Recap 2025: Indian Women Artists Who Won Global Recognition

By: WE Staff

As 2025 comes to a close, we look back at women’s achievements throughout the year. In the following article, we meet five women creative forces who won big accolades on the global platform. From film producer Guneet Monga to author Banu Mushtaq, we highlight women artists whose art is creating waves globally. 

In 2025, Indian women in media and entertainment are not just creating content; they are shaping global conversations. From literature and cinema to music and documentary storytelling, their voices are resonating far beyond national borders, earning standing ovations at international festivals, award ceremonies, and cultural platforms worldwide. Years of consistent craft, quiet perseverance, and fearless storytelling have built a momentum that audiences across continents now recognise and celebrate.

Global acclaim for Indian women creators is not sudden; it is the result of sustained excellence over the past decade. Filmmakers like Payal Kapadia and Anuparna Roy have brought deeply human, locally rooted stories to prestigious global stages, while producers such as Guneet Monga Kapoor have ensured Indian narratives travel fearlessly across borders. In literature, writers like Banu Mushtaq have made history by bringing regional Indian voices to the centre of global literary discourse. Music, too, has witnessed a powerful rise, with Indian artists such as Sonam Kalra earning international honours for compositions that blend tradition with contemporary expression.

What unites these women is not only talent, but also a purpose, an unwavering belief in storytelling as a force for change. As global audiences continue to embrace their work, 2025 stands as a defining year where recognition meets legacy.

Women Entrepreneurs Review Magazine highlights five notable Indian women personalities in media and entertainment who were honored with international awards in 2025.

Banu Mushtaq - Literature

Banu Mushtaq is a trailblazing Kannada writer, activist, and lawyer who made history in 2025 by becoming the first Kannada author to win the International Booker Prize for her short story collection Heart Lamp, translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi. Deeply rooted in the Bandaya Sahitya (protest literature) movement, her writing powerfully explores themes of gender, identity, and social justice.

With six short story collections, a novel, essays, and poetry to her credit, her work has been translated into Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and English, amplifying marginalized voices across languages. Her Booker win elevated regional Indian literature onto the global stage, placing Kannada among the world’s most celebrated literary traditions. In 2025, she also received the Ram Advani Award for literary excellence.