The fairest of them all...

What a comeback! Five years in hibernation and the moment she returns, everyone goes Fanaa... Kajol couldn't have planned a better vehicle for her second innings in tinsel town. As Zooni Ali Beg, she filled the silver screen like only she can. Directed by Kunal Kohli, framed by Ravi Chandran, singing to Jatin-Lalit and romancing Aamir Khan for the first time... Kajol took our hearts away all over again. Despite Fanaa not releasing at the city plexes, 30.8 per cent of the SMS votes came in for Kajol's Zooni. In the process she steals Rani Mukherjee's crown, which she won last time for Black with a whopping 79 per cent vote count. And Fanaa was not a one-off assignment. Kajol is now set to play Sita to Ajay Devgan's Ram in Rajkumar Santoshi's interpretation of the epic

She lit the Beedi, sprinkled the Namak and even bounced on the beaches a la Baywatch, but it was Nishigandha Dasgupta in Corporate who has won her the rewards. As the Madhur Bhandarkar heroine, Bipasha Basu showed that she was no pushover compared to the likes of Tabu and Konkona Sen Sharma. Holding her ground opposite the likes of Kay Kay Menon and Rajat Kapoor, Bips entered a new league in Bollywood and the 22 per cent votes for her is testimony to that. If Rituparno Ghosh's Draupadi happens, she might just find herself at the top

With Kajol back, Rani Mukherjee finally has some competition as Bollywood's numero uno heroine. Despite playing leading lady in Karan Johar and Ravi Chopra films, Rani is unable to hold on to her Black crown. While KANK met with mixed reactions, Baabul bombed. Rani didn't let down either of the two, but she left no trail behind. Yet, the queen of hearts manages to win 12 per cent votes for playing Maya and comes third in our Best Actress list. Next year, Rani will be back in the reckoning as she stars opposite Hum Tum co-star Saif in Ta Ra Rum Pum

Easily the best debut of the year, Anurag Basu's Gangster discovery Kangana Ranaut gets more votes than Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ayesha Takia! Not only was she a revelation in the Abu Salem-inspired drama, she followed it up with an impressive turn as the Parveen Babi-inspired Sana Azim in Woh Lamhe. With Bollywood banking big on the doe-eyed beauty with an aversion for below-the-waist wear, and Anurag Basu's Metro and Suneel Darshan's Shaka Laka Boom Boom in her kitty, Kangana can now reach for the stars

Parineeta was no flash in the pan. Thus proved Vidya Balan as she smiled her way into not only Munnabhai's heart but into the hearts of every Bollywood buff. And while she had precious little to do compared to her stunning debut in the Pradeep Sarkar film, she made all the right moves, Pal pal, har pal. As the Vinod Chopra mainstay, she will surface again in the big 2007 multi-starrer Eklavya. But not before she hots things up opposite John Abraham in Salaam-e-Ishq and does a delightful cameo in Mani Ratnam's Guru. Reasons enough for her to round off the 2006 Best Actress Top Five list