Here’s who you the t2 reader picked as the worst actresses in bollywood today.
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NEHA DHUPIA: The early years of her career were propped on skin show in films like Julie and Sheesha. Her decision to take the “small and sensible” film route was smart, but the former Miss India has, at best, remained a oomphy prop in most of her films. Her sole claim to Bolly fame? The statement: “In Bollywood, only sex and Shah Rukh Khan sell.” 
NISHA KOTHARI; What was the worst thing about Ram Gopal Varma’s disastrous remake of Sholay? Muse Nisha Kothari stepping into Hema Malini’s sandals to play jabbermouth Basanti. Wooden as a pole, RGV’s muse banks solely on her sex appeal to heave her way through a film. But even that hasn’t helped her at the box office, with films like Agyaat failing despite the camera lingering on Nisha’s navel for a full five minutes!
AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN: If whimpering and simpering into the camera translated into good acting, she would walk away with top honours in most of her films. Ash’s perfect looks, the Miss World tag and occasional cellulloid sparks under good directors have taken her to the top. We liked her in a few roles — as Nandini in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Sunehri in Dhoom: 2 and Sujata in Guru — and loved her in a few — Sofia in Guzaarish — but overall, Ash has never been much of an actress. But then, she does remain India’s most famous face in Hollywood. (Sorry, Anil Kapoor!)
KATRINA KAIF: A classic example of how an oh-so-pretty face and the right attitude can make up for lack of acting chops. More model than actor, Katrina Kaif struggles with her Hindi and can barely manage more than two expressions (remember Raajneeti?) and yet has big banners, from Yash Chopra’s candyfloss romances to Prakash Jha’s hard-hitting dramas and the best of men — Salman to Ranbir — queuing up at her doorstep. Though her presence in most films is strictly functional, Kat remains a Bollywood topper. And yes, we must admit that no one looks better on screen and no one could have done New York or Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara better.
DEEPIKA PADUKONE: Put her on a calendar and she will sizzle. Put her in a movie frame and she could fizzle. Like most models who cross over, Deepika Padukone is often too stiff on 35mm. She sure has come a long way since her Om Shanti Om days (think Karthik Calling Karthik), but Deepi still labours through many scenes. One glimpse of that hotbod in hot outfits, though, and we are ready to forget — and forgive.
SONAM KAPOOR: Want to get even with an enemy? Gift him a DVD of Aisha. A pretty face with an awesome sense of fashion, Anil Kapoor’s first-born has little talent in front of the camera. With a set of one-and-a-quarter expressions per film and stilted dialogue delivery, Sonam makes Katrina and Deepika look like seasoned actresses. No wonder she has more magazine covers than films.
AMEESHA PATEL: You just have to go back to the climax of Gadar to know what bad (make that horrid) acting is all about. Nyaka but not nice, the actress who debuted opposite Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai is probably the worst actress to hit Bolly this millennium. No wonder she has been in the news more for her off-screen shenanigans than her talent on it. The best thing about her? We get to see so little of her. 
LARA DUTTA: Yet another Miss India. Yet another pretty face whose acting abilities are suspect. Seen more in comic roles, Lara looks hot and talks cool, but just doesn’t measure up on screen. Moreover, Mrs Bhupathi’s choice of films — from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom to Blue — makes us think she isn’t half as smart as she looks!
CELINA JAITLY: Has someone told her that she is a really good actress? For what else can explain Celina Jaitly inflicting all those films on us all these years? The girl with a Calcutta connection has a patent expression in every film she has starred in — wide-eyed, with quivering lips and hyperactive cleavage. Celina was the weakest link even in a laugh riot like No Entry — and that film even had Esha Deol. The former Miss India’s claim to Bolly fame remains that image of her in a two-piece playing a violin in the water in Janasheen. 
t2 ADDS TO THE LIST OF pretty faces with little on-screen talent
ESHA DEOL: Whoever said that having parents like Dharmendra and Hema Malini would make Esha a bundle of acting talent couldn’t have been further from the truth. With zero screen presence and a palpable sense of discomfort in front of the camera, Esha — despite the ample skin show in Dhoom — fizzled out after a few films. Today, her star parents are pulling out all the stops to ensure an effective launch (!) for Esha in Tell Me Oh Kkhuda — mom Hema directs it, dad Dharam acts in it.
MAMTA KULKARNI: She burst into Bollywood posing topless on the cover of a film glossy — and did little after that. Though she acted opposite the likes of Salman Khan (in Karan Arjun) and Aamir Khan (in Baazi), the best thing about Mamta Kulkarni remained her hair. Today, no one knows where she is.
KIMI KATKAR: The sex symbol of the Eighties. The woman on a tree who Tarzan felt up to the hottie in the red dress who Amitabh Bachchan wooed with Jumma chumma, Kimi Katkar was yet another model-turned-actress who could barely act. She tried to make up with her raw sex appeal. But most often, that just wasn’t enough.
SHILPA SHIRODKAR: She did everything to play to her strengths — and that meant dropping her pallu at the slightest provocation, but she just could not speak her lines properly. Towards the end of her career, Shilpa S of the stoop-to-conquer fame turned to serious cinema like Gaja Gamini and Mrityudand, but there too she fell short. 
TWINKLE KHANNA: Though she’s acted opposite most of the big heroes of her time, Rajesh Khanna and Dimple’s daughter was not a patch on her parents. Stiff and awkward, Twinkle tortured we the audience with a dozen or more howlers before bidding adieu and settling down as Mrs Akshay Kumar. Her best screen act? In the Micromax ad.
BIPASHA BASU: If jism made a good actress, then the Ballygunge bombshell would beat her competition by miles. Always a model, never an actress, Bips is, at best, passable in most of her films. Though she has consciously attempted a serious turn — from Corporate to Lamhaa — her 10-year career had only one notable (ex) talking point: John Abraham. 
HALL OF SHAME
MANDAKINI: She was a real eyefull — can we ever forget Mandakini in a transparent white sari under the waterfall in Ram Teri Ganga Maili? But the light-eyed actress lacked the acting basics to back her oomph. Today, she is a nobody. Even for Dawood.
BHAGYASHREE: She had a blockbuster debut, but most would unanimously agree that Bhagyashree was the worst thing about Maine Pyaar Kiya. Nyaka-ness got a whole new meaning with this actress who could kill with her sweetness. Thank god she acted in less than five films after that.
