Bollywood is nothing without glitz, glamour and style. While the industry is witnessing a sea of change with countless newcomers every year, let's take a good look at the ruling ladies and their journey since their somewhat 'humble' beginnings...
They call her the Queen of Hearts. With a winning smile and strong industry connections (uh hum, with a certain Mr Chopra), Rani Mukerji had one of the most unglamorous debuts in Bollywood.
First seen as: The battered wife in Mehndi. Her dresses left us 'speechless', of course, but what struck us was the podgy little girl who obviously was scared to get her eyebrows pulled out on screen as the 'heroine'.
Turning point: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai's Tina, the foreign-returned college girl who became the sexy youth icon. Around this time, Rani changed her designer from brother Raja to Manish Malhotra. And the results were quite visible.
Today: She has not looked back ever since. One of the most elegant and powerful women in Bollywood, Rani Mukerji today is not only glamorous, but her dresses (by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, yes, she dumped Manish) too are quite enviable.
Vidya Balan has a great presence on screen and all her movies since Parineeta have seen her deliver critically acclaimed performances. But this babe took her time to make it to the top and now that she's here, she plans to make the most of it while it lasts.
First seen as: The partially deaf and dorky Radhika in Balaji's Hum Paanch and the quintessential housewife in the Wheel detergent powder ads. And obviously, her looks were way below average. She also did a video for the band Euphoria.
Turning point: Parineeta and Lage Raho Munnabhai, where we actually thought she was sexy!
Today: All set to show off her dancing skills with an item number in Kismet Konnection
Kajol has been one of the only leading ladies in Bollywood who exuded a certain confidence and independence that her audience found irresistible. She has also been one of the few actresses who didn't care much about her appearance or the way she looked. She simply preferred to let her talent to speak for itself...
First seen as: Radhika in Bekhudi. Do we even remember the movie? Well, that was not the only film in which she looked quite unattractive. There was Baazigar and Karan Arjun where Kajol refused to have her eyebrows touched and wore shiny pink and blue outfits with lumps of adipose oozing out. She was probably the one who brought about the 'dark is beautiful' revolution in Bollywood. And today, we have a hoard of dusky beauties, don't we?
Turning point: SRK's Simran in DDLJ
Today: One of the most talented actresses and superstar wives of Bollywood!
As the daughter of yesteryear stars Hema Malini and Dharmendra, a lot was expected from Esha Deol. Unfortunately, her lack of acting skills and oodles of baby fat almost sent her packing...
First seen as: Eisha Singh in Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe. When it released, we all wondered what this little girl with so much baby fat was doing opposite the hunky Hrithik. She could have well got the producer jailed for child labour.
Turning point: Showing off her newly sculpted body in Dhoom. Somebody really must have waved a magic wand over her. The girl just went from cute and cuddly to hot and sexy almost overnight, it seemed. Just take a look at her famous rain dance sequence with Uday Chopra in the film, and you'll know what we mean.
Today: One of the hottest bodies in tinsel town, as also seen in Cash.
Karisma Kapoor now Kapur was dressed as a boy in her first film and sported two pigtails in most of her others. She was fair and had baby blue eyes; but somehow that wasn't enough. When you look at Karisma Kapur today and compare it to what she looked like in her first few films, you cant help but go "Holy s***!"
First seen as: Neelima in Prem Qaidi. Still in her teens, this babe looked like she'd be more comfortable in a school uniform than trying to look sexy in pink frilly frocks.
Turning point: Raja Hindustani and Dil To Pagal Hai. Her dressing turning point though came around withManish Malhotra, who made this ugly little duckling look smart and attractive.
Today: A Bollywood bygone but still exudes the potential to make a comeback.
Little sister Kareena Kapoor was no less either. Though she made her big Bollywood debut in a time when designers had already come of age, Bebo had her own list of fashion faux pas to make. Her stupid frocks and lame attempts at covering the extra fat, did not somehow make the actress look either cute or sexy!
First seen as: Naaz, in JP Dutta's Refugee. We all noticed her in that movie. After all, it's tough to miss out on such a voluminous entity in any film.
Turning point: Chameli and Yuva. She looked relatively thinner and her dressing sense had finally matured from the 'two ponytails and frock' genre.
Today: Kareena is one of the highest paid stars in India and has a completely different aura in movies which require her to use minimal make-up. A few nips and tucks have been rumoured about this beauty but who cares, she's Bebolicious!
Preity Zinta was always cute. But 'sexy' never crossed our minds when we saw her. Being little on the heavier side, this actress was not what we thought could pass for a real Bollywood diva. But we were to be proved wrong...
First seen as: Preeti Nair in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se opposite Shah Rukh Khan. We all remembered this cute girl from Cadbury's Perk ads and Liril commercials. And were more surprised than happy to see her in films for the first time and wondered how the roly-poly girl could ever make it to the A-league in B'wood.
Turning Point: Shalini, Dil Chahta Hai. Preity was a good actress and with DCH she proved that she can be sexy too. Very soon in Salaam Namaste, we saw her lose all the extra fat as well. And wearing stringy garments on the beach. Guess it does indeed take a Yash Raj film to make cute look sexy.
Today: The actress was recently spotted at Cannes representing an international jewellery brand she endorses. Needless to say, she was given quite a few envious looks, as she walked down wearing a stunning blue gown and a short hairdo.
Shilpa Shetty is known to have the perfect vital stats but it was a long time before she learnt the art of presentation. Her first few movies saw her sporting the most hideous outfits and the worst hairstyles...
First seen as: Seema in Baazigar. Even with a body like hers, she looked extremely bland! So much so that Kajol (with monobrow) looked prettier in comparison.
Turning point: Jade Goody's racial attacks in Celebrity Big Brother. Though Shilpa Shetty had started looking really hot long before the incident, this international show brought the much awaited fame to the actress.
Today: Envied for being able to wear her saris frightfully low, she is also the first Bollywood star to have her own Yoga self-help CDs and DVDs!
An actress who made her Bollywood debut at the age of seven, Urmila has had one of the longest yet inconsistent careers in the industry.
Best remembered as: Pinky in Masoom
Turning point: Aamir's Rangeela. Her short skirts and sexy clothes made her enter the big league after all. Manish Malhotra responsible.
Today: One of the most versatile actresses in Bollywood, this girl has an attitude and dress sense (courtesy Manish again) to match...
Source: Buzz18
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