AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN

She didn’t have a Hindi release in two years — and then had four back-to-back films in 2010. Hit or flop, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan remains one of Bollywood’s top female faces. A judicious choice of films, a middling Holly career (she had quite a role in The Pink Panther 2 last year) and (most importantly) the Bachchan tag has kept Ash close enough to the number one spot.

LAST THREE RELEASES

GUZAARISH (NOVEMBER 2010)

Role: Ash plays a strong and supportive nurse to Hrithik’s euthanasia-demanding paraplegic in this Sanjay Bhansali film.

Box-office verdict: Average start in the first weekend.

Action replayy (NOVEMBER 2010)

Role: Aishwarya went retro — with Akshay Kumar for company — in this Diwali release.

Box-office verdict: Average.

Robot (OCTOBER 2010)

Role: Torn between two Rajinikanths — one robot, one renegade — Ash went from Brazil to Machu Picchu — for this Rs 150 crore extravaganza.

Box-office verdict: Blockbuster.

THUMBS UP: Big banners always make a beeline for the Bachchan bahu. Doesn’t sign films in which she doesn’t have enough to do. Plus, those killer looks.

THUMBS DOWN: Inconsistent. Doesn’t have the spunk of a Kajol, the acting chops of a Vidya Balan or the easy appeal of Katrina. She’s not growing younger.

CURRENT STATUS: With four films (Guzaarish, Action Replayy, Robot and Raavan) this year, it’s an Ash overdose. Only Robot has hit home.

COMING UP: Ash is unlikely to have a 2011 release!

TRADE SPEAK: “The numbers game doesn’t really affect Aishwarya. Even if she doesn’t have a film in the next two years, she will still be as popular,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

ASH SPEAK: “None of us knows what makes a film work. Otherwise we would have all made only successful films. You can only look back at the films that didn’t work and then work that much harder,” she had told t2 last week.

VIDYA BALAN

When it comes to roles of substance and significance, don’t look beyond Vidya Balan. The Bollywood outsider who is fast becoming the darling of the box office.

LAST THREE RELEASES:

ISHQIYA (JANUARY 2010)

Role: Making two men (Naseer and Arshad) dance to her tune, Vidya was the irresistible desi femme fatale — “chu***** sulphate” to chumma, a twitch of the eyebrow to a precariously positioned pallu — in this Vishal Bhardwaj production.

Box-office verdict: Between average and hit.

PAA (NOVEMBER 2009)

Role: Vidya bagged all the major awards playing mom to Amitabh Bachchan’s 13-year-old Auro. Seductive as a lover, strong as a single mother.

Box-office verdict: Hit

KISMAT KONNECTION (JULY 2008)

Role: Short haircut and shorter clothes couldn’t camouflage Vidya’s lack of interest (despite a

red-hot Shahid Kapur). Girl, sexy is just not

your style!

Box-office verdict: Average.

THUMBS UP: Super actress. Normal-but-oh-so-nice looking. Has come to be associated with films of standard and substance.

THUMBS DOWN: Lacks star power.

CURRENT STATUS: After Paa and Ishqiya, Vidya has truly arrived. Just one big hit and there’s no stopping this Parineeta pretty woman.

COMING UP: Rajkumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica co-starring Rani Mukerji. Anees Bazmee’s Thank You with Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Irrfan for company. Now shooting for Kahaani in Calcutta.

TRADE SPEAK: “Everyone thought Vidya wasn’t comfortable doing different roles, but Ishqiya busted that myth. With the kind of good run she’s having, the sky’s the limit,” says Adarsh.

VIDYA SPEAK: “I am happy to be doing films that strike a chord, irrespective of their fate at the box office.”

KATRINA KAIF

Hit machine. Akshay Kumar to Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif is one-half of almost every Bolly hit pair. Has consistently delivered at least one blockbuster every year. No wonder every top director queues up to sign her.

LAST THREE RELEASES:

RAAJNEETi (JUNE 2010)

Role: Kat got into sari-and-serious mode for Prakash Jha’s modern-day Mahabharat-meets-Godfather.

Box-office verdict: Blockbuster. (Raajneeti is the fourth biggest hit in the history of Indian cinema.)

DE DANA DAN (NOVEMBER 2009)

Role: Katrina had to look pretty and act stupid in this dimwitted Priyadarshan comedy.

Box-office verdict: Average.

AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI (NOVEMBER 2009)

Role: This Rajkumar Santoshi comedy — in which Kat played a young girl torn between head and heart — can take credit for the starting point of the Katrina-Ranbir Kapoor garam garam vibes.

Box-office verdict: Superhit.

THUMBS UP: Chooses her films real smart. Close to most of her (male) co-stars. Salman is her yesterday.

THUMBS DOWN: Not versatile. Acting below par.

CURRENT STATUS: Is currently riding high on Raajneeti’s super-success and the big buzz about the Tees Maar Khan promo.

COMING UP: Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan (in which she plays an item girl opposite Akshay Kumar) and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan opposite Imran Khan.

TRADE SPEAK: “Katrina is a combination of luck and hard work. She may not be a great actress, but she knows what works with the audience,” says Adarsh.

kat SPEAK: “I am not a part of the numbers game. I just do my work as best as I can. I am lucky the

audience likes my films.”

KAREENA KAPOOR

Miss Versatile. Commercial or arty — Bebo is the one to go to. One of the top contenders for the No. 1 spot. Size zero or Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor is consistently in the news. Yet, she lets her work do most of the talking.

LAST THREE RELEASES:

GOLMAAL 3 (NOVEMBER 2010)

Role: Kareena impressed as a tomboy in the third instalment of this Rohit Shetty mad caper.

Box-office verdict: Superhit. Golmaal 3 raked in Rs 62 crore in its first week.

WE ARE FAMILY (SEPTEMBER 2010)

Role: As a new-age stepmom in this desi adaptation of the Hollywood hit Stepmom, Kareena held her own pitted against a powerhouse called Kajol.

Box-office verdict: Average.

MILENGE MILENGE (JULY 2010)

Role: This long-in-the-making Kareena-Shahid rehash of Serendipity released — and sank — three years after the pair split.

Box-office verdict: Flop.

THUMBS UP: Dependable and diligent. Star aura.

THUMBS DOWN: Isn’t choosy about her films (proof: Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, Kambakkht Ishq, Tashan).

CURRENT STATUS: With Golmaal 3 still bringing in big bucks and last year’s 3 Idiots scoring high on television re-runs, Kareena is miles ahead of most of her colleagues.

COMING UP: Ra.One opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Bodyguard in which she is paired with Salman Khan. Home

production Agent Vinod, opposite beau Saif Ali Khan.

TRADE SPEAK: “Kareena is one of the most versatile actresses in Bollywood today. With films like Ra.One and Bodyguard, she looks set to rule 2011,” says Adarsh.

KAREENA SPEAK: “Despite a large number of flops, I have been a favourite with my directors and producers. I get a good fee too, though I do not run after money.”

DEEPIKA PADUKONE

Three years on the bandwagon and a top star already! Deepika Padukone has marked a place for herself in the list of bankable Bolly babes.

LAST THREE RELEASES:

Lafangey parindey (AUGUST 2010)

Role: Deepika played a blind girl on roller-skates determined to live out her dreams in this Pradeep Sarkar romance with Neil Nitin Mukesh for company.

Box-office verdict: Average.

Housefull (APRIL 2010)

Role: Deepika was strictly eye candy in this starry Sajid Khan comic caper.

Box-office verdict: Superhit. (Housefull is the 10th biggest Bolly grosser.)

karthik calling karthik (FEBRUARY 2010)

Role: Fresh from a makeover, Deepika was the supportive girlfriend to Farhan Akhtar’s schizophrenic Karthik.

Box-office verdict: Average.

THUMBS UP: Great height and good looks. Combination of sweet and sexy, sophisticated and simple. Good to work with. Chooses her films well.

THUMBS DOWN: Not a powerful performer.

CURRENT STATUS: With one superhit and two average earners in 2010, Deepika Padukone is neither at the bottom nor at the top. Dekhte hain kya hota hai, Break Ke Baad!

COMING UP: Break Ke Baad opposite Imran Khan. Plays Kalpana Dutta to Abhishek Bachchan’s Surya Sen in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, releasing on December 3.

TRADE SPEAK: “Despite being relatively new in Bollywood, Deepika is a name to reckon with because she has chosen her films well. She could well be number one in a few years,” says Adarsh.

deepika SPEAK: “I am miles away from the numbers game.”

PRIYANKA CHOPRA

Fashion, Dostana and Kaminey under her svelte belt, she ruled the

box-office. Not anymore. But with a host of big films coming up in 2011, Piggy Chops looks set to stake her claim to the numero uno position once more.

LAST THREE RELEASES:

ANJAANA ANJAANI (OCTOBER 2010)

Role: Priyanka played a cheated lover contemplating suicide in this Siddharth Anand rom com opposite Ranbir Kapoor.

Box-office verdict: Average.

pyaar impossible (JANUARY 2010)

Role: She was the gorgeous single mom unlucky in love in this yawnathon by Jugal Hansraj.

Box-office verdict: Flop

WHAT’s YOUR RAASHEE?

(september 2009)

Role: It was one too many Priyankas (12, actually!) and one too many Hurman Bawejas (one, actually!) in this four-hour-long Ashutosh Gowariker zodiac fest.

Box-office verdict: Flop.

THUMBS UP: Sassy. Sexy. Experimentative. Powerhouse.

THUMBS DOWN: Inconsistent. CV studded with dud films.

CURRENT STATUS: 2010 hasn’t been a good year for the Chopra girl.

COMING UP: Vishal Bhardwaj’s Saat Khoon Maaf, Anurag Basu’s Silence and Farhan Akhtar’s Don 2.

TRADE SPEAK: “Whenever you think she is down, Priyanka pulls a hit out of her hat. Saat Khoon Maaf could be the turnaround film for her,” says Adarsh.

PRIYANKA SPEAK: “All those who are in show business know hits and flops are part of our profession. So career-wise, as long as your looks and acting are impressive, you are not affected.”

SONAM KAPOOR

She is not in the top league, but with big banners lining up for Sonam, Anil Kapoor’s daughter looks poised to give the Kareenas and Katrinas a run for their box-office standings.

LAST THREE RELEASES:

AISHA (AUGUST 2010)

Role: Sonam played a bratty south Delhi matchmaker (opposite a dishy Abhay Deol) in this Bolly Emma.

Box-office verdict: Average.

I HATE Luv STORIES (JULY 2010)

Role: Looking like a million bucks, Sonam slipped into the limited role of a romantic (opposite Imran Khan) in this Karan Johar production.

Box-office verdict: Hit.

DELHI-6 (FEBRUARY 2009)

Role: A budding singer with a mind of her own summed up Sonam’s Bittu in this Rakeysh Omprakash film set in old Delhi.

Box-office verdict: Flop.

THUMBS UP: S for stylish.

THUMBS DOWN: Acting skills.

CURRENT STATUS: Fast grabbing the attention of filmmakers, co-stars and fashion designers.

COMING UP: Mausam opposite Shahid Kapur; Thank You with Akshay Kumar.

TRADE SPEAK: “She has the looks and the attitude; once she brushes up on her acting skills, there’s no stopping Sonam,” says Adarsh.

SONAM SPEAK: “Films don’t fail; it’s the budget that fails.

SPECIAL MENTION: KAJOL

She may have moved away from the race. She may do one film in two years (though My Name Is Khan and We Are Family both released in 2010), but Kajol still remains the darling of the box office. While cousin Rani Mukerji has faded away and contemporaries like Karisma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon have chosen mom-hood over mainstream, Kajol still commands the attention (and big bucks!) of Bollywood. With My Name Is Khan becoming one of the top five grossers of all time and she being the best thing (by far) about the soppy We Are Family, here’s raising a toast to the timeless Kajol.