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Top 25 — Most Talented Bollywood Actresses — 2024

by Zerxo • Created 1 year ago • Modified 1 year ago
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  • Alia Bhatt

    1. Alia Bhatt

    • Actress
    • Producer
    • Music Department
    Highway (2014)
    Alia Bhatt (born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian origin. The recipient of several accolades, including one National Award, six Filmfare Awards and three IIFA Awards. Bhatt is one of the highest-paid actresses in India. She has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2014 and was featured by Forbes Asia in their 30 Under 30 list of 2017.
  • Sheeba Chaddha

    2. Sheeba Chaddha

    • Actress
    Badhaai Ho (2018)
    Sheeba Chaddha is a renowned Bollywood actress known for her versatile unconventional portrayals of Indian women across different movies and series.

    She grew up in Delhi and has spent most of her life in the capital, from where she gradually developed a keen interest in the world of theatre and acting. Chaddha graduated in English literature from Hans Raj College, University of Delhi.

    Chaddha has always been intrigued by the entertainment industry and has been a part of several theatre workshops during her time at the University of Delhi.

    She made her acting debut as Vasundhara in the Doordarshan television series Shri Krishna (1993). She went on to appear in Dil Se.. (1998) in 1998, and her career in the industry has progressed since then. She has been a part of some of the highest-grossing Bollywood movies like Straight from the Heart (1999).

    Chaddha restarted her career on national television in June 2007 with a show named Kasturi (2007). She played the role of a business tycoon in that show. She was cast in Delhi 6 in 2009. She was also part of a popular show titled Hitler Didi (2011), which was telecasted on Zee TV. She has been appreciated for her performance in other series like Gubbare (1999), Pavitra Rishta (2009), and Na Aana Iss Des Laado (2009).

    In 2011, Chaddha starred in Prakata Het Yad (2011) opposite Rituraj Singh. The movie was shot in gibberish. The movie won the Audience Choice Award at the River-to-River Festival under the Short Films category.

    She went on to play the role of a sex worker in the Bollywood high-grosser, Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (2012). She was also cast in movies like My Big Fat Bride (2015), where she played the role of Buaji.

    She was cast in Permanent Roommates (2014). She was also cast as Vasudha Pandit in the popular web series Mirzapur (2018). She followed up with several other web shows, including Bandish Bandits (2020), and in 2022, she was cast in multiple Bollywood hits such as Phone Bhoot (2022), Doctor G (2022), Maja Ma (2022), and Khuda Haafiz: Chapter 2 - Agni Pariksha (2022).
  • Shefali Shah

    3. Shefali Shah

    • Actress
    • Director
    • Writer
    Gandhi, My Father (2007)
    Shefali is a National Award-winning actress with a career spanning over two decades across various genres and formats. She has given power packed performances in films such as Satya, Monsoon Wedding, Gandhi, My Father, Dil Dhadakne Do and Once Again. Shefali has won numerous awards including the Filmfare Award, Stardust Award, Tokyo International Film Festival Award and Asian Academy Creative Award. She received the National Award (Best Supporting Actress) at the 55th National Film Awards for her work in The Last Lear. Shefali was lauded for her restrained and layered performance in director Neeraj Ghaywan's short film Juice, which won multiple awards, including the Filmfare Best Actress Award. She also lent her voice for the character of Raksha in the Hindi version of Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book. Her performance in the Netflix Original Delhi Crime garnered wide critical acclaim with the show winning the Best Drama series at the 48th International Emmy Awards. Shefali recently donned the director's hat with her two short films Someday and Happy Birthday Mummy Ji both dealing with the theme of isolation. Audiences unanimously loved her characterizations of Natasha in Ankahi, part of the Ajeeb Daastaans anthology on Netflix; Gauri Nath in Human and Rukhsana in Jalsa. She was recently seen in multiple films and series such as Darlings, Doctor G and Delhi Crime Season 2 among others.
  • Seema Pahwa

    4. Seema Pahwa

    • Actress
    • Director
    • Writer
    Seeking True Love (2017)
    Seema Pahwa was born on 10 February 1962 in New Delhi, India. She is an actress and director, known for Seeking True Love (2017), Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi (2019) and Shubh Mangal Savdhan (2017).
  • Taapsee Pannu

    5. Taapsee Pannu

    • Actress
    • Producer
    Haseen Dillruba (2021)
    Taapsee Pannu is a critically acclaimed Indian actress who has made a significant impact in Bollywood and South Indian cinema with her versatile performances. Hailing from New Delhi, India, Taapsee earned a degree in Computer Science Engineering from the Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology. Before entering the film industry, she worked as a software engineer and gained recognition in modeling, winning several beauty titles.

    Taapsee made her acting debut in Telugu cinema and quickly established herself in the South Indian film industry with successful roles in both Tamil and Telugu films. Her Bollywood debut brought her widespread recognition, particularly for her powerful performances that resonate with audiences and critics alike.

    Known for portraying strong, independent women, Taapsee has taken on roles that challenge societal norms and advocate for social change. Her dedication to her craft earned her a National Film Award for Best Actress, among other accolades throughout her career.

    Taapsee continues to push boundaries with her choice of roles, making her a significant figure in contemporary Indian cinema.
  • Tabu at an event for The Namesake (2006)

    6. Tabu

    • Actress
    • Music Department
    Drishyam (2015)
    Tabu is an Indian actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali-language films, as well as one American film. She has won the National Film Award for Best Actress twice, and holds the record for the most wins of Filmfare's Critics Award for Best Female Performer, with four. With few exceptions, she is best known for acting in artistic, low-budget films that go on to garner more critical appreciation than substantial box-office figures. Her appearances in commercially successful films were few, and her parts in these films were small, such as Border (1997), Saajan Chale Sasural (1996), Biwi No. 1 (1999) and Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999). Her most notable performances include Maachis (1996), Virasat (1997), Hu Tu Tu (1999), Astitva (2000), Chandni Bar (2001), Maqbool (2003) and Cheeni Kum (2007). Her leading role in Mira Nair's American film The Namesake (2006) also drew major praise.

    Regarded as one of the most talented Indian actresses of her generation, Tabu is known to be selective about her film roles. She was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2011 by the Government of India for her contributions towards the arts.
  • Dimple Kapadia

    7. Dimple Kapadia

    • Actress
    Tenet (2020)
    Born in a Gujerati-speaking family on June 8, 1957, daughter to businessman, Chunnibhai and Betty, Dimple has a younger sister, Simple, who was born on 15 August 1958.

    She was discovered by Raj Kapoor, who signed her up opposite his son, Rishi, in the 1973 hit 'Bobby'. The film made Rishi and her stars overnight, at the time of the film's she was just 16 years old.

    Exactly 6 months before the release of 'Bobby' Dimple who was a mad fan of super-star Rajesh Khanna, met and married the actor. Rajesh was 15 years older than her. After her marriage she quit films.

    On Rajesh's 32nd birthday, a daughter, Twinkle nicknamed as Tina, was born to them. Then on July 27, 1977, Dimple and Rajesh became parents of Rinke, who would later also become an actress in her own right.

    Dimple and Rajesh separated in 1982, enabling her to make a come-back to the tinsel screen with 'Zakhmi Sher'. She continues to act and has over 69 movies to her credit, some of them the more popular ones being 'Saagar', 'Insaaf', 'Zakhmi Aurat', 'Ram Lakhan', & 'Batwara'.
  • Bhumi Pednekar

    8. Bhumi Pednekar

    • Actress
    My Big Fat Bride (2015)
    Bhumi Pednekar is a renowned Bollywood actress born to late Satish and Sumitra. Her father was a former 'Maharashtra home and labor minister' while her mother worked as an activist fighting for the anti-tobacco regime after her husband passed away suffering from oral cancer.

    Pednekar worked at Yash Raj Films as a casting director for six years before making her acting debut in Sharat Katariya's My Big Fat Bride (2015), in which she played the obese wife of Ayushmann Khurrana's character. She was widely appreciated for her performance in the movie and won the Filmfare Award, Screen Award, and International Indian Film Academy Award for Best Female Debut for her work.

    She was cast in the satirical film Toilet: A Love Story (2017) opposite Akshay Kumar as a young lady in rural India who campaigns to enhance sanitation conditions, especially in rural areas. It grossed over 3 billion (about US$38 million) worldwide, making it one of the year's highest-grossing films and Pednekar's highest-grossing film overall.

    Pednekar's first nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Actress was in the same year for her performance opposite Ayushmann Khurrana in the comedy Shubh Mangal Savdhan (2017), which revolved around male impotence in India.

    In 2018, Pednekar played a maid in a relationship with her boss on the Netflix anthology series Lust Stories (2018). Her first film of 2019 was the Abhishek Chaubey-directed criminal thriller Sonchiriya (2019). She co-starred as a young housewife on the run with the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and Manoj Bajpayee in the rural region of Chambal. In Saand Ki Aankh (2019), which came out the next year, she played Chandro Tomar, a sharpshooter in her 70s. Her sister-in-law, Prakashi Tomar, was played by Taapsee Pannu. Pannu and Pednekar spent a lot of time with the two women and shot a lot of targets for practice.

    In Bala (2019), Pednekar reprised her role as a headstrong small-town teen. This was her third time working with Khurrana; in this film, she played a woman with a dark complexion who faced prejudice. And in Pati Patni Aur Woh (2019), a remake of the 1978 film, she played the role of a housewife whose husband was having an affair.

    Alankrita Shrivastava directed Dolly Kitty and Those Twinkling Stars (2019), which had its world premiere at the 24th Busan International Film Festival in 2019 and was released on Netflix in 2020. After that, she played a small role in the comedy-drama Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020) and the horror movie Bhoot: Part One - The Haunted Ship (2020).

    Pednekar appeared in Durgamati: The Myth (2020), the Hindi version of the horror film Bhaagamathie (2018). After a year from the silver screen, Pednekar and Rajkummar Rao starred in the comedy-drama Badhaai Do (2022) as homosexuals in a lavender marriage.

    Her appearance with Akshay Kumar in Aanand L. Rai's Raksha Bandhan (2022), a family comedy, has also been immensely praised. She next appeared in the Disney+ Hotstar comedy-suspense film Govinda Naam Mera (2022) with Vicky Kaushal and Kiara Advani, directed by Shashank Khaitan.

    Her first movie My Big Fat Bride (2015) got her seven awards. She also won Zee Cine Awards for her movie Bala (2019) as the best supporting actress in 2020. Later in the same year, she was awarded the best actress award (critics) for her movie Saand Ki Aankh (2019) by Screen Awards, which was shared with Taapsee Pannu as well. Another Best actress (critics) award came her way in 2020 for her role in Sonchiriya (2019).

    Pednekar also appeared in four episodes of Man's World (2015), a satire on YouTube made by Y-Films about what would happen if women treated men the way men treat women.

    In 2020, she collaborated with MTV India on the Nisedh campaign that aimed at increasing young people's understanding of women's health care.
  • Kareena Kapoor in Bodyguard (2011)

    9. Kareena Kapoor

    • Actress
    • Music Department
    • Make-Up Department
    3 Idiots (2009)
    Kareena was born to Sindhi-speaking Babita (nee Shivdasani) and Punjabi-speaking Randhir Kapoor in Bombay, India. She has an elder sister, Karisma.

    She is born in a family that have been actors for generations, including her paternal great-grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor; her grandfather, Raj Kapoor; her paternal uncles, Shammi, Shashi, Rishi, and Rajiv; as well as aunt, Neetu Singh, & Jennifer Kendall, the wives of Rishi and Shashi respectively. On her maternal side, her grandfather, Hari Shivdasani, and aunt, Sadhana, have been actors in their own rights.

    As a child she studied in Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu, Bombay, and thereafter was enrolled in Dehra Dun's prestigious Welham Girls' Boarding School. Then she re-located to Harvard for approximately 3 months to take a course in information technology and microcomputers. Upon her return to India, she joined the Government Law College in Churchgate, Bombay, but left it after one year, to enroll in the Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting School.

    Her film debut was in the year 2000 with Refugee (2000) along with the debut of Amitabh Bachchan's son, Abhishek. She went on to appear in 31 other Hindi movies, and has thus far won four awards for her performances in Refugee (2000), Chameli (2003), Dev (2004), and Omkara (2006).

    She is one of the most sought-after actresses in Bollywood, considered bankable, with an enviable A-listing and as of June 2007 is to appear in 'Tashan', 'Lajjo', 'Kismat Talkies' amongst others.

    In 2012, she married actor Saif Ali Khan, son of actress Sharmila Tagore.
  • Rani Mukerji

    10. Rani Mukerji

    • Actress
    Black (2005)
    Rani Mukerji is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of multiple accolades, including seven Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has featured in listings of the highest-paid actresses of the 2000s.

    Mukerji make her debut in her father directorial Bengali film Biyer Pool (1996). Her first Hindi film was the drama film Raja Ki Aayegi Bharat (1997). Mukerji first commercial success film was Ghulam (1998) which paired her with actor Aamir Khan, and followed by the worldwide blockbuster Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) make her first collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan.

    Mukerjis is known for her versatility. Her performances often sited as the most iconic and remarkable role in Hindi cinema. She established her career in the early 2000s with successful films including Saathiya (2002), Chalte Chalte (2003), Hum Tum (2004), Veer Zaara (2004), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), and Black (2005) later to be her best performance of her life time career.

    Following the birth of her child, Mukerji took a four-year hiatus to focus on her daughter and was persuaded by her husband, Aditya Chopra, to return to acting. Mukerji makes her comeback with the all-time blockbuster film Hichki in 2018, which emerged as her highest-grossing release film of all time. She is continued her acting career with successful thriller Mardaani 2 (2019) and the drama Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway (2023).
  • Radhika Apte

    11. Radhika Apte

    • Actress
    • Writer
    • Director
    Andhadhun (2018)
    Radhika Apte is a well-known Indian theatre and film actress born in Vellore and brought up in Pune. Before endeavoring into films, she began with theatre. Apte is an Economics and Mathematics graduate from Fergusson College, Pune. Apte during her growing up days in Pune, she learned Kathak from the exponent Rohini Bhate for eight years. During this time Radhika Apte involved in theatre avidly and later on decided to go to Mumbai to try luck on the silver screen. Radhika made her big-screen debut when she was in college with Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! (2005) in 2005 where she played a small role. Apte worked in different language films starting from Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, and Malayalam. Radhika Apte got her first leading role with a Bengali social drama film named Antaheen(2009) In 2009, Radhika Apte made her Marathi movie debut with 'Go Mala Asala Hawa' which was a Marathi Konkani film. In 2010, Radhika Apte appeared in Ram Gopal Verma's Rakhta Charitra and its sequel for which she was nominated for Screen Award Best Female Debutant. But it was only in 2011 where Radhika Apte's career got prominence. She has appeared in two films under Ekta Kapoor 's Balaji banner; I AM and Shor in the City. She is considered as the best indie actress of Bollywood. Radhika Apte was nominated for the SIIMA Award for Best Actress in a supporting role for maiden Tamil venture 'Dhoni'. Radhika Apte appeared in various Marathi plays like 'Tu', 'Purnavira,' 'Matra Ratra', 'Kanyadaan' to name a few. In 2015, Apte's career got wider recognition. In the first eight months, she has appeared in six feature films. In 2015, Radhika Apte's performance in Sriram Raghvan's Badlapur (2015) was critically acclaimed for which she was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress. In the same year, Apte appeared in a Hindi biographical film named Manjhi: The Mountain Man (2015) staring opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui which was a commercially successful movie and Apte was nominated for the Stardust Award for the Performance of the Year(Editor's Choice).

    Apart from acting in movies and theater, Radhika Apte has also acted for OOT platforms like Netflix where she is a part of the original series like Sacred Games (2018), Ghoul (2018), Lust Stories (2018). Radhika Apte's immense dedication and acting performances in the movies, theater and web series make her among the top and best Bollywood actress in recent times.

    In 2018, Apte starred opposite Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor in R.Balki's Pad Man (2018). The film was inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham from Tamil Nadu, who campaigned for menstrual hygiene in rural India. Padman's box office collection was average, but her role was critically acclaimed. Radhika Apte's projects in 2019 are Bombairiya (2019), Chithiram Pesuthadi 2, The Wedding Guest (2018) and The Ashram
  • Kriti Sanon

    12. Kriti Sanon

    • Actress
    • Producer
    • Publicist
    Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (2024)
    Kriti Sanon is an Indian actress who is a predominant name in the Hindi film industry, born in New Delhi to Rahul Sanon and Geeta Sanon. She holds an engineering degree from the Jaypee Institute of Information Technology. After completing her degree, she stepped into the entertainment industry as a model and later on in the year 2014 she has made her debut in Telugu cinema with Nenokkadine starting opposite Telugu Superstar Mahesh Babu. In the same year, Kriti debuted in Bollywood with Sabbir Khan's Heropanti which gave her Filmfare Best Debutant Actress. After which Kriti became a part of Bollywood's three commercially successful movies.

    Before making her silver screen debut, Kriti Sanon has appeared in various television commercials like Closeup, Vivel, Samsung, Bata, Amul among others. In 2015 Sanon appeared in her second Hindi film which was Rohit Shetty's Dilwale which appeared to be one of the highest-grossing films worldwide. In 2017, Kriti Sanon was a part of two Hindi movies; Raabta and Bareilly Ki Barfi. In 2019, Kriti Sanon starred opposite Kartik Aryan in Luka Chuppi which is a romantic comedy movie. Kriti Sanon has also made special appearances in songs like 'Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe' from the movie Stree (2018), 'Aira Gaira' from the movie Kalank(2019).

    Kriti's upcoming Hindi movie releases in 2019 are Arjun Patiala, Housefull4, Panipat, and Mimi in 2020
  • Kiara Advani

    13. Kiara Advani

    • Actress
    Shershaah (2021)
    Alia "Kiara" Advani was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra to Mr. Jagdeep Advani and Mrs. Genevieve Advani. She is an Indian actress and model who mainly works in the Bollywood industry. Advani made her debut with a box-office flop named Fugly (2014) and rose to fame with M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) where she played cricketer M. S. Dhoni's wife Sakshi Singh. She has also played roles in movies like Lust Stories (2018), Kabir Singh (2019), Good Newwz (2019), Laxmii (2020), Indoo Ki Jawani (2020), Shershaah (2021) etc.
  • Deepika Padukone

    14. Deepika Padukone

    • Actress
    • Producer
    • Soundtrack
    Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013)
    Deepika Padukone, born 5 January 1986 in Copenhagen, Denmark, is an Indian model and actress. She is the daughter of former badminton champion Prakash Padukone. Her mother tongue is Konkani. Deepika has a younger sister named Anisha.

    She has been modeling appearances in print and television advertising campaigns for Liril, Close-Up toothpaste and Limca, receiving many prestigious modeling offers, including brand ambassadorship of the Jewels of India, an annual jewelry exhibition. She hit the international scene when Maybelline made her their new international cover-girl face.

    At the fifth annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards, for Indian models and designers, she was awarded the title of Model of the Year. Shortly after wards, she was chosen as one of the models for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar for 2006, thus cementing her reputation as a supermodel. She also bagged two trophies at the Idea Zee F Awards in 2006 - female Model of the year (Commercial Assignments) and Fresh Face of the year.
  • Divya Dutta in Delhi-6 (2009)

    15. Divya Dutta

    • Actress
    • Music Department
    • Additional Crew
    Veer-Zaara (2004)
    Divya Dutta is an Indian Actress from Ludhiana (Punjab) who has acted in various Hindi and Punjabi movies.She did her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent in Ludhiana.She has won more than 25 awards in the Film Industry including Zee Cine awards for best supporting role in "Veer Zaara" and IIFA award for best supporting actress in "Delhi6".She has been nominated for Film Fare and Star Screen award twice.For her role in "Welcome To Sajjanpur" she won star sabse favorite kaun award.She has worked in more than 60 movies and is famous actress known in Bollywood.She has also worked in international movies and was seen in video of "Romeo" by a famous house music duo from London, England, Basement Jaxx.
  • Vidya Balan

    16. Vidya Balan

    • Actress
    • Producer
    Kahaani (2012)
    Vidya was born in Palghat, Kerala, India. Her family consists of her dad, P.R. Balan, who is the Vice-President of ETC Channel; mom - a home-maker, and an elder sister, Priya, who is married to Kedar. She also has an aunt by the name of Raji Raju.

    The Balan family re-located to live at Road No. 11, near Ambedkar Garden, Chembur, Bombay, when Vidya was very young. She studied in St. Anthony's Convent School, and thereafter in St. Xavier's College from where she obtained a degree in Sociology. She then went on to obtain a Masters degree in Sociology from Bombay University.

    She also studied and performed in Prithvi Theaters' workshops. Due to tradition of most Tamil-Iyer families, Vidya and her Priya learned Carnatic dance form during their early childhood days, but Vidya opted out as the dance classes took place early on Sunday mornings and as she is not an early riser.

    Considerably overweight, rather tomboyish, during her school-days, and an ardent fan of Shahrukh Khan, she decided to shed those extra pounds when she elected to opt for modeling and movies.

    Facing disappointment after being rejected by a Tamil producer, she nevertheless persisted until she got her first break with a Malyalam movie 'Chakram' opposite Mohanlal, however, the project was shelved, and she had to wait until 1998 to debut in a Surf Excel commercial. She then went on to appear in several commercials directed by Pradeep Sarkar. She completed nearly 90 such ads.

    She appeared in three music videos for Pankaj Udhas, Euphoria, and Shubha Mudgal in supporting roles. She then also appeared in two TV serials Ekta Kapoor's 'Hum Paanch', and Ashok Pandit's 'Hanste Khelte'.

    During 2003 she was signed-up to play a role in a Bengali movie 'Bhaalo Theko' opposite Joy Sengupta. This project was completed during the year 2006, and was a considerable hit.

    Then during 2006 Vidya was approached by Vidhu Vinod Chopra during a pop-concert in Mumbai to play a lead role in 'Parineeta'. She then had to undergo 17 make-up shoots and 40 screen tests before being chosen for this role. All this hard work did result in success as 'Parineeta' was very well received so much so that the Tamil producer, who had previously rejected her, invited her to appear in a 'Dasavatharam' opposite Kamal Hassan, and now it was Vidya's turn to reject this offer which eventually went to 'Asin'.

    Apart from acting, Vidya occupies herself for supporting education for young Indians by promoting children's' books; is associated with Americans for Aids Research; with Hale House - that provides support and housing for children born with HIV and drug abuse; as well as hosting forums and attending events for Harvard Aids Institute.

    When she was single, she was never involved in any scandal and claimed to get along well with both female and male friends. In 2012, she married producer Siddharth Roy Kapur

    An ardent devotee of Bhagwan Shri Sai Baba, she makes it a point to attend Mandirs every Thursday. She is proficient in Tamil, Malyalam, Hindi, English, Bengali, and can also read Urdu.
  • Parineeti Chopra

    17. Parineeti Chopra

    • Actress
    • Music Department
    • Soundtrack
    Hasee Toh Phasee (2014)
    Parineeti Chopra is an Indian actress and singer who appears in Hindi films, was born on in Ambala, Haryana into a Punjabi family. Her father, Pawan Chopra, is a businessman and supplier to the Indian Army at Ambala Cantonment and her mother is Reena Chopra. Chopra studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Ambala. In an interview published in The Hindu, she revealed that she was a very good student and had always wanted to become an investment banker. Chopra is also a trained Hindustani classical singer with a B.A. Honours in music. She used to perform on stage with her cousin, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and their fathers in her childhood.[12]

    Chopra initially aspired to pursue a career in investment banking, but after obtaining a triple honor's degree in business, finance and economics from Manchester Business School she returned to India during the 2009 economic recession and joined Yash Raj Films as a public relations consultant. Later, she signed a deal with the company as an actress. Chopra made her acting debut with an acclaimed performance in the 2011 romantic comedy Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl (2011), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and a Best Supporting Actress nomination. She followed it by garnering widespread critical acclaim for her starring roles in the box office hits- Ishaqzaade (2012), A Pure Desi Romance (2013) and Hasee Toh Phasee (2014). The first of these won her the National Film Award - Special Mention while the first two of these earned her two nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. After a three-year hiatus from full-time acting, she starred in the blockbuster comedy Golmaal Again (2017).
  • Sanya Malhotra at an event for The IMDb Studio at Sundance (2015)

    18. Sanya Malhotra

    • Actress
    • Additional Crew
    Ludo (2020)
    Sanya Malhotra was born on February 25, 1992 in Delhi. She is an Indian actress and a trained contemporary and ballet dancer. She is recognized for her noteworthy debut as Babita Kumari in a sports biopic film 'Dangal (2016)' starring alongside Aamir Khan and Fatima Sana Shaikh which ranks among the highest-grossing Indian films. Malhotra has also choreographed Khan in the song 'Sexy Baliye' from the film 'Secret Superstar (2017)'. (This is a lesser known fact)

    Sanya's performance in Vishal Bhardwaj's drama 'Pataakha (2018)', Ritesh Batra's 'Photograph (2019)', and Amir Sharma's 'Badhaai Ho (2018)' was highly appreciated. She was also seen in 'Shakuntala Devi (2020)', 'Ludo (2020)' in the year 2020, both of which had an OTT release. Her work in the latest Netflix release 'Pagglait (2021)' garnered a lot of compliments across the film industry and among the viewers. Her upcoming projects include a Netflix original, 'Meenakshi Sundareshwar (2021)' starring opposite Abhimanyu Dasani and 'Love Hostel (2022)' alongside Vikrant Massey and Bobby Deol.
  • Lauren Zima and Huma Qureshi

    19. Huma Qureshi

    • Actress
    • Producer
    Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)
    Huma Qureshi born and raised in Delhi. Her father is a famous restaurant owner called Saleem's a chain of some 10 restaurants in Delhi. Her brother, Saqib Saleem is an actor and acted in Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge. In year 2011 an announcement was made that Huma would make her Bollywood debut in a movie too called Billa 2 but got delayed due to some unknown reason. However, a few months later, a new announcement came as she wasn't part of the project and she has gotten her Bollywood debut, Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur. Huma has a nice role in 2 parts of Gangs of Wasseypur.
  • Neena Gupta

    20. Neena Gupta

    • Actress
    • Director
    • Producer
    Badhaai Ho (2018)
    Neena Gupta is an Indian actress, producer, and director. Her repertoire of films includes art-house films, commercial films, and several international films as well.

    Gupta attended The Lawrence School in Sanawar in Himachal Pradesh. And she pursued her graduation from Janki Devi Memorial College in Delhi. She earned her Master's degree in Sanskrit and completed her M.Phil in the same subject.

    While studying at Janki Devi Memorial College in Delhi, Gupta started taking part in college plays. Gupta's first appearance on the big screen was in 1982 in Saath Saath (1982), an endearing love story directed by Raman Kumar.

    In the same year, she was seen in the international film Gandhi (1982), based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough. She played the role of Gandhi's grandniece Abha in the film.

    She followed it up with Yeh Nazdeekiyan (1982), helmed by Vinod Pande. The storyline was based on an extra-marital relationship.

    In 1983, Gupta made her mark by acting in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), a dark satire directed by Kundan Shah that revolved around corruption in India.

    She was next seen in Shyam Benegal's dark comedy Mandi (1983). She essayed the role of a classical dancer in the film that centred around politics and prostitution in society.

    In Trikal (Past, Present, Future) (1985), another movie helmed by Shyam Benegal, she played the role of a maid who acted as a medium for seances.

    She went on to act in Aruna Raje's Rihaee (1988), a film that dealt with women's choice and sexual frustration when faced with male promiscuity.

    Her next international appearance on the big screen was in The Deceivers (1988), an adventure movie helmed by Nicholas Meyer that starred Pierce Brosnan, Shashi Kapoor, and Saeed Jaffrey.

    In 1989, she was seen in Daddy (1989), a television movie directed by Mahesh Bhatt. Gupta appeared in a couple of Malayalam movies, such as Vasthuhara (1991) and Aham (1992).

    In 1992, she acted in Bollywood action films like Zulm Ki Hukumat (1992), directed by Bharat Rangachary, and Balwaan (1992), directed by Deepak Anand.

    In the same year, she appeared in The Seventh Horse of the Sun (1992), directed by Shyam Benegal.

    Her acting in Woh Chokri (1994), directed by Subhankar Ghosh, won her the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1993.

    She also appeared in Badhaai Ho (2018), a comedy-drama helmed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma Amit Ravindernath Sharma. She essayed the role of a middle-aged woman who gets pregnant. Gupta won the Screen Award for Best Actress (Critics) 2019 and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress 2019 for her acting in this film.

    She played the role of a mother in Hitesh Kewalya's romantic comedy Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020).

    In 2022, she acted in the adventure drama film Misogyny (2009), directed by Sooraj R. Barjatya. The film starred Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, and Boman Irani in lead roles.

    Gupta has been a part of several TV series, including Gul Gulshan Gulfam (1987), Junoon (1994), Saans (1999), and Panchayat (2020).
  • Radhika Madan

    21. Radhika Madan

    • Actress
    Pataakha (2018)
    Radhika Madan, a talented dancer, began her career in acting after initially focusing on dance. She attended Delhi Public School, where she balanced playing cricket with attending dance classes, where she honed her skills in various forms, including hip-hop, jazz, and ballet. After completing her schooling, she pursued a Bachelor of Commerce Honors degree at Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University.

    Madan was a Delhi-based dance instructor before her acting debut as Ishaani Vaghela in the television show Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi (2014). In 2015, Madan won a Zee Gold Award for Best Debut Actress and an Indian Television Academy Award for Best Newcomer for performance.

    Madan also showcased her dancing skills by participating in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (2006), which aired on Colors TV.

    In 2018, Madan made her Bollywood debut in the comedy-drama Pataakha (2018), starring alongside Vijay Raaz. Madan was nominated for a Zee Cine Award in the category of Best Debut Actress (2019), and she won a Star Screen Award for being the Most Promising Newcomer for the movie Pataakha.

    Since then, she has played major roles in several movies, such as The Man Who Feels No Pain (2018), Angrezi Medium (2020) and Shiddat (2021). Madan won an IIFA Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress (2022) for Angrezi Medium for her role as Tarika Bansal, the daughter of Champak Bansal, played by Irrfan Khan.

    Madan made her web series debut in 2021 with the Netflix series Ray (2021), for which she won the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Supporting Actor (Female). She also starred in the Netflix series Feels Like Ishq (2021). In the same year, Madan made her music video debut with Ni Jana (2021), a song composed and sung by Jasleen Royal and Alibi Rafeon.

    In 2022, Madan won a Pinkvilla Style Icons Award for the Super Stylish Maverick Star and Emerging Talent.

    She has also acted in Sanaa (2022), Kacchey Limbu (2022) and the crime thriller, Kuttey (2023).
  • Mrunal Thakur

    22. Mrunal Thakur

    • Actress
    Love Sonia (2018)
    Mrunal Thakur is an Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Telugu, and Marathi television and films. She began acting through television and was best known for her role in the serial, Kumkum Bhagya.

    Thakur first entered films with her performance in the Marathi film, Vitti Dandu (2014). Soon after, she took on a role in another Marathi production, Surajya (2014). Her foray into Hindi films began with Tabrez Noorani's Love Sonia (2018). In the film, Thakur played the lead character in a story about the realities of human trafficking and prostitution. Her next major Hindi film would be Super 30.

    Thakur made her debut in the Telugu film industry with the romantic drama Sita Ramam (2022).
  • Yami Gautam

    23. Yami Gautam

    • Actress
    Kaabil (2017)
    Yami Gautam is an Indian film actress who was born on 28th November 1988 in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, India. She has predominantly worked in Hindi films while briefly working in Kannada, Punjabi, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. Yami is considered to be 'One of the Most Versatile Actresses in Bollywood'.

    Starting her journey of acting and stardom with Vicky Donor (2012), Yami Gautam became the talk of the industry by proving her acting mettle in her first outing itself. Yami won the 'Best Female Debut', 'Star Debut of the Year - Female', and 'Best Entertaining Female Debut' at Zee Cine Awards, IIFA Awards, and Big Star Entertainment Awards respectively for her Bollywood Debut, Vicky Donor in 2012 and 2013.

    Yami has played some of the bravest on-screen female roles. From a powerful role as Pallavi, an intelligence officer in the biggest hit Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) to playing a visually impaired character in Kaabil (2017), she is hailed for her path-breaking performances. Her flawless performance and captivating personality have translated into many blockbuster films like Badlapur (2015), Bala (2019), Ginny Weds Sunny (2020) - to name a few.

    Yami completed her schooling & later went on to pursue her Law Honors from Punjab University. As a young girl, she had aspired to join the civil services but later moved to pursue her passion, i.e. acting. She has been lucky to have been the face of many brands like Glow and Lovely, Cornetto, Samsung Mobile, Chevrolet, Revlon, Khimji Jewellers, iRange by Piramal, Hand in Hand Sanitizers, and Kai Razors. She has also graced the covers of various well-known and leading fashion, lifestyle, and film magazines like Elle, Cosmopolitan, Femina, Brides Today, etc.

    Yami made her television debut with Raajkumar Aaryyan (2008) followed by Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam (2009). She made her debut in films with Kannada film, Ullasa Uthsaha (2010), followed by her debut in Punjabi film like Ek Noor (2011) and Telugu film Nuvvila (2011). She made her Malyalam film debut with Hero (2012) and Tamil film debut with Gouravam (2013).

    She is also known for her performances in Total Chaos (2014), Sarkar 3 (2017), Batti Gul Meter Chalu (2018). For her role in Bala, she had won the award for 'Best Actor in a Comic Role' at Screen Awards in 2020.

    Yami was much appreciated for her recent performances in films like Dasvi (2022), a social comedy genre, starring alongside Abhishek Bachchan & Nimrat Kaur and Bhoot Police (2021), a spooky adventure comedy starring alongside Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor & Jacqueline Fernandez. Yami made headlines with her brilliant performance in A Thursday (2022), a thriller, starring alongside Neha Dhupia, Atul Kulkarni followed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's Lost (2022) which released in February 2023 and featured Pankaj Kapur, Rahul Khanna, and Neil Bhoopalam. Her latest release was Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (2023), a heist thriller directed by Ajay Singh, alongside Sunny Kaushal.
  • Rajshri Deshpande

    24. Rajshri Deshpande

    • Actress
    • Director
    • Producer
    Trial by Fire (2023– )
    Rajshri Deshpande - Actor. Filmmaker. Producer. Social Worker

    Filmography - Shows for Netflix : Trial by Fire, The Fame Game, Sacred Games BBC show - Mcmafia Films : Angry Indian goddesses , Manto , S Durga, Nirvana Inn, Choked, My dog is sick

    Origins - Rajshri hails from humble beginnings and having been raised in a family of farmers herself, she feels for the woes of rural units and is very passionate about making villages self-reliant.

    Prior Work - Rajshri dedicates her time extensively to humanitarian causes. In 2014, after the Nepal earthquake she worked with an international NGO at one of the villages. In 2015, she adopted a drought-prone village in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra called 'Pandhari' and with the help of local villagers executed a rainwater harvesting project, built toilets, health care facilities and community motivation camps. Encouraged by the success and social participation, she adopted one more village in the region. In 2018, she created her NGO 'Nabhangan Foundation' ( www.nabhanganfoundation.org ) to broaden her efforts towards sustainable village development and the team finished building 3 eco-sensitive school and worked on water, Sanitation, women community centers and healthcare. During Covid Pandemic Team Nabhangan worked with more than 30 villages and now the whole team is making the same villages self-sustainable.
  • Sushmita Sen

    25. Sushmita Sen

    • Actress
    Main Hoon Na (2004)
    Sushmita was born in the Bengali-speaking Sen family on November 19, 1975 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Her family consists of her dad, Shubeer, a former Indian Air Force Wing Commander; mom, Subhra, Jewelry Designer and owner of a Dubai-based store. She has two siblings, a sister named Neelam, who is married to Nauman Malik, and a brother named Rajeev. Subhra's dad was a poet.

    She attended different schools in Jorhat, and Nagpur, but spend the majority of her schooling days in the Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute and Air Force Silver School in Delhi. She was regarded as a tomboy and spent most of her times with boys. Since the schools were Hindi medium, she could not speak English until she was 16 years of age. She subsequently not only mastered English, but became an English Honors student, and also obtained a degree in Journalism. Due to her place of birth she can speak Urdu flawlessly.

    Her first public appearance was at the Air Force Club Contest at the age of 15. She did a few fashion shows thereafter. Then during 1994 she decided to be a participant in Miss India beauty pageant, fully aware that she was being pitted against the reigning favorite, Aishwarya Rai. Sushmita took everyone by surprise when she was crowned Miss India while Aishwarya had to content with being the First Runner-up. Both beauties went on to win Miss Universe and Miss World titles respectively. Ironically the final outfit for Miss Universe for Sushmita was made by a little-known Meena Bazar tailor, and her mom.

    It was during 1996 that she first appeared as herself in a Bollywood movie titled 'Dastak'. Though the movie did not fare too well, she was noticed and thus began her career on the silver screen. She has since then portrayed herself in a variety of characters and also some 'item' numbers.

    Not considered a classic beauty and leading quite an unconventional lifestyle she ended up in many relationships but did not marry anyone. She wanted to be a mother and to adopt a baby girl, and name her Renee. Since she is single, she had to fight a Court battle before she could finally adopt Renee. Finally on 13 April 2000 she was given the go-ahead to adopt her, even though the family-owned business in Dubai was already re-named as 'Renee' quite ironically a year earlier on 13 April 1999.

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