Top 5 natural beauties in Bollywood
Deepanjali B Sarkar
An ardent fan of Hema Malini who had moved heaven and earth to meet her dream goddess, was mildly shocked to see the legendary actress in between shots. This was in the mid '80s when Hema was ruling the marquee. It seems yesteryear's dream girl slapped on several layers of pancake make-up to look the way she did. Face-to-face, Hema wasn't as fair, nor as "divine looking" (in the words of the slightly disillusioned fan) as she appeared on screen. But not all our actresses need a Mickey Contractor to look as gorgeous as they do. If the promos for "Omkara" are anything to go by, Kareena Kapoor looks simply ravishing with minimal and in some scenes, no make-up.
This isn't the first time that Kareena has dared to face the camera without make-up. Cinema-goers were taken aback to see how stunning she looked minus the glitter, lip gloss and heavy eye-make up that one had come to associate with her "Poo" image. In Govind Nihalani's "Dev" Kareena's complexion had an almost translucent glow. She had her hair tied in a simple plait and did not even bother to accentuate her eyes, which are her best feature. In "Chameli" there were scenes in which she donned the grease paint to look the part of a street walker, but otherwise, she took minimum recourse to make-up.
If it comes to judging which actress looks best without make-up, we are biased towards Kareena. But there are others who come a close second.
Amisha Patel
Amisha in a white cotton saree, shorn of all make-up, her long hair open, without any jewellery or adornments, looked breathtakingly beautiful in "Mangal Pandey". Achingly vulnerable and frail, Amisha's peaches and cream complexion required no artifical enhancement. Even without rouge, her cheeks had a delicate pink tint, and her lips were a perfect Cupid's bow. Aishwarya Rai had been originally considered for the role of "Jwala", later essayed to near perfection by Amisha. However, as per the grapevine, Aishwarya demanded an astronomical amount for the bit role and Amisha stepped in.
If one recalls Amisha's launch pad, "Kaho Na Pyar Hai", there was a scene in which Rohit (Hrithik Roshan) gently suggests to Sonia (Amisha) that she looks best with minimum make-up. Five years later, Amisha proved the dialogue writer right in "Mangal Pandey". So impressed was a cosmetics and toiletries major with Amisha's flawless complexion that it immediately decided to sign her on as a brand ambassador. The deal however ultimately fell through.
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya in Rituparno Ghosh's "Chokher Bali" had the same kind of look as Amisha Patel did in "Mangal Pandey. Stark, bare and sans make-up. And yet they managed to look poles apart. While Amisha had a timorous air about her and looked like a hunted doe, Aishwarya had the bearing and poise of a queen. In fact even when when clad in dull off-white and cream sarees, her neck and ears completely unadorned, she radiates a potent sexuality that eventually lures the married Mahendra to her bed.
When she surreptitiously bedecks herself in gold, the transformation is so startling that it leaves the audience gaping. But even more dramatic is her austere look once she strips away all the finery, to conform to society's expectations of how a widow should dress up in the first decade of the 20th century.
Aishwarya went on to further deglamourize herself in Rituparno's next, "Raincoat", where she had dark circles under her eyes, dishevelled hair and tried her utmost to look tired and worn out. One hears she has a similar unglamorous get-up in "Provoked" that has yet to be released in India.
Manisha Koirala
When Anil Kapoor serenaded Manisha with "ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga", it was truly a tribute to her glorious, fresh as morning dew, radiant beauty. In "1942 a Love Story", Manisha abandoned the excessive make up and over-the-top hair do of her launch vehicle, "Saudagar" to come across as the most angelic face in Bollywood. A classic shot that will go down as one of the most arresting portraits of our beauty queens is that of Manisha splashing water on her face as dawn breaks over the horizon.
In "Dil Se", except in the dream sequences, Manisha did not even bother to apply kohl to her eyes. Without lipstick, eye make-up and dressed in plain clothes, her portrayal of a tormented soul fetched her much critical acclaim. When it comes to expessing fragility and vulnerablity, very few actresses have the facial bone structure that Manisha has. Of course just having a frail look about her wouldn't have helped had she not also been a superb actress as well. In "Dil Se", the most harrowing scenes have close-ups of a Manisha completely shorn off all make-up. The effect was deeply moving.
Madhuri Dixit might have been the best thing to happen to Bollywood in the '90s, but she wasn't much of a natural beauty. And none of Bollywood's directors were keen to explore her talents without the glamour quotient added in good measure. The only two directors who dared to be different were Vidhu Vinod Chopra in 'Parinda' and Prakash Jha in "Mrityudand". "Parinda" went on to become one of the pathbreaking movies of Bollywood, with Madhuri's passionate scene with Anil Kapoor generating as much interest as the gritty plot and the dramatic cinematography. However, even though her fans might beg to differ, Madhuri did not look her best in the movie.
But in "Mrityudand", as the determined, unflinching 'majli bahu', she looked striking and refreshingly different from her 'Dil', 'Hum Apke Hain Kaun' and 'Dil To Pagal Hai' avtaars. Though she did not go the Manisha Koirala way in 'Dil Se', preferring to use some make-up, rather than face the camera completely bare faced, the make-up used was a bare minimum. A large bindi, some kohl, hair hair tied in a neat homely bun and a dash of lipstick, and Madhuri confidently essayed one of the finest performances in her career.
If you feel we have done grave injustice by missing out on some other gorgeous natural beauties, send in your countdown.
Fan Fictions
Hindi TV Shows
10