The 10 Most Powerful Women In Showbiz Today
| Wed, 2010-12-01 15:40 — bollywood lover | Share this on |
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It all began at Chunky Panday's throbbing restobar Elbo Room where a casual discussion on the most powerful women in showbiz today, threw up an interesting pot-pourri of unexpected names.
The Top 10? That's easy," began a filmmaker as he began rattling off the names of today's popular achievers. By the time he got to his fifth finger, it petered out. And when he was prodded for power women, not just the leading actresses of the day, he threw up his hands.
"Let's be honest, I can't go beyond four," said another, after starting off full of steam. No wonder everybody only does lists of men in power or genderless, general ones.
"My spouse would tell you there are no powerful women today," said an actor.
"That's great. I'll text you my inputs," promised a leading actress. We're yet to hear from her.
It got more interesting as the days sped by.
The impressive panel that finally drew up the list came up with an astounding variety of names that embodied woman power in different forms, including reflected power.
Our prestigious panel
Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar renowned for his fine cinema on women.
Producer Mukesh Bhatt, a canny producer who has studied the business of entertainment.
Producer Ramesh Taurani of Tips whose Race is a brand worth a sequel and keeps a shrewd eye on what sells. "Power means the ability to generate money," he is clear.
Actress Raveena Tandon, born to director Ravi Tandon, married to distributor Anil Thadani. She is sharp and knows precisely what's happening in showbiz today.
The 10
(in alphabetical order)
1 ASHVINI YARDI: A new channel called Colors came in from nowhere and upstaged the supremacy of all other channels including Star Plus. The most powerful woman in television today.
2 EKTA KAPOOR: Showbiz is like a swamp. There are alligators and there are birds riding piggyback on them. Ekta is an alligator who straddles TV and the big screen.
3 FARAH KHAN: If you get Farah Khan, a top-selling starcast will follow without question. And she woos the box-office unabashedly, generating tons of moolah.
4 GAURI KHAN: You get on her wrong side (as Pritish Nandy did) and the wrath of the SRK machinery will follow. She calls the shots at home, she's also a producer. And there are people who try to get through to her to reach her husband.
5 JAYA BACHCHAN: A respected name in her own right as an actress and as a celebrity voice, Jaya also carries the combined power of her influential family members, Amitabh, Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan.
6 KAREENA KAPOOR: She can pick and choose her films, she could turn down Madhur Bhandarkar, she adds value to a project and she fetches the top buck as actor and brand ambassador.
7 KATRINA KAIF: In a position to turn down films whether they are helmed by Anurag Basu or they star Akshay Kumar. Katrina does films on her terms.
8 PRIYANKA CHOPRA: On the strength of not her face or filmland connections but on her talent alone, Priyanka has reached a place where she chooses from the large smorgasbord on offer at her doorstep.
9 SHABANA AZMI: She's got a voice that's heard and it goes beyond the film industry. She's a force to reckon with on her own and with a strong home team powered by Javed, Farhan and Zoya Akhtar, it gets more formidable.
10 TINA AMBANI: She stays in the background but being the malkin behind the massive Reliance Entertainment company, she has a say when it matters. Example:
MAMI Mumbai Film Festival even instituted a new category of awards titled Celebrating Age after Tina's hands-on involvement in giving dignity to senior citizens. Also, Tina is an important patron of the arts.
ALSO
Mukesh Bhatt rooted for Sneha Rajani of Set Max. "She created the biggest property of all times on Indian TV called IPL. It was she who struck the deal for Set Max. When they paid the kind of money to IPL that they did everybody thought she'd dug their grave.
Today the deal she had signed with IPL looks like peanuts. She came out on the crease, batted with aggression and scored a century. She deserves to be recognized as the most powerful woman in entertainment today because IPL is entertainment."
She didn't make it to the final 10 this year as this was the sole vote for her.
Lata Mangeshkar's name also figured briefly. "She had the power to stall the Peddar Road flyover," read the explanation.
Waiting in the wings
Kiran Rao aka Mrs Aamir Khan, whose Dhobi Ghat is awaited.
Zoya Akhtar who has put together an impressive starcast of Hrithik, Farhan, Abhay and Katrina for her next film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
Crowd puller Sonakshi Sinha who has an array of heroes and filmmakers interested in her and she's refusing more films than she's signing.
Reema Kagti who directs Aamir Khan in 2011.
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