Which 90s actress has the best maintained career up until now? - Page 3

Ash is a non actress

Cringe worthy actress at best.

Boothay ki wajah say jitni success milee woh bhi bohut hai.

I should have worded it as early 2000s actress. I always had this debate with someone. I thought since talent outlast beauty even though Aish is my fav. Rani would be more successful in the long run. Someone else always felt that Aish’s beauty was legendary in her prime. Due to her beauty being so iconic she would be more remembered in 10, 20 or 40 years .

looks like people can’t decide between Aish and Rani. Rani was winning this pole last week. 

Originally posted by: diasingh2

Yes exactly.

I think 'Zillenials' often confuse Rani, Preeti and Aish as 90s actresses because they grew up watching their films on TV, along with other films of the ruling stars of the 90s (like  Karisma, Kajol, Juhi, Urmila, Raveena etc) as their careers overlapped.

During late 90s, these new girls brought some kind of new, modern charm with them I guess that's what separated them from other 90s actresses. 👍🏼

This is what their another contemporary - Mahima Chaudhary lacked. She still acted like 90s actresses and even enjoyed being bracketed with them. (She really thought she would win Best Actress award for Pardes along with the Best Debut award, LMAO) That's why she faded as soon as the 90s phenomenon faded.

Meanwhile, Aish, Rani, Preeti's popularity grew by leaps & bounds...as they truly were 'new millennia' stars at that time.

I still remember Rani became known as the "Khandala Girl"☺️, while Preeti was the "Dimple Girl".

Aish single-handedly dethroned all 90s actresses in 1999 itself with the incredible success of Taal and HDDCS.⭐️ And then, they really peaked during  early-to-mid 2000s.👏 Aish enjoyed popularity even in the back-half of the decade.

I agree that these actresses get grouped very often with Karishma, Kajol, Juhi, Urmila, Karishma, etc. Ironically enough I do not think Kajol would be too happy about audiences considering Rani to be her contemporary during the 90s or 2000s, especially going by how Rani seemed to be very obsequious too her early on as if she really wanted Kajol's approval.

I always liked Mahima but I agree that she lacked a unique quality that the other three all had. Aishwarya had her beauty and dancing, Preity was the bubbly one who went for daring roles that broke new ground, and Rani had her trademark husky voice with dramatic chops to match. I think this is what hurt Ameesha Patel as well, even though she did not debut until 2000 but she can also be considered a contemporary of Rani, Preity, and Aish the way Kareena is sometimes considered to be one. 

What is this story about Mahima thinking she would was a shoe-in to win Best Actress for Pardes? I would like to hear more about that entitled attitude lol and why Mahima, as a newcomer, so readily believed herself to be a contemporary of her seniors. Dil To Pagal Hai was too big of a hit and won all the major awards so there was not a chance for Mahima but if not for Dil To Pagal Hai, I could maybe see Mahima winning Best Actress alongside Best Debut. As it is she should be proud she won Best Debut especially since she won over Aishwarya. Rani did not win Best Debut either although Preity did.

Originally posted by: RaniPreityAish

I always liked Mahima but I agree that she lacked a unique quality that the other three all had. Aishwarya had her beauty and dancing, Preity was the bubbly one who went for daring roles that broke new ground, and Rani had her trademark husky voice with dramatic chops to match. I think this is what hurt Ameesha Patel as well, even though she did not debut until 2000 but she can also be considered a contemporary of Rani, Preity, and Aish the way Kareena is sometimes considered to be one. 

Tbh Kareena was hardly ever considered to be a contemporary of Rani, Preity or Ash -- initially she was pitted alongside Amisha, Gracy, Amrita Rao etc and later with Priyanka, Vidya and Katrina (mainly these three). During the late 2000s, RM, Preity and Ash seemed like such has-been-washed-up old actresses while Kareena seemed like a newcomer, esp. during the time when Dil Bole Hadippa and Kurbaan came along, Rani was criticized so much for trying to play wannable candyfloss roles which didn't suit her image, while Kareena was riding high on success of Kurbaan and 3I. It's kinda strange because they actually debuted along the same time. Preity debuted just 2 years before Kareena did, Rani may have debuted in 96 but wasn't working properly until 98 so again not much gap, and Ash literally debuted a year before Kareena. Yet they were lumped together and Kareena was never in the same bracket.

I think that's one reason why Kareena's career lasted so long and outlasted all of theirs - it's because she reached peak so late (almost by the end of the decade). Rani, Preity, Ash found success and reached peak much earlier, so people also got bored of them much faster, leading the way to newer faces like Kat, Vidya, PC etc. Kareena was lucky that she didn't peak during Rani-Preity's time, so once their era was over she could easily compete with newer faces, and seemed like a fresh product to the public.

The Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for sure.

Originally posted by: RaniPreityAish

I agree that these actresses get grouped very often with Karishma, Kajol, Juhi, Urmila, Karishma, etc. Ironically enough I do not think Kajol would be too happy about audiences considering Rani to be her contemporary during the 90s or 2000s, especially going by how Rani seemed to be very obsequious too her early on as if she really wanted Kajol's approval.

I always liked Mahima but I agree that she lacked a unique quality that the other three all had. Aishwarya had her beauty and dancing, Preity was the bubbly one who went for daring roles that broke new ground, and Rani had her trademark husky voice with dramatic chops to match. I think this is what hurt Ameesha Patel as well, even though she did not debut until 2000 but she can also be considered a contemporary of Rani, Preity, and Aish the way Kareena is sometimes considered to be one. 

What is this story about Mahima thinking she would was a shoe-in to win Best Actress for Pardes? I would like to hear more about that entitled attitude lol and why Mahima, as a newcomer, so readily believed herself to be a contemporary of her seniors. Dil To Pagal Hai was too big of a hit and won all the major awards so there was not a chance for Mahima but if not for Dil To Pagal Hai, I could maybe see Mahima winning Best Actress alongside Best Debut. As it is she should be proud she won Best Debut especially since she won over Aishwarya. Rani did not win Best Debut either although Preity did.

I read it somewhere that, and I think some of it was part of Mahima's Flmfare acceptance speech for Best Debut also. I don't blame her though. I mean getting a meaty lead role in a Shubhash Ghai film opposite Sharukh Khan, with a strong supporting cast. It was a dream debut by 90s standard, but it must have gotten into her head.😆

There was also a magazine interview I read years ago where she said that she initially liked the idea of playing supporting roles because she wanted to star alongside 90s actresses but it backfired (she played supporting role opposite Kajol, Urmila, Manisha, Shilpa ...) because filmmakers stopped looking at her as a lead actor too soon.but it backfired for her career.

Playing supporting roles was not an issue TBH. It's not like Rani or Preeti didn't play second fiddle characters. But whenever they did, they snatched the limelight from the main leads, unlike Mahima.

If you remember Dil Hai Tumhara. It had both Preeti and Mahima, Preeti looked like a doll in that film and had the central role, while Mahima looked jaded and out of place. I wish Rani did that role. That role had 'Rani Mukherji' written all over it, and we would've gotten another sweet Rani-Preeti duo film in early 2000s.😆

I think with the exception of Karishma all the others on here have done rather well for themselves. Stardom wise probably Aish is the only one that has retained that type of aura. However, I do think Preity is generally understated. She may no long be appearing in movies but she has done well for herself as a business owner. Smart woman. 

Originally posted by: diasingh2

I read it somewhere that, and I think some of it was part of Mahima's Flmfare acceptance speech for Best Debut also. I don't blame her though. I mean getting a meaty lead role in a Shubhash Ghai film opposite Sharukh Khan, with a strong supporting cast. It was a dream debut by 90s standard, but it must have gotten into her head.😆

There was also a magazine interview I read years ago where she said that she initially liked the idea of playing supporting roles because she wanted to star alongside 90s actresses but it backfired (she played supporting role opposite Kajol, Urmila, Manisha, Shilpa ...) because filmmakers stopped looking at her as a lead actor too soon.but it backfired for her career.

Playing supporting roles was not an issue TBH. It's not like Rani or Preeti didn't play second fiddle characters. But whenever they did, they snatched the limelight from the main leads, unlike Mahima.

If you remember Dil Hai Tumhara. It had both Preeti and Mahima, Preeti looked like a doll in that film and had the central role, while Mahima looked jaded and out of place. I wish Rani did that role. That role had 'Rani Mukherji' written all over it, and we would've gotten another sweet Rani-Preeti duo film in early 2000s.😆

Thank you, I'll look up her acceptance speech.

I'm glad she was open to playing the supporting lead so she could star with some major actresses because it's rare for actors to put aside their egos like that and it proves she's a fangirl like the rest of us. However, I disagree that playing supporting roles wasn't the issue here. While Rani and Preity had played supporting roles, they did so intermixed with even more lead roles. Supporting roles should be done occasionally if you want to be a lead actress or A-Lister, and thus the exception rather than the rule. With Mahima, I feel after Pardes most of her major films that I can list off the top of my head had her as the supporting actress and anyone will become typecast very quickly if they keep resorting to those roles. Rani and Preity were never typecast because they still had major releases as leading heroines.

As for Mahima's performances in those supporting roles, I have mixed opinions. I agree that in Dil Hai Tumhara she didn't leave much of an impression (although the role was pretty badly written anyway). I thought she was decent against Kajol but Kajol had the meatier role. In the movie with Urmila, I thought she didn't leave much of an impression either but that role was not great either. I thought she was much better as the supporting in Dhadkan and held her own against the lead trio there. However, that may also have to do with the fact that out of all those actresses Mahima starred alongside, Shilpa is probably the weakest so it would be easier to stand out against her unlike Preity, Kajol, Urmila, etc.

Originally posted by: RaniPreityAish

Thank you, I'll look up her acceptance speech.

I'm glad she was open to playing the supporting lead so she could star with some major actresses because it's rare for actors to put aside their egos like that and it proves she's a fangirl like the rest of us. However, I disagree that playing supporting roles wasn't the issue here. While Rani and Preity had played supporting roles, they did so intermixed with even more lead roles. Supporting roles should be done occasionally if you want to be a lead actress or A-Lister, and thus the exception rather than the rule. With Mahima, I feel after Pardes most of her major films that I can list off the top of my head had her as the supporting actress and anyone will become typecast very quickly if they keep resorting to those roles. Rani and Preity were never typecast because they still had major releases as leading heroines.

As for Mahima's performances in those supporting roles, I have mixed opinions. I agree that in Dil Hai Tumhara she didn't leave much of an impression (although the role was pretty badly written anyway). I thought she was decent against Kajol but Kajol had the meatier role. In the movie with Urmila, I thought she didn't leave much of an impression either but that role was not great either. I thought she was much better as the supporting in Dhadkan and held her own against the lead trio there. However, that may also have to do with the fact that out of all those actresses Mahima starred alongside, Shilpa is probably the weakest so it would be easier to stand out against her unlike Preity, Kajol, Urmila, etc.

@bold yes pls share the video here if you find it

I agree with you on everything actually. She was not a bad actor but she got badly stereotyped as the 2nd lead/parallel lead/supporting lead or whatever you call it.

Not just the industry, but the audience also loves to stereotype actually. In one of her interviews, she mentioned that she used to get fan letters from fans who didn't like her doing 'modern roles' because her image as Ganga from Pardes was too strong. (Pardes is a popular film in rural North India btw).

But she played glamorous roles too at the end of the day, so I am not sure how much that affected her career.🤔

She was an outsider, but Preeti and Aish were outsiders too and had rather dull debuts as compared to her. I've heard Shubhash Ghai kind of exploited her and she was never part of BW's inner circles like Rani, Preeti and Aish were... so she didn't get good roles.🤢

Despite that, I feel she left her mark in the audience's memory and was not a complete washout. She looked gorgeous in 'Aksar Is Duniya Mein' song.

Still I feel, the major problem was that didn't brought anything new or 'modern' or refreshing .. and she easily got overshadowed by numerous newcomers that debuted in succeeding years.

She worked as lead in many films but none of them worked. Even in multistarrer Om Jai Jagadish, she got the eldest bahu role opposite Anil Kapoor, whereas her senior Urmila not only played the younger, but meatier role too. In Lajja, She was in a supporting role opposite Manisha and was the youngest actress in the film. But it also had veterans like Madhuri and Rekha, and their roles were so much better and layered as compared to Mahima's small, walk-in type of roles. She left her mark but got overshadowed easily. Same thing with her small role in Baghban. Nobody thinks of her when people talk about that film. I also realized there was another delayed film Sandwich, where she worked with Raveena. Even there, Raveena had the more exciting and 'modern' role. (It's another thing that the film flopped)

So, you're right.... she just did too many supporting roles for someone who wanted to be a lead actor.

Originally posted by: diasingh2

@bold yes pls share the video here if you find it

I agree with you on everything actually. She was not a bad actor but she got badly stereotyped as the 2nd lead/parallel lead/supporting lead or whatever you call it.

Not just the industry, but the audience also loves to stereotype actually. In one of her interviews, she mentioned that she used to get fan letters from fans who didn't like her doing 'modern roles' because her image as Ganga from Pardes was too strong. (Pardes is a popular film in rural North India btw).

But she played glamorous roles too at the end of the day, so I am not sure how much that affected her career.🤔

She was an outsider, but Preeti and Aish were outsiders too and had rather dull debuts as compared to her. I've heard Shubhash Ghai kind of exploited her and she was never part of BW's inner circles like Rani, Preeti and Aish were... so she didn't get good roles.🤢

Despite that, I feel she left her mark in the audience's memory and was not a complete washout. She looked gorgeous in 'Aksar Is Duniya Mein' song.

Still I feel, the major problem was that didn't brought anything new or 'modern' or refreshing .. and she easily got overshadowed by numerous newcomers that debuted in succeeding years.

She worked as lead in many films but none of them worked. Even in multistarrer Om Jai Jagadish, she got the eldest bahu role opposite Anil Kapoor, whereas her senior Urmila not only played the younger, but meatier role too. In Lajja, She was in a supporting role opposite Manisha and was the youngest actress in the film. But it also had veterans like Madhuri and Rekha, and their roles were so much better and layered as compared to Mahima's small, walk-in type of roles. She left her mark but got overshadowed easily. Same thing with her small role in Baghban. Nobody thinks of her when people talk about that film. I also realized there was another delayed film Sandwich, where she worked with Raveena. Even there, Raveena had the more exciting and 'modern' role. (It's another thing that the film flopped)

So, you're right.... she just did too many supporting roles for someone who wanted to be a lead actor.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=636830357227005

I was able to find a video on Facebook that shows Mahima's Filmfare acceptance speech along with Bipasha and Sonali's speeches for their Best Debuts. And while this is off-topic, Bipasha's speech was of particular interest. I know that the 90s/early 2000s Filmfare Awards usually had the stars dressed down and not as glammed up as they are now but Bipasha's outfit is very, very casual for the event. I didn't even think it was Filmfare just looking at her. Maybe she had that outfit for a performance though. The other thing I loved is that in her speech she says she thanks her co-stars in Ajnabee and specifically names Akshay and Bobby but completely fails to mention Kareena lol. I feel like such a snub would be all over social media if it happened now. Now back to Mahima's speech, she is clearly very happy and energetic, moreso than Sonali and Bipasha who are a bit more sober in comparison. I wouldn't say Mahima sounded conceited but right at the very end she does thank Filmfare for giving her the Best Actress nomination as well and says how excited she is for it, so it does seem like she had some expectation that she would win that too or at least had a strong chance.

It does seem odd that for someone who wanted to be primarily a leading actress that she took on so many supporting roles, particularly ones that were not all that well-written and didn't give her much to do. I guess she thought acting alongside major stars would help elevate her profile, a bit like how Rani became known through KKHH acting next to SRK and Kajol. And I know some actors think smaller roles in big movies are better than lead roles in B-list movies or flop movies. The problem is that not only was Mahima getting small roles in big movies but her lead roles were mainly in B-movies or flop movies.

I agree that the industry and especially fans love to pigeonhole their favs in specific roles. I had no idea that Mahima's fans wanted her to stick with more traditional roles rather than modern girls, but I can understand that. The funny thing is that most of her roles were as modern girls outside of Pardes but I guess Pardes is her most iconic performance to date so that's the one that sticks with most people. Honestly, I watched several movies of her growing up where she was the side heroine (like Baghban, Dil Hai Tumhara, etc.) and she never left an impression on me. Even with so much exposure to her, I never realized this was the same actress in each of these movies because she did not come across to me as anything special. It was only with Pardes that I figured out who she was and felt captivated by her performance so she was magic in that.

Preity and Aish were not from industry families but Preity was already friends with the Deol brothers so she had that connection. And Aishwarya had Salman eventually. Not to mention, Preity and Rani quickly became good friends with SRK, Salman, and KJo so they could count on them for roles. Even Aish had KJo as a friend although she kept rejecting his roles. I don't think Mahima was friends with any of them outside of Salman. She even said that during her cancer diagnosis, she only had 3 people who reached out to here and one of them was Salman.

Regardless of how her career panned out, I agree with you that she left her mark with Pardes if nothing else. Also, like you, I thought she looked stunning in Aksar Is Duniya Mein. Tbh, I have no memory of Mahima in Lajja. I remember Manisha as the lead and also Rekha and Madhuri and even Urmila in her item song but I have zero memory of Mahima which goes back to what I said earlier about having seen Mahima in multiple movies where she plays a supporting role and never remembering her. And in Baghban, her role was pretty inconsequential although even Salman's role was pretty small in that so her as his gf would have an even smaller part automatically.