The Top 10 - Actresses

Rani Mukerji
Black magic woman
The word is out: Ask for Rani when you mean business. She gave Hum Tum a quiet dignity, hit us in the gut with a visceral anger in Yuva and held up a delicately controlled portrayal in Veer-Zaara. And then came Black. The movie released this year but word of her virtuosity was all round the industry in 2004. To stand proud alongside the best that director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has offered and Amitabh Bachchan has given us in a long time is a triumph that has deservedly propelled Rani Mukerji to the top slot.
Rank 2003: 3

Preity Zinta
Using her smart card
It's been an inch-by-inch climb for Preity Zinta. But she's never looked back, never taken a step backward. Because she's made some smart career choices, looked beyond her role at the bigger picture, focused on her job and made few enemies. Besides, like Rani Mukerji, she's worked well with the Big Four Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan. That has naturally meant the best banners and projects have come her way. Films with Karan Johar and Rakesh Roshan were followed by projects with Farhan Akhtar and Yash Chopra, and more big 'uns are coming her way in 2005. Preity Zinta has good reason to dimple.
Rank 2003: 2

Aishwarya Rai
When, oh, when?
Aishwarya Rai finds herself in a piquant situation. She's never had it so good out of India. And she's never had it so tough in India. Her Hollywood projects (which have yet to take off), Madame Tussaud's figurine, even the UK success of Bride And Prejudice clearly cut little ice in apna industry, concerned only with the here and now What did your last film do to the box office? Alas, Ash's last big hit here was Devdas, a good three years ago and she's been hoping for that one blockbuster for too long now. It doesn't help that the Khan triumvirate and by inference, their loyalist directors, aren't exactly eager to work with her, each for their different reasons. Isolated and outpriced, she may be. But beaten, she ain't. You can't keep a beautiful woman down for too long.
Rank 2003: 1; No 7 in the Top 10

Kareena Kapoor
DNA diva
Kareena Kapoor has survived on sheer will-power for some years now and even a spate of non-stop flops could not dent her price, her self-assurance or her willingness to experiment. Some films she did for money, some for the actress in her. But all with supreme confidence. Few would question her talent or that she is genetically coded for stardom. When Aitraaz and Hulchul finally ended the drought, she took her new-found success in her stride but made a point with the naysayers. They've been silenced. For the moment at least.
Rank 2003: 4

Kajol
Conditions apply
Fact is Kajol hasn't faced the camera in three years now. Fact is married actresses are a no-no at the box office. And married actresses with a kid? Hah. But Kajol is as much in demand today as she ever was. The offers haven't ever stopped pouring in. Whether it was Gurinder Chaddha who wanted her for Bride And Prejudice, Paul Berges who approached her for Mistress Of Spices or Karan Johar who was keen to sign her for his next, they all tried their luck. Only to hear a firm No. She couldn't bear to be away from daughter Nysa for too long.
Then one day she surprised us all by accepting the Yashraj-Kunal Kohli film opposite Aamir Khan, a pairing that has already sent expectations soaring.
She'll never be a full-time actress again, she insists. But for now, this is good enough.
Rank 2003: 5

Sushmita Sen
Born again
She was meandering (but not aimlessly) when she was rediscovered with Main Hoon Na. When Sush swayed her seductive tush, millions of men sighed along with Shah Rukh Khan and Sushmita Sen became the fantasy college professor for Gen X. Then she did a complete switcheroo and went totally de-glam in Vaastu Shastra, ringing in a well-crafted performance. In between, she acquired the most-talked about diamonds in India. Judging by industry reactions, Sush should be buying herself many more rocks this year.
Rank 2003: —

Priyanka Chopra
She knew it was coming
She was clearly headed for the big-time from Day 1. Pairing unstoppable determination with on-screen sizzle, and picking up 1,2,3 hits in a row en route, Priyanka Chopra is entitled to wear her success with the air of one who knows it was inevitable. Coming up in 2005, she has Rakesh Roshan's sequel to Koi... Mil Gaya with Hrithik Roshan, and Subhash Ghai's next production. And that's just for starters. It takes more than a mobile bill gone public to stop this girl's ascent. As for the rumours about the men in her life, since when did a little romance hurt anyone?
Rank 2003: —

Tabu
What's the hurry?
No hurricanes at the box office, no top-line projects in her kitty, one horrendously disastrous film (Hawas), yet she makes it to this list. Perhaps because nothing but excellence is expected or accepted from her. And she never disappoints. She pulled out the plugs once again for her superbly crafted Nimmi in Maqbool last year. Ask her, can we have some more please, and she'll tell you languidly that she wants to take time off for herself. She was never part of the rat race anyway, right?
Rank 2003: 8

Bipasha Basu
Climbing back from ground zero
She drew a big nil at the box office in 2004. And could have dropped out of the race had she not woken up and smelt the coffee. She took 12 kilos off, spent less time on beau John Abraham's arms (on and off the screen) and dividends came by way of a wow figure and half-a-dozen promising projects opposite biggies like Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar. While she hasn't yet made it to the Chopra-Johar league, Bipasha Basu showed she is made of sterner stuff than her detractors credited her with. They don't call her Bengal tigress for nothing.
Rank 2003: 7

Mallika Sherawat
Behind those breasts is a 24/7 brain
For all the hype that Mallika Sherawat has spun around herself, she might not have got her due...yet. With a role opposite Jackie Chan in a major Hollywood film, The Myth, she could well hit the international scene in a big way if her luck holds. Her unapologetic sexuality overshadows her acting prowess, and indeed, everything else about her, but this Haryanvi is an astonishingly astute woman who has propelled herself to stardom. Behind the uninhibited body language and the 'Men talk to my breasts' quotes is a brain that's ticking 24/7. She wants to make it big, but she also wants to make it last, and she's savvy enough to make that happen.
Rank 2003: —