SETTING A NEW BAR

Alia Bhatt retains her wide- eyed innocence while enacting roles that need her to go off the beaten track. Films like the gritty Highway ( that drew on the unlikely Stockholm syndrome), and the unconventional Kapoor & Sons and Udta Punjab, somehow overshadowed t he more straitjacketed Student of the Year. Katrina Kaif has survived the long haul despite her Anglicised accent and Westernised style. The characters she plays on screen — even in tear- jerkers like Jab Tak Hai Jaan — are way too animated and bubbly for typical Bollywood audiences, who prefer their heroines far more subdued and demure. Kat has emerged as one of the most bankable stars of late despite her inclination to take on roles that project women who know their mind... and are not afraid to speak it! Nargis Fakhri seemed to be a writeoff when she first arrived in Bollywood. Not only did she appear ‘ too American’ ( diction, mannerisms), the role she played in Rockstar was also a tad too unorthodox. But she sailed through, winning over masses and critics. And followed it up with the much- lauded Madras Cafe.

ZEENAT AMAN: She had no qualms smoking pot in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, cavorting around in a bikini in Heera Panna and Qurbani or taking on the bad boys in Don ( in boy- cut hair). Zeenat redefined what Bollywood actresses stood for in the 70s

PARVEEN N BABI: I: One of th he rare ac ctresses in the 70s s and 80s whow dared to be different, Parveen — the first Indian movie star to b be featured on the Time mag agazine cover — worere We estern clothes, dance ed to We estern tunes and mos stly...