions about execution.Delhi CrimeSeason 3, for instance, was criticised for prioritising shock value over psychological depth, leaving Badi Didi’s motivations underexplored despite a large writing team.
Still, characters like Amma and Badi Didi represent a decisive break from the era of the “vamp” — a term once used to box female antagonists into narrow stereotypes. Traditionally, the vamp could be the gangster’s moll, the seductive cabaret dancer, or the scheming matriarch. Smoking, drinking and revealing costumes marked the former, while shrill dialogue and exaggerated expressions defined the latter.
Bollywood’s past is populated with iconic performers who embodied these roles. Nadira’s westernised temptress inShree 420, Helen’s unforgettable cabaret performances inDon,SholayandCaravan, Lalita Pawar’s venomous matriarchs, and Shashikala’s elegant antagonists all helped define these archetypes. Bindu and Aruna Irani seamlessly moved between stereotypes, from molls to manipulative mothers-in-law, across decades.
Later, Hindi cinema briefly flirted with the trope of the scorned lover turned antagonist, seen in Kajol’s performance inGuptor Priyanka Chopra’s role inAitraaz. These characters, though limited by melodrama, chipped away at rigid moral binaries. In doing so, they quietly paved the way for today’s unapologetic she-llains — women who neither seek approval nor redemption.
Over the past two decades, experimentation with female villainy has been sporadic but notable. Shabana Azmi’s terrifying turn as the witch inMakdeeredefined fear for a younger audience, while Vishal Bhardwaj offered complex reinterpretations of Shakespearean antagonists through Tabu’s performances inMaqboolandHaider. These characters were layered, cerebral and morally conflicted, operating outside mainstream templates.
Mardaani 3, however, aims squarely at the commercial space. If Amma resonates with audiences, Bollywood is likely to embrace this darker, discomforting she-llain with enthusiasm. Trend-driven as ever, the industry may soon find itself pitting sheroes against a new generation of female antagonists who are as terrifying as they are real.
And that, perhaps, is the most unsettling evolution of all.
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