Top 10 decade defining bollywood actresses in 1970s

Bhanurekha was born in the Tamil-speaking Ganesan household on October 10, 1954. Her dad was the popular Tamil actor, Gemini, while her mom was a popular Telugu actress, Pushpavalli. She has seven sisters and one brother. One of her sisters is Dr. Kamala Selvaraj, while another one, Radha, lives in San Francisco with a son named Naveed, who is being readied to act in Bollywood movies.

No stranger to the tinsel screen, Bhanurekha acted in a Telugu movie 'Rangula Ratnam' as Baby Bhanurekha along with her mom during 1966, which was subsequently re-made and released in Hindi during 1976 as Rangila Ratan (1976). She acted in one more Telugu as well as one Kannada movie (Amma Kosam and Goadalli CID 999 respectively) before re-locating to Bombay.

Due to her background, she ended up being very gloomy and pessimistic during her early years. She get a chance to debut in Bollywood movies during 1970 with Sawan Bhadon (1970) opposite Navin Nischol with a screen name of Rekha. Inability to speak Hindi, a dusky complexion as well as her weight did not exactly add to her assets in a predominantly fair-skinned, Hindi-speaking North-Indian film industry.

She decided to take matters seriously, took Yoga, shed those extra pounds, learned Hindi and dancing, and thus was born a new and much improved Rekha - who went on to deliver one box office hit after another for example Nagin (1976), Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), Mr. Natwarlal (1979), Khubsoorat (1980), Umrao Jaan (1981), Khoon Bhari Maang (1988) amongst others. In her later years she has taken up character roles and appeared as a mother, even a grandmother in Krrish (2006).

Her slim, slender looks got her many admirers, including well established Bollywood actors such as Kiran Kumar , Jeetendra, Vinod Mehra, and Amitabh Bachchan'. In 2004, in a television interview with Simi Garewal, she rejected a long-standing rumor that she was once married to Vinod Mehra. She referred to him as a well-wisher and stated that her only marriage was to a businessman, Mukesh Aggarwal. This marriage ended when Mukesh killing himself shortly thereafter, leaving her a widow. She has never remarried.

She likes to surf the Internet, has written biographies of actresses like Zeenat Aman, and Salma Agha on IMDb, likes to collect old photographs and postcards, mimic people, watch movies, and practices Yoga regularly, read comics like Archie and Dennie the Menace, and is a vegetarian. She now lives with her Secretary, Farzana, and pets in a self-owned bungalow in Bandra (West)in Mumbai.

Hema was born in the Tamil-speaking Chakravarthy household on October 16, 1948 in Ammankudi, Tamil Nadu. Her dad's name is V.S.R. Chakravarthy and her mom, Jaya, was a film producer. She was enrolled in the Chennai-based Andhra Mahila Sabha.

After performing as a dancer in a 1961 regional movie, she was rejected by Tamil Director, C.V.Sridhar, during 1964 when she first attempted to act, on the grounds that she was too thin to be heroine in Venniradai and the role went to Venniradai Nirmala. Later Hema performed in the song Singara Therukku Selai sung by Seergazhi Govindrajan and L.R.Eshwari as a supporting actor from the 1963 Tamil film Idhu Sathiyam starring S.A.Asokan as the hero. But Hema persisted, debuted opposite Raj Kapoor in 'Sapnon Ka Saudagar' just 4 years after her rejection but the movie was a flop.

Thereafter there has no been looking back for this attractive Libran, who went to star in close to 155 movies; who also produced and directed two movies, and also directed a TV serial 'Noopur'.

After turning down marriage proposals from Sanjeev Kumar and Jeetendra, she met with hot fellow actor, Dharmendra, both were attracted to each other and wanted to get married. Dharmendra, who was already married to Prakash Kaur, and had two sons, Sunny and Bobby, could not marry Hema as Prakash refused to divorce him. According to the Hindu Marriage Act, a Hindu cannot marry a second time while the first wife is still alive. Dharmendra belongs to a Arya Samaj Hindu Punjabi Jatt family.

She had a hit on-screen pairing with Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor and Dev Anand in the 70's and, post-marriage, she had 8 hits opposite Rajesh Khanna in 1980-87. Dharmendra Hema Malini were paired in lead roles romantically in 31 films but have worked in 35 films. Of them 20 were hits and 15 were flops. Interestingly Rajesh Khanna-Hema Malini pair had 2 hits in early 70's and then 3 unfortunate flops in late 70's after which pair was written off but in eighties they gave 8 blockbusters as a pair. In all Hema has 10 hits with Rajesh Khanna.

On August 21, 1979, both Hema and Dharmendra converted to Islam, changed their names to Aisha Bi R. Chakravarty and Dilawar Khan Kewal Krishn respectively, and got married in accordance with Islamic rites. Three years after their marriage, Hema subsequently gave birth to Esha and then later to Ahana. Esha is an actress in her own rights. The trio, well proficient in the arts of Bharatnatyam dance form, have performed together at a number of dance events and concerts.

Hema is a member of the right-winged Bharatiya Janata Party, and became a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.

She was amongst the first actresses to wear bell-bottom and shirts in Hindi movies, and is also amongst the few who have kept their word of not wearing any revealing outfits in public. Hema, who is also called 'Dream Girl' continues to act in movies as of 2013.

Zeenat Aman was born to a Maharashtrian Brahmin Hindu mother and a Pathan Muslim father Amanullah Khan who was one of the writers for the classic "Mughal-e-Azam", on November 19th, 1951. Zeenat was an only child and her parents divorced when she was a little girl. A graduate of Saint Xavier's school in Bombay. Her father passed away when she was 13. Zeenat won a scholarship to study in California. Upon her return she started working as reporter and was introduced to modeling by friends. Her most prominent ad campaign was the Pond's 7 day to better complexion. Zeenat entered the Miss India contest and was the third runner up, to go to Miss Asia/Pacific a title she later won - being the first Indian to ever win that title (the same title was brought to Indian a second time in 2000 by Diya Mirza).

Zeenat was introduced to the movie screen by O.P. Ralhan in Hulchul with Kabir Bedi and later repeated by again by Ralhan in a cameo in Hungama. Both films sunk without trace. Zeenat was the third choice for the junkie 'Janice/Jasbeel' character in Dev Anand's 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna',(1971) opposite himself and the then reigning queen Mumtaz. Upon completion of shooting, Zeenat began packing bags to move to Malta with her mother and German step father (Mr. Heinz) for his job posting. When Dev Anand received feedback on rushes for the film, he insisted that Zeenat and her parents hold off on the move until the film is released and its fate decided, with reluctance they agreed. The film was an instant hit and Zeenat walked away with all the accolades shunning Mumtaz - never before had the Hindi cinema seen a newcomer overshadow the reigning queen. She won the Filmfare Award as Best Supporting Actress. For the first time, the Indian audience accepted a woman who played a 'less than pure' role in a movie.

Zeenat went on to revolutionize the Hindi film actress. She was the first Indian actress who refused bouffants, cropped a bob at the height of her career and hardly appeared in saris and bindis and could easily carry off a bikini dress without looking vulgar. She took on roles of the modern urban Indian woman, who made no excuses and took no prisoners. Her characters contemplated abortion to pursue a career (Ajnabee (1974) or dumping a poor lover to pursue a rich man (Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974), and still manage to win audience's approval. She pursued Vijay Arora by strumming her guitar singing "Churaliya hai" in the Nasir Hussain's hit film "Yaadon Ki Barat" (1973), fought alongside Amitabh Bachchan as a revenge-seeking action heroine in "Don" (1978). Even though Raj Kapoor's "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" (1977) didn't do well, Zeenat was able to break barriers by kissing her leading man on the mouth for the first time on the Indian screen post-Independence and receiving a Best Actress Filmfare nomination. She received another Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for the controversial hit film "Insaaf Ka Tarazu" (1980) where she played a justice-seeking rape survivor. Dev Anand promoted Zeenat in 70's by signing 7 films with her of which 4 were blockbusters.Rajesh Khanna-Zeenat Aman were paired opposite each-other in 4 films in 1974-84 period and 3 were blockbusters. and Shashi Kapoor-Zeenat gave 7 super-hit films off the 10 they did together. Zeenat began a new trend, helping launch careers for male actors - something Indian actresses never did. She signed Insaf Ka Tarazu with then unknown Raj Babbar and Deepak Prashar, signed films opposite even Mithun, Kanwaljeet Singh (Ashanti) and Tariq Ali (Hum Kissi se Kum Nahin and Yadon Ki Baarat). She had a tumultuous first marriage to Sanjay Khan which ended in divorce. Zeenat had a long string of super successes throughout her career but towards the end of her career she took on mature roles in Bhavani Junction, Haathon ki Lakeerain, Bandhan Kacche Dhagon Ka etc. the movies did average business at the box office as by late 80's cinema shifted its focus to front bench whistlers. At that time Zeenat settled in matrimony with fellow actor Mazhar Khan and gave birth to two sons, turning down multiple film offers. The marriage ended bitterly in divorce, but soon after Mazhar died, and Zeenat's feelings about him in the press were much kinder. Zeenat's contribution to the Indian cinema is definitely recognized though not fully as yet, but in time to come she will definitely be remembered as the first person to introduce a lot to India and add several dimensions to Indian women. In summary "She revolutionized the portrayal of Indian Women" in its cinema.

Born and raised in Junagad, Ms. Babi was spotted by renowned B.R. Ishara at Ahmedabad University, and he approached her to act in his forthcoming movie, Charitraheen, which was a sequel to Chetna. Her co-star in this movie was none other than renowned Indian cricketer Salim Durrani. Parveen Babi lit up the silver screen with her charming looks and personality from the 1970s.

Among her more memorable movies with megastar Amitabh Bachchan are: Deewar, Namak Halal, Amar Akbar Anthony, and Kala Pathar. Her most glorious moment was when Time Magazine chose to display her photograph on their cover page in 1976, depicting the changing face of Bollywood and Bollywood actresses.

After acting in her last movie, Akarshan, she suddenly disappeared from public view and became more or less a recluse. It is known that she took up interior designing, and had a very close circle of friends.

She then left for the United States of America and was not seen nor heard for about 10 years.

She created a stir when she filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court, charging several dignitaries, including Bollywood actor, Amitabh Bachchan, for attempting to kill her. This petition was dismissed by the Court for want of evidence.

On Sunday January 22, 2005, neighbors at her Juhu residence noticed that she not collected her milk nor her newspapers from her doorstep for the last three days. The neighbors notified the Secretary of the building, who in turn notified the police.

On Saturday January 22, 2005, a police team opened the door to her apartment with a duplicate key, and found her dead body.

The police believe that the door had been locked from the inside for last three days, and suspect no foul play.

Ms. Babi was an only child in a noble Junagad-based family. Her dad had passed away when she was very young, and her mom also passed away several years ago.

Sonia Singh, now known as Neetu Singh, started her career as a child artiste (Baby Neetu/Sonia) in Bollywood movies and went on to become a full-fledged Bollywood movie actress, with a reputation of having her mom accompany her to almost all shoots. She married her co-star, Rishi Kapoor, and in keeping with the Kapoor Clan's tradition for women, retired from acting to care for her family. Over 25 years later, she returned to acting.

Rakhee was born in a Bengali-speaking family in West Bengal, on India's Independence Day - 15th August, 1947. She has no connections with anyone in the film industry in India.

She achieved phenomenal success at her very first movie in Bengali 'Bandhu Baran' during the year 1967. She was then noticed by noted Bollywood actor, Sunil Dutt, who recommended her for a lead role in 'Reshma Aur Shera'. But before the release of this movie, Rakhee had already appeared in 'Jeevan Mritya' and 'Sharmeelee' opposite Dharmendra and Shashi Kapoor respectively.The on-screen pair of Rakhee Gulzar-Shashi Kapoor was very popular with audience and they did 9 films together. Four were critically acclaimed but box office flops and five were box office super-hits.

She has acted in a total of approximately 91 movies, in a career that spanned from 1967 through to 2003. A total of four awards have been bestowed for her performances in 'Daag', 'Tapasya', 'Ram Lakhan', and 'Shubhu Muhurat'. She is perhaps the only actress who has acted both as a lead heroine and mother with Bollywood actor, Amitabh Bachchan.

During her teen years, Rakhee was married to Ajoy Biswas, but the marriage was short-lived, and the couple divorced.

Rakhee then got married to Music Director/Lyricist/Film Director, Sampoorna Singh Gulzar. They have a daughter named Megha alias Bosky. Rakhee quit acting in movies during the year 2003, and her last appearance was in 'Shubhu Muhurat'.

One of the leading lights of the 1965-1990's Indian New Wave, Shabana Azmi (alongside the late Smita Patil) was one of the main female actors who dominated the films of the so-called "Parallel Cinema" in India in the 1970s and 1980s. Born to noted Urdu progressive poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi and theatre actress Shaukat Azmi, Shabana has acted in films by virtually all of India's most famous art-house directors including Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen and others, as well as in commercial and middle-of-the-road Hindi films, where she has essayed several strong female characters (e.g., in The Death Sentence: Mrityu Dand (1997) and Godmother (1999)). Shabana Azmi was paired opposite Rajesh Khanna in 7 successful films.She is noted for her naturalness and intensity on-screen, matched by her fierce advocacy of the rights of women, minorities and slum-dwellers off-screen, both through activism and in her role as a Member of Parliament, where her consistent stand in defense of liberal values and the freedom of expression is noteworthy. She has also acted on stage to considerable acclaim, most notably in Tumhari Amrita with Farookh Sheikh. She is married to noted scriptwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar.

Mumtaz was born on July 31, 1947 to Abdul Sameed Askari and Sardar Begum Habib Agha aka Naaz, both of Iranian origin but settled in Bombay, India. Mumtaz first appeared in as child artist in Sanskar (1952),Yasmin (1955),Lajwanti (1958),Sone Ki Chidiya (1958),Stree(1961).Her mother, Naaz, was also an actress in films. When her family faced financial crisis, Mumtaz agreed to act in films as a junior artist and started appearing in group-scenes, at a very young age. She appeared in front of camera in V. Shantaram's Stree and Sehra but she went almost unnoticed.Mumtaz, as an adult her first role was that of the role of sister of the hero in O. P. Ralhan's Gehra Daag. Mumtaz then got the lead role in Pathan being made by Ataullah Khan, Madhubala's father, but the film remained incomplete. In early 1960's there was a union of the artistes playing extras in films in Bombay and every junior artist had to shell a part of their income to this union. From 1958-1964 she was only an extra in Hindi films in films like Vallah Kya Baat Hai.Too young to be cast as leading lady, she started with bit roles only, but was not missed, and gradually graduated to lead roles in low budget B grade movies with Dara Sing as hero.With Dara Sing she had 10 hit films of the 16 they did together from 1964-68. Mumtaz got the roles of supporting actress in A grade hit films like Sehra, Kaajal, Khandaan, Sawan Ki Ghata, Anpad, Hamraaz ,Pyar Kiye Jaa,Pati Patni, Mere Sanam, Suraj, Pathhar Ke Sanam, Ram Aur Shyam and Brahmachari. Then she was signed opposite Rajesh Khanna in Do Raaste in 1969. After release of Aradhana, Rajesh Khanna had become the superstar and his next 2 releases were Do Raate and Bandhan both with Mumtaz as his heroine. After release of these 2 films, Mumtaz became the highest paid Hindi actress from 1970-1976. She was extremely versatile, beautiful, charming, and stole everybody's heart by her captivating looks and inspired performances in each of her film. She quickly out-shadowed and dethroned the established queens in a very short time because of her histrionics. Mumtaz was sensitive, quick to understand and translate every nuance hinted at, onto the screen. Even in her brief roles against established actresses, she was the one who got noticed more and lingered in viewers memories for longer periods. She acted in more than 100 films during a short career span of 14 years, and there is not even a single film in which her performance could not be termed as excellent. In her very first film with significant banner and role, Khilona (1970), she won the most coveted Filmfare award in 1970. She has also been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Filmfare in 1997. She was in the Marilyn Monroe mold; every man's fantasy woman. She outshone everybody because of the simple reason that she was so versatile that every role appeared as if it was written with just Mumtaz in mind. Whether the role was negative or positive, serious or light, she proved her worth. Whether the role was for an urbanite or rustic, majestic or pauper, innocent or vile, gentle or venomous, coy or flaunting, Mumtaz just fitted them like a glove. The public adulation for her is still strong. The response to the continuous spate of screening of her movies on various television channels, even after more than two decades of her self-retirement, proves her tremendous unending popularity due to her incomparable charisma.

In April 1948 Jabalpur-based, Bengali-speaking Indira and Tarun Kumar Bhaduri were blessed with a child they named Jaya, and enrolled in the St. Joseph's Convent School in Bhopal.

Her acting career started when she was 15 in a Bengali film Mahanagar. She became an actress in her own right in Bollywood after the release of Guddi. She went on to star in many Hindi language films, including blockbusters like Jawani Diwani, Uphaar, Anamika, Abhimaan, Sholay, Bawarchi, Chupke Chupke Zanjeer just to name a few. Her acting spanned from 1963 to 1981. She also wrote the script of Shahenshah.

She married Amitabh Srivastav alias Bachchan, and subsequently gave birth to Shweta and Abhishek. Amitabh is the son of Sikh-Hindu parents, namely Teji and Harivansh Rai Srivastav alias Bachchan.

Jaya quit acting after 1981. Then her married life faced considerable upheavals especially with the much-publicized affair of her husband with Bollywood actress, Rekha. Then their lives were disrupted when Amitabh was seriously injured by a blow from actor, Puneet Issar, while filming 'Coolie', which almost took his life.

The family suffered another setback in 2005 when her asthmatic husband was admitted in Lilavati Hospital after complains of severe pains in his abdomen.

Her husband did recover, and both husband, wife, Abhishek, and his new bride, continue to dominate Bollywood with their screen presence. Jaya has also received a number of awards recognizing her talents in Bollywood.

Simi Garewal was born on October 17, 1947 to a Punjabi Sikh family in India. Her father was J.S Garewal who was in the military. Her mother was a homemaker. Her family migrated to London in early 1953 when she was barely 6 years old. In 1961, she moved back to India in order to become an actress. She was offered a small role in the English film Tarzan Goes to India (1962). When the film was released, she was noticed by filmmakers which resulted in getting more roles in Bollywood movies. However, her accented Hindi blocked her pathway to becoming a successful actress and hence, she was reduced to secondary roles in movies. In 1972, her nude scene in Siddhartha (1972) created a huge controversy in India and the film was not released due to censorship problems. After 1972, her demand began diminishing and she turned her attention to writing and direction. She now runs a TV show named Rendezvous with Simi in which she interviews popular Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities.