2009 a de-glam year for Bollywood babes

Bollywood heroines exploited their gorgeous looks to the hilt last year. This year the in-thing is being realistic and deglamorised.

While Katrina is playing a politician (reportedly Sonia Gandhi), Aishwarya is also shedding that killer mascara and lip-gloss for Mani Ratnam's 'Ravana'.

The same is true for Priyanka Chopra, who is playing a Marathi mulgi in Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Kaminey'.

Sans make-up, Priyanka said, "It felt like I was naked. One is so used to make-up. But Vishal was adamant. Seeing his vision, I drew confidence and agreed."

Dolly Ahluwalia, Priyanka's stylist reveals to a news daily, "'What all do you guys want me to do', Priyanka had asked in disbelief. But once convinced, she was all for it."

Katrina's director was nonplussed about the vanilla look. He deadpanned, "Sirf acting hi toh hai, koi pataal se paani toh nahi nikalna hai."

However, he did appreciate Katrina's dedication and discipline. "It is courageous to take up such a role. We have shot in real circumstances, with crowds, under the harsh sun, but she never threw a tantrum," he said.

Mani Ratnam has had Ash dress in loose kalidar suits and had her hair put in a tight plait. Ahluwaliya also stressed on the tough job of deglamorising such stunners. He stated, "Making these women look unglamorous is not easy, considering they are all known for their style quotient. We had to take all that [glamour] away."

"Toning down measures include 'clipping their nails' and 'decolouring their hair', says Nikhar Dhawan, who styled Ash's stylist in 'Guru', Nikhar Dhawan. As an eye-opener, for 'Kaminay' Priyanka is wearing clothes that are dirt cheap by Bollywood standards. Her costliest outfit came for Rs 3,000, including the tailor's fee. Katrina's stylist reveals, "She herself co-ordinated her saris and chappals."