These actresses have essayed with ease and their charm, ranging from intense dramas to psychological thrillers to light hearted comedies to historic epics to women centric biopics.
Several Bollywood actresses started of their career with bold and intimate scenes that garnered them an early recognition often setting a trend of the most unconventional debuts.
The female leads have always brought an enchanting blend of charm coupled with the glamour and to pull off their films, some of them went beyond with the not just their beauty and talent but also got others to perceive them in the captivating stories.
These actresses famously broke the conservative way of just being the second lead to the actor with a happy ending kind of a film narrative.
Before the modern era began, actresses like Nutan, Smita Patil, Sridevi, Shabana Azmi set the benchmark of versatility and refused to be typecast. They portrayed with dignity, the power to move effortlessly from slapstick comedy to intense drama that unfolded their talent on the screen.
Rekha
In a career span of 50 years acted in 180 films evolved from her Hindi debut with Sawan Bhadon she transformed her physical and professional self to become the Diva of the Bollywood film industry. One of the finest actresses, she performed a variety of roles that each of her portrayals have made her Bollywood’s most versatile stars.
Some of her notable roles were of the classical courtesan in Umrao Jaan, her childlike fun-loving naughty role in Khubsoorath. Her intense performance and women centric role in Khoon Bhari Maang who takes revenge on her wrong doer, single handed as the lead star of the film with Kabir Bedi, to her transition to the character roles in films like Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish she has come a long way only proving to be one of the style icons of the Indian cinema.
Alia Bhatt
Transformed from a young innocent, college student in the film Student Of The Year to roles with emotional depth. Her transition with her ability made it possible for her to essay different characters right from the start of her career.
From a traumatized kidnapped victim in Highway, or a Bihari migrant in Udta Punjab to an undercover spy in Raazi or with a powerful brothel Madam of Gangubai Kathiawadi, she has proved a wide range of versatility in her career.
Kangana Ranaut
Defined roles with her powerful performance with diversity. From an innocent heartbroken girl who travels alone in Queen, to the fierce freedom Fighter in Manikarnika, with a light comedy film Tanu Weds Manu and its sequel and the biopic Thalavii to the historical drama Emergency in which she not only starred as the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but also directed the film.
Shefali Shah
Known for her stillness as strength, she has evolved from playing a supportive role to becoming a leading actress on the OTT landscape. She had gained early success with the Television series, Hasratein in 1997 to a wife’s role in the crime thriller Satya. She essayed Kasturba Gandhi in Gandhi My Father.
She did a powerful role as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in Netflix Series called Delhi Crime which is still streaming, and she stood out in her performance in Monsoon Wedding, Dil Dhadakne Do, Jalsa, Darlings and in Three of Us.
Has created a niche for herself, with her natural acting. A highly acclaimed actress widely recognized for her acting style and nuanced portrayed complex and layered women in some of her films like Page 3, Mr and Mrs. Iyer and in a relationship focused film, Life in a… Metro, she has been in parallel cinema as well as in independent cinema.
She recently starred with her complex role as a detective in The Naina Murder Case on OTT. Konkana also directed in a contemporary romantic drama web series on Prime Video starring along with Aditi Rao Hydari and Barun Sobti.
She received widespread critical acclaim in A Death in the Gunj and in did some other films like Wake-Up Sid, Luck by Chance, Dolly Kitty Aur Who, Chamakte Sitare to name a few.
Her powerful performances gained her much acclaim from the start of her career. She continues to be a prominent figure in the film industry. Her latest is the film, Accused released in 2026, she starred as Dr. Geetika a surgeon in London who has to unravel serious allegations against her, is a psychological thriller which will premiere on 27th February 2026 on Netflix.
Preeti Jhangiani
Rose to fame as the Mohabbatein very demure pretty girl playing the simple traditional character Kiran which earned her the IIFA Award for the Star Debut of the Year. She however, defined her career successfully with multilingual films to establishing herself in the South Malayalam and Telugu films. She appeared in many typecast roles of ‘sweet girl next door’ and had commercial success. Preeti worked across eight languages including Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi to name a few and earned the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of a lower cast woman at the Rajasthan Film Festival. She made a comeback with Web Series to enacting a role of a Politician in one of her most recent films.
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