Top 10 actresses of Bollywood in 2015

8 years ago

Aishwarya Rai

This was truly the year for strong female roles, and big hits backed by powerful and striking performances by actresses. Leading the pack with 3 hits this year was Deepika Padukone but Kangana was not too far behind with her box office sweeping double role in Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Overall a great year for female roles in Bollywood!

Deepika Padukone had a great year in 2015 – and retained her spot as the marquee queen this year with her critically praised and box office winning turns as the titular character in Piku, Tara in Tamasha,and the eponymous Mastani in Bajirao Mastani. This year caps another year for the actress as she makes the switch from a beautiful heroine to a performer worth watching out.

Kangana Ranaut remains the darling of the silver screen – and an actor who is an absolute delight to watch as she takes on every role and makes it her own – creating a character we will not forget for a long time. This year she did this playing Tanu as well as Kusum in Tanu Weds Manu Returns, and in another first, became a rare bankable actress who can propel a film to the massive Rs. 200 crore hit club on the strength of her name on the credit roll. Her stint as Payal in Katti Batti was less impactful but interesting nonetheless.

Priyanka Chopra had a dream year – what with her debut on international TV as special agent Alex Parrish in the ABC drama Quantico which completed one season, followed by the sensitive portrayal of a sister and a wife as Ayesha Mehra in Dil Dhadakne Do, and another nuanced portrayal of a rejected first wife Kashibai in Bajirao Mastani.

Kalki Koechlin delivered an award winning turn as Laila in Margarita with a Straw marking her out as a seasoned performer playing a character with disability in this new age slice of life film. She also finished the year with roles as Tara Deshpande in Waiting and a role in the indie film Kaash.

Radhika Apte had a year most other actresses would kill for – and it all actually snowballed after she actually appeared as the eponymous seductress in the short film Ahalya which was directed by Sujoy Ghosh and released on YouTube. She won kudos and praise for the modern portrayal of the wife of sage Gautam. She also played a lead role in Hunterr, the role of the wife Phaguniya in Manjhi The Mountain Man, and a scene stealing turn as Koko in Badlapur, all of which marked her as the actress to watch out for in 2016!

Kareena Kapoor had another year with another big hit to her credit coasting along on her good looks and screen presence by playing the female lead Rasika in Bajrangi Bhaijaan opposite Salman Khan. Audiences yearning to see a strong performance by Kareena will have to wait another year but this was a strong showing of strength by the actress in one of the biggest hits of the year

Aishwarya Rai/ Sonam Kapoor/ Katrina Kaif – all three actresses had a decent year – Aishwarya made her big return to the silver screen after five years playing advocate and mother Anuradha Verma in Jazbaa, Sonam marked her presence playing the female lead opposite Salman in the hit film Prem Ratan Dhan Paiyo, while Katrina did the same playing the female lead Nawaz Mistry opposite Saif Ali Khan in Phantom.

Anushka Sharma had a good year – turning producer for the taut thriller NH10 she also played the wife Meera who becomes an avenging heroine by the end of the film, she played the club singer Rosie Noronha in Bombay Velvet – a role that was more remarked on for her artificial lips than the box office or the plot. She had the most spirited cameo as a dancer Farah in Dil Dhadakne Do as she stole Ranveer’s heart once again showing their amazing chemistry together as a lead couple.

Huma Qureishi played Jhimli in Badlapur – the woman whom Nawazuddin’s character has a soft spot – and Huma has by now become adept at playing femme fatales. She was great in a film full of great performances.

Richa Chadda also had a strong 2015 playing Meera in Main aur Charles and Devi Pathak in Masaan. Her understated performance as Devi in the award winning Masaan received a mixed reaction from critics but she was the star turn in one of the most critically lauded films of the year.