India’s Best Women’s Festival We The Women by Barkha Dutt unveils star-studded line up
Mumbai, Nov, 28: After setting London ablaze with its unmistakable energy, We The Women, India’s best Ideas festival, returns to Mumbai, louder, bolder and more unforgettable than ever. Curated and moderated by award-winning journalist Barkha Dutt, the festival remains what it has always been: a shared space for conversation, celebration and community – where both women and men achievers from varied walks of life are honoured as Changemakers.
In this edition, in the year of Operation Sindoor, the festival carries an especially powerful heartbeat with the presence of Women in Uniform. The participation of Women Soldiers and Air Warriors from the Army and IAF is not just symbolic; it is a reminder of the courage, discipline, and uncompromising duty that India’s armed forces embody every day.
And joining them on stage is a constellation of voices that have shaped culture, imagination, public life, and history. From World Cup champion Harmanpreet Kaur, who redefined Indian cricket’s possibilities one blistering innings at a time, to Jaya Bachchan, a parliamentarian and cinema legend whose authenticity remains her fiercest armour. From Rani Mukerji, an actor whose craft has for decades mirrored the evolving power of Indian women on screen, to Janhvi Kapoor, who carries the legacy of cinema while boldly carving out her own distinct chapter.
Actors Vijay Varma and Ishaan Khatter join them, men who are unafraid to amplify women-led stories both on-screen and off. Shobhaa De, with her razor-sharp pen and fearless commentary, brings a voice that has shaped social conversations for generations. Manish Malhotra, the couturier who transformed fashion into a language of aspiration, joins fellow disruptor Masaba Gupta, whose bold, rule-breaking design philosophy has become a cultural movement of its own.
The stage widens further with voices like Neha Dhupia, who has used her platform to challenge stereotypes around motherhood, body image, and identity; Malaika Arora, whose unapologetic ownership of self continues to dismantle ageist and sexist norms; Dia Mirza, whose advocacy for sustainability makes her one of India’s leading environmental storytellers; and Rasika Dugal, whose nuanced performances and uncompromising choices reflect the new grammar of Indian acting.
Together, they form a chorus, diverse, dynamic, and deeply resonant, reflecting the many Indias that coexist within us all.
We The Women returns not as a festival alone but as a declaration. A celebration of voice and vulnerability, of power and possibility. A reminder that when women and men speak honestly, fearlessly, and without filters, something shifts in the world.
