Every now and then there has been some poll or the other which announces top 10 sexiest man/woman or top 10 highest paid actor/actress or top 10 best lips or other such crap. So now I’ve also decided to be the part of this crap! I’ll start with Top 10 Best Female “Actors” of Bollywood Ever. The only difference is I’m not counting anyone post 2000 as Bollywood hasn’t produce a single soul (except Konkana & Chitrangadha) who can be called an Actress, most of them are Stars! And one more thing, I may call it a top 10 but there will be more entrances than just 10 as I’m really confused whom to leave out & whom to keep. So finally I went with my heart & here we go…
10. Kajol & Sridevi
Kajol’s triumph is extraordinary and what makes it so special is she has all the elements that are required to be a debacle in commercial Bollywood cinema! She is ugly, she is short, she can’t dance to save her ass, she is fat & she has a never-ending eyebrow!! All the ingredients of a calamity… Yet she is a commercial heroine & that too an extremely successful one with
films like Baazigar, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Gupt, K3G & DDLJ behind her. She has proved over and again that she can act & how! Dushman & Gupt are the solid examples of it.
But like every coin, it has a flip side too. She is too repetitive. Watch the scene from DDLJ where the love birds have been confronted by the family on the wedding day & she is repeatedly telling Rahul “Maine kaha tha na mujhe yahan se le chalo” and now watch the scene from K3G where Amitabh throws his son out of the house & while SRK dragging her, she kept on saying “Rahul, humne babuji ka aashirwad nahi liya!”. Watch these two scenes & you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Also it is a very well known fact that she is very temperamental & arrogant & now it’s visible in her acting! Watch her in her latest films like the terrible Fanaa or the disgusting U Me Aur Hum. The way she reacts to the junior artistes or supporting cast makes it very clear how snooty she actually is. Not a good sign Kajs!
Anyways all said & done, she is a fantastic actor & had done some really stupendous work. So more power to her & her zest to experiment…
10. Kajol & Sridevi
Kajol’s triumph is extraordinary and what makes it so special is she has all the elements that are required to be a debacle in commercial Bollywood cinema! She is ugly, she is short, she can’t dance to save her ass, she is fat & she has a never-ending eyebrow!! All the ingredients of a calamity… Yet she is a commercial heroine & that too an extremely successful one with
films like Baazigar, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Gupt, K3G & DDLJ behind her. She has proved over and again that she can act & how! Dushman & Gupt are the solid examples of it.But like every coin, it has a flip side too. She is too repetitive. Watch the scene from DDLJ where the love birds have been confronted by the family on the wedding day & she is repeatedly telling Rahul “Maine kaha tha na mujhe yahan se le chalo” and now watch the scene from K3G where Amitabh throws his son out of the house & while SRK dragging her, she kept on saying “Rahul, humne babuji ka aashirwad nahi liya!”. Watch these two scenes & you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Also it is a very well known fact that she is very temperamental & arrogant & now it’s visible in her acting! Watch her in her latest films like the terrible Fanaa or the disgusting U Me Aur Hum. The way she reacts to the junior artistes or supporting cast makes it very clear how snooty she actually is. Not a good sign Kajs!
Anyways all said & done, she is a fantastic actor & had done some really stupendous work. So more power to her & her zest to experiment…
Now what to say about Sridevi!! I know many of you must be thinking why is she at the bottom of the list but let’s face it guys, there were better ‘actresses’. Her comic timing is enormously popular & implausible in films like Chaalbaaz & Mr. India but she has also proved that she is much more than just a comedian. Lamhe, Chandni, Sadma, Nagina & Laadla are few of the examples. But just like Kajol, she is again way too recurring & her South Indian accent is really irksome. She had the accent 
even in Khuda Gawah which was set in Afghanistan! But no matter what I think & say, she was probably the only actress who had similar success in South as well as in Bollywood simultaneously. You never get bored of Mr. India & Chaalbaaz & catch them every time they’re on TV just to see how she stole the thunder under the nose of larger-than-life Anil Kapoor & Rajnikanth. Though at the end of her career, she did some really abysmal films like Chaand Ka Tukda & Chandramukhi but those could be easily neglected as desperate measures of survival because of a Tsunami which had just struck Bollywood at that time named Madhuri Dixit. Sridevi is definitely one of the best actresses Bollywood has ever produced.
9. Rani Mukherji
I know, now you’ll say she got her success post 2000 but Rani Mukherji had manifestly arrived before, with strong roles in B-grade flicks like Menhdi & Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat and then came the icing to the cake, Ghulam, which gave her the first hit & the title of “Khandala-girl”.
even in Khuda Gawah which was set in Afghanistan! But no matter what I think & say, she was probably the only actress who had similar success in South as well as in Bollywood simultaneously. You never get bored of Mr. India & Chaalbaaz & catch them every time they’re on TV just to see how she stole the thunder under the nose of larger-than-life Anil Kapoor & Rajnikanth. Though at the end of her career, she did some really abysmal films like Chaand Ka Tukda & Chandramukhi but those could be easily neglected as desperate measures of survival because of a Tsunami which had just struck Bollywood at that time named Madhuri Dixit. Sridevi is definitely one of the best actresses Bollywood has ever produced.9. Rani Mukherji
I know, now you’ll say she got her success post 2000 but Rani Mukherji had manifestly arrived before, with strong roles in B-grade flicks like Menhdi & Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat and then came the icing to the cake, Ghulam, which gave her the first hit & the title of “Khandala-girl”.
It was proved that she can do dance-n-song routine & can look sexy as well. Then came many like Baadal & Bichhoo but the concluding cut-through was Kuch Kuch Hota Hai which poured her with awards, accolades & of course, many plump offers. Her post 2000 work was just a stamp on her utmost talent. Can you ignore Saathiya, Bunty Aur Babli, Yuva, Hum-Tum, Black! It would be as solemn a sin as including Aishwarya Rai in the list, isn’t it?Now she has ruined her career with sticking to a particular camp & converted herself into a saari-salwar-kameez-clad-behenji. And very frankly, there is no hope of coming back. She has gone for good. But Rani was the real Queen of Bollywood for 3-4 years, no reservations on that.
8. Mumtaz
Now the effervescence of Mumtaz! No one has got her charming nose, no one before her & no one after her as well. I simply adore Mumtaz. Her success story is nothing short of an inspiration. From an extra, standing & dancing behind the lead actors to one of the most popular & successful lead actresses, it was miraculous. After doing a couple of dozen B & C grade films with Dara Singh (many of them were hugely successful like Hercules, King Kong, Rustam-E-Hind & Rustam etc.), she started doing item numbers which were Helen’s forte. After many popular item songs (like aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche & yeh hai reshmi zulfon ka andhera) & then leaping to supporting roles with Mehmood & others (like Patthar Ke Sanam etc.), she was starring opposite the giants like Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand & Sanjeev Kumar et al. Still people were not taking her seriously as an actor so she forced them to do so with classics like Aap Ki Kasam, Khilona, Tere Mere Sapne, Roop Tera Mastana, Do Raaste & Aaina (the original of Rani’s Laaga Chunari Mein Daag).
& She proved everyone that she is not just a glamorous doll but someone who can eclipse even Rajesh Khanna (I’m talking about Aap Ki Kasam here). Rajesh-Mumtaz pair is one of my favourite screen couple till date. There were hundreds of other movies which will just make her entry to my top 10 completely vindicated, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Sachcha Jhuta, Apna Desh, Loafer, Roti, Jheel Ke Uss Paar & Chor Machaye Shor etc. From a jr. artiste, dancing behind Sandhya in “pankh hote toh udd jaati re” to an award winning top most lead actress who can even eat the hero of the film, Mumtaz has done it all with an élan. For someone who has struggled this much, conquering cancer would hadn’t been a deal for her, isn’t it?7. Rekha & Vyjyanthimala
Again a clash! I just couldn’t help it guys. Do you really wanna keep any one of these gems out of top 10? It would be sorely unjustified. So deal with it…
When Rekha Shivaji Ganeshan entered Bollywood with a superhit like Sawan Bhado, no one really cared. Though no one to be blamed actually, she was dark, really fat & with absolutely zilch sex appeal for general public. Though one thing that kept people thinking about her was her sharp features. More than the outer world, her struggle was more with herself. She had a Herculean task to convert a rejection to acceptance through her body & beauty. She started working on it & on her way, got Do Anjaane, Muqaddar Ka Sikander & Suhaag to name a few. A trained dancer, Rekha silently climbed up the success stairs & established herself as one of
the very few complete actresses of Bollywood. She is dazzling; she can dance & can make you skip your heartbeat with her sensuality. And if you wanna talk about her acting abilities, I don’t think there is any question or qualm about them. Umrao Jaan, Khoobsurat, Utsav, Ijaazat, Kalyug & Silsila etc. are more than enough to shut her critics up.Though her love life was always more talked about than her films but there is no denying of the powerhouse of the talent of Madam Re. She has also done some really contemptible & preposterous movies like Geetanjali, Clerk & the biggest flop of Bollywood ever, Madam X (the film was removed from many theatres after the screening of just ONE show) but my point is who doesn’t have such outlandish films in their kitty so we’re ready to forgive you Re…keep going but please do something about your self made mystery around you & over-the-top jewelleries, they’re legitimately irritating!
Now another South siren who swept floor off nation’s feet with her dances, beauty & acting, the impeccable Vyjyanthimala! Everyone is a fan of her dancing (remember hothon pe aisi baat?) but what impresses me more is her acting dexterity.
I mean just look at the array of work, Madhumati, Dr. Vidya, Naya Daur, Sangam, Sangharsh, Devdas, Jewel Thief and many many more to write. The list is never ending. Awards after awards, accolades after accolades, she reached the zenith of popularity in spite of having competition in the form of monumental Nutan, Nargis, Meena Kumari & Madhubala! How many others could you remember from the era of Nutan-Nargis-Meena Kumari-Madhubala quadruplet? Many came but couldn’t survive for good. It was Vyjyanthimala’s precision in dance & acting that kept her giving an extra edge over others. She wasn’t outrageously beautiful but gorgeous enough to hold your attention. She gave equal challenge to her male counterparts like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor & Rajendra Kumar. She never ever let them outdo her even in a single scene. Hence Vyjyanthimala deserves to be in top 10.
6. Wahida Rehman & Smita Patil
Both of them aren’t on-your-face pretty but the ethereal Indianness they carry is beyond words. The more you say about them, the more it’ll fall short.
Wahida Rehman has fans in many, including Mr. Bachchan. Her unconventional looks, her simplicity & beached acting make her a living legend. She was & she is always natural, never goes over-the-top & never rubs her expressions on your face. She always played it subtle. Guide, Chaudahvi Ka Chand, CID, Kala Bazaar, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Pyaasa, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Prem Pujari, Saudagar, Teesri Kasam or even the new age cinema
like 15 Park Avenue, Rang De Basanti and even the atrocious Delhi 6! You name it and she has done it all. No one can forget the spiritual waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam from Kaagaz Ke Phool, the haunting voice of Geeta Roy & Wahida Rehman looks at Guru Dutt like he is a never fulfilled dream of her. Most people believe that she gave her best with Guru Dutt but I think Guide was a monument of acting, so was Prem Pujari & the cult Teesri Kasam! Like Nargis gave her best out of RK banner, Wahida Rehman was also at her best with others rather than her mentor. The only drawback with her was her choice of roles. Most of roles she chose were serious, drab & dramatic which never let her challenge herself & push her boundaries. She never tried her luck in comedy or negative etc. But whatever it is, she is definitely a legend & an institution of acting and more power to her to keep giving us more 15 Park Avenue & Delhi 6.
I mean just look at the array of work, Madhumati, Dr. Vidya, Naya Daur, Sangam, Sangharsh, Devdas, Jewel Thief and many many more to write. The list is never ending. Awards after awards, accolades after accolades, she reached the zenith of popularity in spite of having competition in the form of monumental Nutan, Nargis, Meena Kumari & Madhubala! How many others could you remember from the era of Nutan-Nargis-Meena Kumari-Madhubala quadruplet? Many came but couldn’t survive for good. It was Vyjyanthimala’s precision in dance & acting that kept her giving an extra edge over others. She wasn’t outrageously beautiful but gorgeous enough to hold your attention. She gave equal challenge to her male counterparts like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor & Rajendra Kumar. She never ever let them outdo her even in a single scene. Hence Vyjyanthimala deserves to be in top 10.6. Wahida Rehman & Smita Patil
Both of them aren’t on-your-face pretty but the ethereal Indianness they carry is beyond words. The more you say about them, the more it’ll fall short.
Wahida Rehman has fans in many, including Mr. Bachchan. Her unconventional looks, her simplicity & beached acting make her a living legend. She was & she is always natural, never goes over-the-top & never rubs her expressions on your face. She always played it subtle. Guide, Chaudahvi Ka Chand, CID, Kala Bazaar, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Pyaasa, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Prem Pujari, Saudagar, Teesri Kasam or even the new age cinema
like 15 Park Avenue, Rang De Basanti and even the atrocious Delhi 6! You name it and she has done it all. No one can forget the spiritual waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam from Kaagaz Ke Phool, the haunting voice of Geeta Roy & Wahida Rehman looks at Guru Dutt like he is a never fulfilled dream of her. Most people believe that she gave her best with Guru Dutt but I think Guide was a monument of acting, so was Prem Pujari & the cult Teesri Kasam! Like Nargis gave her best out of RK banner, Wahida Rehman was also at her best with others rather than her mentor. The only drawback with her was her choice of roles. Most of roles she chose were serious, drab & dramatic which never let her challenge herself & push her boundaries. She never tried her luck in comedy or negative etc. But whatever it is, she is definitely a legend & an institution of acting and more power to her to keep giving us more 15 Park Avenue & Delhi 6.Smita Patil…a simple, earthy & naive face flashes in your mind the moment you hear these two words. She was the face of coming-of-the-age-cinema in India. She was a diamond waiting to shine in the idiot box, reading evening news. 
Only a master like Shyam Benegal would’ve been pertinent to give us the gem called Smita…she was often been criticised for her limitation to ‘art house’ cinema but she immediately gave back to them with films like Namak Halal, Waaris, Shakti & Aakhir Kyun? She went absolutely unnoticed in her first film, a little talked about children’s film called Charandas Chor by the legendary Mr. Shyam Benegal in 1974. Actually it was just a test drive that her mentor took for the real speed breakers coming ahead. Shyam Babu knew that she can carry any role with gravity & earnestness. Before she could even know, she was carrying the whole film on her shoulders, Bhumika. A two film old was already a legend. You’ve to see the film to believe me. The layers & undercurrents that she bought to the character were completely unheard & unseen of in Bollywood ever. She got immediate recognition & innumerable national & international awards. But it was just a teaser; the world was yet to watch a Bible of acting in coming years. One film after another she just kept raising the bar of acting for herself & most importantly for her colleagues, male & female both. Giddha, Manthan & Gaban to name a few & even the films in which she didn’t have much to do, she took them to another level altogether like Mandi, Kondura & Nishant etc. There was always a constant & obvious comparison between Shabana & her, mainly because of the same mentor (read Mr. Benegal here) & similar kind of films they did. And there was a palpable tension between the two in Arth which came across on screen, though Mr. Benegal always kept her one step ahead of Shabana if you ask him. You can easily learn acting by just watching her carefully in front of the camera (watch Mirch Masala to believe me). Even Ketan Mehta could never make a better film in his entire career after it. She penetrates your subconscious with her expressions & body language. She was one of the very few heroines who never feared to look ugly on screen if needed. Though she also had the similar drawback as that of Wahida, Smita also always wedged to dramatic, strong roles & never did a comedy or a musical or action etc but who is complaining whatsoever??? She left us with vacuum & hunger for some real acting!
5. Madhubala
Before any of you jump into any conclusion, this is the list of ACTORS & not the STARS so I hope you’ll agree with me with Madhubala not being in top 3. Though I also think Wahida Rehman, Smita Patil & many others have given way better performances than her but her beauty over shines everything & also the variety of roles she has done in her career. Though not very verse in dancing, she still makes you to move with her in aaiye meherbaan &
pyar kiya toh darna kya et al. Well that’s acting, isn’t it? By and large she has been a chulbuli glamour doll in most of her films like Half Ticket, Jhumroo, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi & Mr. & Mrs. 55 but she made up for that with some intense roles like Howrah Bridge, Kala Pani, Barsaat Ki Raat & Phagun, Jaag Utha Insaan etc. Remember her in Mahal? If ghosts are like her, I’m ready to be possessed or haunted for the rest of my life!!! Through out her short but super successful career, she was always been hounded by controversies, mostly revolving around her love affairs. It even reached to the level when she was completely shunned by film journalists. But she kept on getting strength with every criticism & wrath, she faced. Contrary to the belief, she wasn’t forced to act by her father; she always wanted to face the camera. It was just the financial condition at her house that forced her father to choose this profession for her, which she accepted with all the love & zeal.
Towards the end of her career when everyone wrote her off, she bounced back with a legendary, monumental, immortal & career defining character of Anarkali in Mughal-E-Azam. It was the film which was made to create history of all sorts. The depth & the pause that she brought in the character were completely unheard of before and no one expected it to be coming from Madhubala! Under the heavyweights on the lines of Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar & Durga Khote, Madhubala stole the thunder completely. In spite of being a non-dancer, the way she moved in mohe panghat pe was divine. Till date it’s an anthem for rebellious lovers. But it’s sad how her beauty always overshadowed her acting skills, which were equally awe-inspiring. So she deserves to be in top 5!
4. Meena Kumari
The less you say about her, the better because the words would always fall short for Meena Kumari. She was the true quintessence of beauty, poise, acting & tragedy! It’s so ironical that her personal life was immensely troubled but she was touching the new heights of success with every passing Friday! For instance take Sharda, Do Bigha Zameen, Baiju Bawra, Miss Mary, Kaajal, Chitralekha, Dil Ek Mandir, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi or Mere Apne. She is probably the only actress who can make me cry like a baby within 5 mins of her appearance on screen. No wonder she was, or rather she is, the Tragedy Queen of Bollywood. Generally I watch a film more than twice if I really like it but it isn’t the case with her ultimate classic Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. It still haunts me since I saw it for the first time during the DD 1 days in our living rooms.
I just can’t get over it! Chhoti Bahu still comes to my dreams sometimes. I simply can’t watch that film again though I proudly own its DVD. Every time I start watching it, I’ve to stop it within 5 mins of her entry. She and ONLY she could’ve done that role. You empathize with her, feel bad for her, sometimes even get angry on her for being so regressive & being ready to do practically everything for her husband! She never looked more beautiful than in the song piya aiso jiya mein & she never looked more heartbroken than in na jao sainyya. I can still visualize each scene of the film when she was on the screen. Another gem from her was her career defining role Pakeezah. I don’t think I need to say anything about the film, whatever I say would be an insult to this tour de force.
Though she was often criticised for being limited & doing only tragic roles, which was although true but what the heck! Who cares when you’ve someone like Meena Kumari on screen? She just arrests you the moment she comes on screen. You’re practically lost in her world with her. It doesn’t matter whether she is making you cry or laugh because she is doing it so plausibly that you want to forget the outer world…Divine is the only word which can “almost” define her personality & performances.
3. Shabana Azmi
When it comes to acting, she is the Baap of everyone! Give her any damn dead role; she will bring back the life to the character. Even if she is playing furniture at the corner of the room, she would eat the scene! Undoubtley she is THE best dramatic actress of all time but like everyone else, she has her limitations which keep her away from the number one spot.
After her first film itself, Shabana Azmi was a world-known Bollywood actress. Ankur was nothing short of a masterpiece, reality at its best. She won her first ever & well deserved National Award for her first film! Like every other actress in my list, Shabana Azmi was & is a threat for her male counterparts in any film, which is very rare in Bollywood. Like Smita Patil, she was at her best with Mr. Shyam Benegal. Nishant, Junoon, Hari-Bhari, Antarnad & my all time favourite Mandi, take any Shyam Benegal film with Shabana Azmi, she was par excellence. She is the only Bollywood actress who has a double hattrick in winning National Award, once in 1982, 83 & 84 and another in late 90s. Pick any movie of her and you wanna give her all the awards possible, including the Oscars! Arth, Sparsh, Paar, Masoom, Khandahar, Godmother, Mrityudand, Morning Raga, Makadi and Shatranj Ke Khiladi etc, you pick any one. She is one of the very few actors who can elevate above the script, that’s why even her trashy films like Tehzeeb & Umrao Jaan are watchable because of her.
Her drawback was her curb to art house cinema. Though she has done some really popular & successful commercial cinema but if you watch her carefully, you’ll find her searching for her space all the time in those films. Those roles weren’t convincing enough for her like Amar Akbar Anthony or Anokha Bandhan or Ram Avatar etc. But she has worked upon her shortcomings & if you watch her in any recent films, she is equally convincing & comfortable like Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. or Dus Kahaniyan etc.
So even though she played dirty games to stay ahead of Smita Patil & snatched films like Sparsh or Libaas from her, it was all justified it as she did a splendid job in them. No matter how huge a bitch she is as a person, as an actor she is, without reservation, above all.
2. Nutan & Nargis
I’m really sorry but I can’t decide which one among these two is a better & more versatile actor. And I’m sure no one can choose with full conviction & justification. If Nargis has Lajvanti, Nutan has Seema, if Nargis has Raat Aur Din, Nutan has Sujata and if Nargis has Mother India, Nutan has Bandini! Now tell me who is better? To add more to the perplexity, if Nargis has Aawara, Nutan has Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, if Nargis has Shri 420, Nutan has
Dil Hi Toh Hai, if Nargis has Barsaat, Nutan has Saraswati Chandra, if Nargis has Chori-Chori, Nutan has Anari! Now you understand why I couldn’t pick one? The versatility of these two immortal legends is comparable to or even more than those of Greta Garbo or Julie Andrews or Meryl Streep etc. Nutan & Nargis were like heart & oxygen to Bollywood. They were like the basic necessities; you can’t even imagine Bollywood without these two!
If Nutan’s USP was her simplicity & grace, Nargis had this unconventional beauty & strong person
ality. They were analogous in many other ways. Both weren’t good in dancing, though both of them had done some glamorous roles, their images were more of a traditional Indian beauty, both of them had started off as child artistes, both of them made successful transition from black-and-white to Eastman colors (though Nutan scores here more for obvious reasons), both their lives revolved around their families, both of them had subterranean brunt of their mothers on their personalities (Nargis-Jaddan Bai & Nutan-Shobhna Samarth) and finally, both of them had one son to each & both of them are actors right now (Mohnish Behl & Sanjay Dutt).
So tell me can you choose between the fresh fragrance of flowers and the morning dew drops on the green grass? Believe me you can’t, no matter how much you try because both of them are celestial…
1. MADHURI DIXIT
Do I really need to say anything about her at all? Just read the range & assortment of her films and you’ll agree with my decision!
Prem Pratigya – Ram Lakhan
Prahar – Dil Toh Pagal Hai
100 Days – Raja
Lajja – Dil
Devdas – Beta
Gajagamini – Pukar
Wajood – Saahiba
Tezaab – Premgranth
Anjaam – Khel
Mrityudand – Hum Aapke Hain Kaun
And thousands & thousands of more…
Still think she isn’t THE best? Must be kidding…Right???
There are still many I was dying to include in my list like Suchitra Sen, Deepti Naval, Asha Parekh, Tabu, Seema Biswas, Hema Malini, Geeta Bali, Sadhana, Suraiyya, Shobhana Samarth, Durga Khote, Nadira and Nandita Das etc. but I had to choose so I tried my level best to justify the rankings. Hope you’ll agree with most of it.
Only a master like Shyam Benegal would’ve been pertinent to give us the gem called Smita…she was often been criticised for her limitation to ‘art house’ cinema but she immediately gave back to them with films like Namak Halal, Waaris, Shakti & Aakhir Kyun? She went absolutely unnoticed in her first film, a little talked about children’s film called Charandas Chor by the legendary Mr. Shyam Benegal in 1974. Actually it was just a test drive that her mentor took for the real speed breakers coming ahead. Shyam Babu knew that she can carry any role with gravity & earnestness. Before she could even know, she was carrying the whole film on her shoulders, Bhumika. A two film old was already a legend. You’ve to see the film to believe me. The layers & undercurrents that she bought to the character were completely unheard & unseen of in Bollywood ever. She got immediate recognition & innumerable national & international awards. But it was just a teaser; the world was yet to watch a Bible of acting in coming years. One film after another she just kept raising the bar of acting for herself & most importantly for her colleagues, male & female both. Giddha, Manthan & Gaban to name a few & even the films in which she didn’t have much to do, she took them to another level altogether like Mandi, Kondura & Nishant etc. There was always a constant & obvious comparison between Shabana & her, mainly because of the same mentor (read Mr. Benegal here) & similar kind of films they did. And there was a palpable tension between the two in Arth which came across on screen, though Mr. Benegal always kept her one step ahead of Shabana if you ask him. You can easily learn acting by just watching her carefully in front of the camera (watch Mirch Masala to believe me). Even Ketan Mehta could never make a better film in his entire career after it. She penetrates your subconscious with her expressions & body language. She was one of the very few heroines who never feared to look ugly on screen if needed. Though she also had the similar drawback as that of Wahida, Smita also always wedged to dramatic, strong roles & never did a comedy or a musical or action etc but who is complaining whatsoever??? She left us with vacuum & hunger for some real acting!5. Madhubala
Before any of you jump into any conclusion, this is the list of ACTORS & not the STARS so I hope you’ll agree with me with Madhubala not being in top 3. Though I also think Wahida Rehman, Smita Patil & many others have given way better performances than her but her beauty over shines everything & also the variety of roles she has done in her career. Though not very verse in dancing, she still makes you to move with her in aaiye meherbaan &
pyar kiya toh darna kya et al. Well that’s acting, isn’t it? By and large she has been a chulbuli glamour doll in most of her films like Half Ticket, Jhumroo, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi & Mr. & Mrs. 55 but she made up for that with some intense roles like Howrah Bridge, Kala Pani, Barsaat Ki Raat & Phagun, Jaag Utha Insaan etc. Remember her in Mahal? If ghosts are like her, I’m ready to be possessed or haunted for the rest of my life!!! Through out her short but super successful career, she was always been hounded by controversies, mostly revolving around her love affairs. It even reached to the level when she was completely shunned by film journalists. But she kept on getting strength with every criticism & wrath, she faced. Contrary to the belief, she wasn’t forced to act by her father; she always wanted to face the camera. It was just the financial condition at her house that forced her father to choose this profession for her, which she accepted with all the love & zeal.Towards the end of her career when everyone wrote her off, she bounced back with a legendary, monumental, immortal & career defining character of Anarkali in Mughal-E-Azam. It was the film which was made to create history of all sorts. The depth & the pause that she brought in the character were completely unheard of before and no one expected it to be coming from Madhubala! Under the heavyweights on the lines of Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar & Durga Khote, Madhubala stole the thunder completely. In spite of being a non-dancer, the way she moved in mohe panghat pe was divine. Till date it’s an anthem for rebellious lovers. But it’s sad how her beauty always overshadowed her acting skills, which were equally awe-inspiring. So she deserves to be in top 5!
4. Meena Kumari
The less you say about her, the better because the words would always fall short for Meena Kumari. She was the true quintessence of beauty, poise, acting & tragedy! It’s so ironical that her personal life was immensely troubled but she was touching the new heights of success with every passing Friday! For instance take Sharda, Do Bigha Zameen, Baiju Bawra, Miss Mary, Kaajal, Chitralekha, Dil Ek Mandir, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi or Mere Apne. She is probably the only actress who can make me cry like a baby within 5 mins of her appearance on screen. No wonder she was, or rather she is, the Tragedy Queen of Bollywood. Generally I watch a film more than twice if I really like it but it isn’t the case with her ultimate classic Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. It still haunts me since I saw it for the first time during the DD 1 days in our living rooms.
I just can’t get over it! Chhoti Bahu still comes to my dreams sometimes. I simply can’t watch that film again though I proudly own its DVD. Every time I start watching it, I’ve to stop it within 5 mins of her entry. She and ONLY she could’ve done that role. You empathize with her, feel bad for her, sometimes even get angry on her for being so regressive & being ready to do practically everything for her husband! She never looked more beautiful than in the song piya aiso jiya mein & she never looked more heartbroken than in na jao sainyya. I can still visualize each scene of the film when she was on the screen. Another gem from her was her career defining role Pakeezah. I don’t think I need to say anything about the film, whatever I say would be an insult to this tour de force.Though she was often criticised for being limited & doing only tragic roles, which was although true but what the heck! Who cares when you’ve someone like Meena Kumari on screen? She just arrests you the moment she comes on screen. You’re practically lost in her world with her. It doesn’t matter whether she is making you cry or laugh because she is doing it so plausibly that you want to forget the outer world…Divine is the only word which can “almost” define her personality & performances.
3. Shabana Azmi
When it comes to acting, she is the Baap of everyone! Give her any damn dead role; she will bring back the life to the character. Even if she is playing furniture at the corner of the room, she would eat the scene! Undoubtley she is THE best dramatic actress of all time but like everyone else, she has her limitations which keep her away from the number one spot.
After her first film itself, Shabana Azmi was a world-known Bollywood actress. Ankur was nothing short of a masterpiece, reality at its best. She won her first ever & well deserved National Award for her first film! Like every other actress in my list, Shabana Azmi was & is a threat for her male counterparts in any film, which is very rare in Bollywood. Like Smita Patil, she was at her best with Mr. Shyam Benegal. Nishant, Junoon, Hari-Bhari, Antarnad & my all time favourite Mandi, take any Shyam Benegal film with Shabana Azmi, she was par excellence. She is the only Bollywood actress who has a double hattrick in winning National Award, once in 1982, 83 & 84 and another in late 90s. Pick any movie of her and you wanna give her all the awards possible, including the Oscars! Arth, Sparsh, Paar, Masoom, Khandahar, Godmother, Mrityudand, Morning Raga, Makadi and Shatranj Ke Khiladi etc, you pick any one. She is one of the very few actors who can elevate above the script, that’s why even her trashy films like Tehzeeb & Umrao Jaan are watchable because of her.
Her drawback was her curb to art house cinema. Though she has done some really popular & successful commercial cinema but if you watch her carefully, you’ll find her searching for her space all the time in those films. Those roles weren’t convincing enough for her like Amar Akbar Anthony or Anokha Bandhan or Ram Avatar etc. But she has worked upon her shortcomings & if you watch her in any recent films, she is equally convincing & comfortable like Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. or Dus Kahaniyan etc.So even though she played dirty games to stay ahead of Smita Patil & snatched films like Sparsh or Libaas from her, it was all justified it as she did a splendid job in them. No matter how huge a bitch she is as a person, as an actor she is, without reservation, above all.
2. Nutan & Nargis
I’m really sorry but I can’t decide which one among these two is a better & more versatile actor. And I’m sure no one can choose with full conviction & justification. If Nargis has Lajvanti, Nutan has Seema, if Nargis has Raat Aur Din, Nutan has Sujata and if Nargis has Mother India, Nutan has Bandini! Now tell me who is better? To add more to the perplexity, if Nargis has Aawara, Nutan has Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, if Nargis has Shri 420, Nutan has
Dil Hi Toh Hai, if Nargis has Barsaat, Nutan has Saraswati Chandra, if Nargis has Chori-Chori, Nutan has Anari! Now you understand why I couldn’t pick one? The versatility of these two immortal legends is comparable to or even more than those of Greta Garbo or Julie Andrews or Meryl Streep etc. Nutan & Nargis were like heart & oxygen to Bollywood. They were like the basic necessities; you can’t even imagine Bollywood without these two!If Nutan’s USP was her simplicity & grace, Nargis had this unconventional beauty & strong person
ality. They were analogous in many other ways. Both weren’t good in dancing, though both of them had done some glamorous roles, their images were more of a traditional Indian beauty, both of them had started off as child artistes, both of them made successful transition from black-and-white to Eastman colors (though Nutan scores here more for obvious reasons), both their lives revolved around their families, both of them had subterranean brunt of their mothers on their personalities (Nargis-Jaddan Bai & Nutan-Shobhna Samarth) and finally, both of them had one son to each & both of them are actors right now (Mohnish Behl & Sanjay Dutt).So tell me can you choose between the fresh fragrance of flowers and the morning dew drops on the green grass? Believe me you can’t, no matter how much you try because both of them are celestial…
1. MADHURI DIXIT
Do I really need to say anything about her at all? Just read the range & assortment of her films and you’ll agree with my decision!
Prem Pratigya – Ram Lakhan
Prahar – Dil Toh Pagal Hai
100 Days – Raja
Lajja – Dil
Devdas – Beta
Gajagamini – Pukar
Wajood – Saahiba
Tezaab – Premgranth
Anjaam – Khel
Mrityudand – Hum Aapke Hain Kaun
And thousands & thousands of more…
Still think she isn’t THE best? Must be kidding…Right???
There are still many I was dying to include in my list like Suchitra Sen, Deepti Naval, Asha Parekh, Tabu, Seema Biswas, Hema Malini, Geeta Bali, Sadhana, Suraiyya, Shobhana Samarth, Durga Khote, Nadira and Nandita Das etc. but I had to choose so I tried my level best to justify the rankings. Hope you’ll agree with most of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment