Women’s Day special: Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan: Who is the strongest leading lady?
This Women’s Day, we take a look at the female actors who are fighting to make a place for themselves in a male dominated industry
Even today, box office success in Bollywood is attributed mainly to the male stars involved in a project and filmmakers spend big bucks to cast a big heroes in their films. Sadly, while there is a long list of male stars that includes Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Ranbir Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor – who are all staking their claim at the turnstiles – there are only about three or four female stars who command any kind of respect at the BO.
According to trade pundits, just three female stars can even come close to affecting the opening of films – Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra. “Kareena Kapoor is an acting talent and she can do a variety of roles. She has been part of consecutive hits in the last few years and people are now expecting her films to be blockbusters,” says trade analyst Amod Mehra.
In Katrina’s case, Mehra believes, luck has played a huge part. “Her films have managed to do well at the box office quite consistently and she has the star power. She has been quite lucky,” he feels. Kat has hit the big league even without the presence of the Khans in her films; case in point: Namastey London, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahaani and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, all of which were hits but not huge blockbusters. Her glam quotient always adds to the commercial strength of a film. “Kareena and Katrina are definitely the only two actors who can be called box office queens,” says trade analyst and reviewer Komal Nahata.
While we would like to believe that there is competition for the number three spot between Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan, the trade is still treading carefully and waiting to see if Vidya can sustain the star status she recently garnered. Mehra feels that Vidya is far from being the ‘female Khan’ of Bollywood. “Her star value has gone up after The Dirty Picture, but it might work against her in her next film, Kahaani. People might go in expecting something more entertaining and mainstream,” he believes. He doesn’t deny that she is the strongest performer of her time, but Vidya’s star status is very new and might not last for too long!
Nahata has a slightly different view on Vidya. He feels that her presence in a film definitely helps. “The Dirty Picture had three heroes and songs like Ooh La La, while Kahaani is more serious kind of film. There is no doubt that Vidya is a top class actor and people expect a good film from her. But we don’t expect a big opening for Kahaani. I am not saying that it won’t do well; it could if the film is good and because of Vidya’s presence, but it’s not expected to get a huge opening,” he explains.
The point is that no female star can solely affect the box office even today, whereas a male star can. While the leading ladies usually have to depend on the men to get a huge opening, the converse is rarely true, even with films like Chirag Paswan’s Miley Naa Miley Hum with Kangna Ranaut or Uday Chopra in Pyaar Impossible with Priyanka Chopra. Nahata is quick to clarify that all of Kareena’s recent successes have been with Khans. “All her blockbusters were Khan movies, so it does not prove that Kareena can directly affect trade. But she has a big list of hits to her name now, which helps. And it’s too early to say anything about Heroine (which rests solely on her shoulders) right now,” he says. The actor has proved in the past with Jab We Met that she can drive a film’s success with her strong performance and so there are high expectations from Heroine, apart from all the hype and toing and froing that has happened around the film, of course!
The real question mark right now is Priyanka’s strength as a heroine. Despite winning several awards for her strong performance in Saat Khoon Maaf, Priyanka suffered a blow commercially with the failure of important films like What’s Your Rashee, Anjaana Anjaani and Saat Khoon Maaf, till Agneepath came along and gave her a blockbuster to add to her showreel. But she had a bit part in the movie and it hasn’t upped her BO status in any significant way. She will have to bank heavily on Krissh 2 with Hrithik Roshan, Barfee with Ranbir Kapoor and Teri Meri Kahaani with Shahid Kapoor to bring her back into the game.
Unfortunately, there are just a handful of good roles being written for female actors and the competition is fierce. Actors like Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma are showing some sign of being able to get ahead in the numbers game, but the trade does not trust them just yet. They need several blockbusters and some great roles to turn this situation around. Others like Asin and Kangna Ranaut haven’t managed to garner the kind of star-value they should have managed to do in the last three years.
Women oriented films are very rare in the Hindi film industry and there are just three or four of those coming up in 2012. Still, it does look promising for the top female stars. While Vidya plays a pregnant woman in Kahaani and attempts comedy for the first time in Ghanchakkar, Priyanka plays a mentally challenged girl in her next, Barfee. Kareena, who has already been appreciated for her subtle performance in Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, has her hopes pinned on Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine to take her to the next level. Katrina Kaif is not expected to do a woman oriented film at this point, as she is still considered a glam doll rather than an actor. But things could change this year. She will be directed by Yash Chopra (who is returning to direction after a long break) in a romantic film with Shahrukh Khan. Kat will be relying heavily on this one.
While most of these girls often state that they don’t believe in the numbers game, we think a catfight will flare between Bebo, Kat, Piggy Chops and Vidya to become the reigning box office queen. As of now, the trade says that Kareena wins the race for ‘the strongest woman in Bollywood’, hands down!
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First Published: 9.30 AM IST 03.08.2012
Rafael
Posted at 11:08 PM on March 9, 2012
Priyanka ofcourse. Better actress, better personality, better body, better characters (played), out of the four. Best.
1. Priyanka
2. Vidya
3. Kaeena
there is no 4. katrina needs to work on her acting skills. but she is beautiful.
Anonymous
Posted at 10:22 PM on March 9, 2012
KAREENA KAPOOR IS THE BEST ACTRESS THAT THERE CAN BE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MY ROLE MODEL!!
parth
Posted at 9:10 PM on March 9, 2012
priyanka chopra is the best…..actress in the world……she is one and only actress which knw how to act..she is so allroundr actress…and we toking about her looks,body,face,talent,film,awards,she is also fashion ikon…so dafntly pc is the num one…
beboo
Posted at 6:50 PM on March 9, 2012
bebo of course
prowress
Posted at 5:32 PM on March 9, 2012
poor aishwarya rai, she didnt even have her name mentioned. priyanka is the best anyway. she rocke, then kareena comes 2nd, vidya 3rd and katrina. they are all good in their own unique way
partyrockz
Posted at 1:35 PM on March 9, 2012
katrina is box office queen and for those who say she can’t act have you seen New York lol….i think 2012 you gonna see a different side of katrina. i think people dont give her credit cause you have to remember she was an outsider in the industry and probably the first official bollywood heroine from a country outside of the Indian culture plus she couldn’t speak hindi which stopped her from getting films that had meaty roles. actors get their jobs and roles from other people who choose them to be in their films. also she is talented, a person does not get “lucky” for 10 years and get 17 hit movies under their belt with only 3 flops, plus another hit movie in telugu. as far as i am concerned she is no. 1 and probably remain no. 1 at the box office because she has a talent of deciding what scripts are good and which are not. she was involved in some of the biggest movies of the year in 2011 Bodyguard for her dancing and ZNMD. In 2012, Agneepath biggest movie so far and who do you see in the movie also Katrina. overtime she will be respected for her acting because everyone has their own path and pace in life. some people get to their peak early and some later in life, kareena, vidya, and priyanka are great actresses and i love their movies too but katrina has fire in her to get better in each movie and so far its evident she may not the best but she is improving and should not be compared to others cause everyone is different and have different paths in. Based, on the movies kat has coming up i think everyone is in for a wide awakening cause she has EK Tha Tiger, Yashji’s next, Dhoom 3, Dostana 2, maybe the Seeta Aur Geeta Remake, Satsang…ect.
virat
Posted at 12:46 PM on March 9, 2012
katrina is the best………husn ki malika………….
viren
Posted at 12:44 PM on March 9, 2012
katrina is most hard working girl and inspiration to all …she is the most beautiful girl in the universe…..kareena is just sadakchap…….priyanka is boring actress.vidya is only actress not heroine…and moti……katrina is barbie doll………
rishabh
Posted at 12:34 PM on March 9, 2012
katrina is the fire of bollywood..infact mere brother ki dulhan did 9 crore of opening because of katrina…yet bodygard released one week before…..vidya balan is not box office queen because big opening of dirty picture is because it is a adult movie not because of vidya…katrina chikni chameli rocked and priyanka got over shadow…..katrina is queen of bollywood……
santosh
Posted at 12:11 PM on March 9, 2012
yes priyanka is the best actress in the bollywood she is the bigest actorees after matduri . no one can get her place now in the film industria . that’s all
santosh
Posted at 12:09 PM on March 9, 2012
yes priyanka is the best actress in the bollywood she is the bigest actorees after matduri . one one can get her place now in the film industria . that’s all
Arun kumar singhania
Posted at 10:57 AM on March 9, 2012
I very like priyanka chopra and i like her acting
Simran :)
Posted at 8:55 AM on March 9, 2012
I think PRIYANKA CHOPRA is the best and the 1st place nad hte others i don’t care what order they come in beucase i absolutely loved our desi girl prianka chopra in all of her film like DON 2!!!!!!!!!
abosuloty the best performance….
fmbookworm
Posted at 7:51 AM on March 9, 2012
here is how it goes u guys..
1.priyanka
2.vidya
3.kareena
4.katrina doesn’t even count all she is,is pretty not at allllllllllllll talented just a peice of eye candy.
PC and Vidya are the ones with the oure talent that talent is what should really be judged after all they are actors not a peice of plain old talentless eye candy.with there versatality they beat all espically PC who does brave film decisions unlike any other…PC ur truely the Queen of leading ladies!!! and Vidya is awesome to and bebo is getting there shes alright.<3<3<3<3 PC :)
farnesol
Posted at 4:10 AM on March 9, 2012
blockbusters or not, priyanka is the best actor among the 4. she is versatile, supertalented n is ready to experiment with roles she hasnt done before. she is not afraid to lose at the box office, but even in her flops, her works are highly acclaimed critically winning both filmfare n national awards even without godfathers. vidya is the 2nd best thing as her acting speaks generally for her, with or without khans. kareena is good , but definitely not better than pc n vidya. she is just lucky to hv done the khans n gotten herself ds blockbusters. i’ll say she is the salman khan of bollywood. i love katrina enjoy seeing her movies but she surely cant stand deepika, anuksha, kagna or even asin in acting. she is just a glam doll n a pretty face that makes me want to see her in movies n i just dont get tired of watching her on screen. katrina is aishwarya rai of bollywood. priyanka chopra is simply the best n most talented actress of this generation.
Anonymous
Posted at 7:05 AM on March 9, 2012
Comparing Katrina to Aishwarya is an insult to Aishwarya hope you know that.
And here’s what I say. #1 Priyanka, #2 Vidya(haven’t seen any of her films),#3 Kareena and #4 Katrina. Katrina is just a beautiful girl and that’s it. She has no personality whatsoever and is very forgettable.
Zara
Posted at 12:19 AM on March 9, 2012
Kareena Kapoor! Her whole FAMILY is in BOLLYWOOD. She is in every HIT film “Ra.one” “Bodyguard”… is VERY well known worldwide! BEAUTIFUL WOMAN! :D
samitha
Posted at 11:56 PM on March 8, 2012
Priyanka Chopra is the no 1 acress in Bollywod.. That girl can act.. And for all those who blame her for plastic surgery,, can u guys tell me atleast one mainstream actor/actress who hasnt undergone plastic surgery..?? It seems tat people hav forgotten abt all other saints in bollywood.. Watever PC is my fav..
dev
Posted at 11:59 PM on March 8, 2012
Truelt said.. Completely agreed.. I wonder if guys r blind to praise Kareena/Katrina who r merely meant to shake their body all the time.. Goshhh.. PC u r the best..
PCSRKFAN
Posted at 11:00 PM on March 8, 2012
Kareena is so OVERRATED. She isn’t even the Bollywood box office queen… wtf? Priyanka could take her any day! As for Katrina, she can’t even make facial expressions, let alone act. Vidya only got awards after doing a racy role…. PRIYANKA IS THE BEST
computer angel
Posted at 9:00 PM on March 8, 2012
Except kat all other actresses are great actors having incompatable talent. But as cinema fluctuates so do people. This days what we expect from an actress is not talent but charm & Personality that could have us flat. If history be tracked all Blockbusters have khans. Only kats superhits & blockbusters like Sign Is King have no khans. She may not top the list for talent But she deserves for the boxoffice queen if it be based solely on actresses.
nisar
Posted at 7:42 PM on March 8, 2012
I personally belive Priyanka and Kareena are up for the grabes. They are verstile, beautiful, and can act. vidya is amazing actress, but thats it. katrina is gogeous, but nothing more. i would give priyanka half a point more than kareena, coz priyanka has beauty, body, talent, star power, dance and amazing personality. kareena has all the qualities listed above too, but she can’t dance and sometimes can look abit whorish!!!
Ajnabee
Posted at 6:39 PM on March 8, 2012
Kareena has been around for more than a decade now sooooo but please give us a breakkkkkkk wiz Katrina i don’t know yyyy she is in the top 4..Priyanka yes, and Vidya is much better and more versatile than all of them for sure
Ono
Posted at 2:13 PM on March 8, 2012
Kareena definitely holds the number one spot.her vibrant nature is something that keeps me glue to my tv screen anytime am seeing her film.
bollywoodfan
Posted at 12:04 PM on March 8, 2012
i think only kareena and priyanka are in direct competition. why i saw so is because vidya eventhough a strong performer cannot successfully do all roles. for example vidya can`t take a role like priyanka in don 2. but both kareena and priyanka can do both films like don and the dirty picture. i agree about katrina, she is just a glam doll and can`t really act. i keep wandering what indian cine goers see in her but one thing is clear. its definitely not her acting skills. the first two positions belong to kareena and priyanka because both are way more versatile. kareena gets the top spot for her string of blockbusters while priyanka comes second . third is vidya and katrina who really can`t be called an actress is fourth
Dev
Posted at 10:25 AM on March 8, 2012
Kareena is indeed the most versatile actress in the bollywood…
Cicy
Posted at 10:12 AM on March 8, 2012
Is’t it funny? out of 4 strong women, 3 of them dated Shahid Kapoor….and who are considered not just stars but top actresses. One who is considered glam doll is the only one who did not dated him….
akhtar mohammad
Posted at 2:45 PM on March 9, 2012
Katrina is the best actrees in the world