2018 has been an eventful year with female-centric films dominating the box office.

With Deepika Padukone's Padmavaat, Alia Bhatt's Raazi, Veere Di Wedding and Shraddha Kapoor's Stree, more and more mainstream films are boasting strong female lead characters.

Padmaavat where Deepika Padukone's eponymous character is a self-assured queen who, though famed for her beauty, commands attention to her knowledge, intellect, courage, and decisiveness.

2018's Raazi with Alia Bhatt in the lead is the latest film to join the 'female-centric' brigade. Its strength lies in how it replaces the decades-old 'male hero' with a 'heroine' that is equally formidable.

Veere Di Wedding also seems to be a shot in the arm for women-centric films. Headlined by four female leads, the film is supposed to be an upbeat girl gang comedy exploring the lives of four women (Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania) and how they deal with the trials and tribulations of modern life.

Stree, the horror-comedy starring Shraddha Kapoor impressively left an understated message about respecting women, without losing out on entertainment quotient. Striking a chord with the audience as the titular character, Shraddha Kapoor has won accolades for her unique character and apt portrayal of Stree.

Shraddha said in a statement, "2018 has been a great year for female actors and I feel really honoured to be a part of a film like Stree which is a great story and a unique content. as the story was narrated to me, I knew it that it is a great story which has to reach our audience and that time for me the success didnt matter. But now with the unprecedented success, the film has garnered immense positivist from the audience is like a cherry on a cake. I think the content nailed the show and the way the film was presented earned appreciation in a genre like this. A good story is way to success, and I think Stree did it and its also the entire cast and crew who added their hardwork that made us reach here. I am completely overwhelmed and proud to be a part of it."

Rani Mukerji's Hichki, which hit the theatres in March, subverted the idea that female actors are not meant to do just supporting roles once they cross a certain age.