In their heydays, poor mortals didn?t stand a chance of that treasured glimpse ? up close and personal. Now on the wane, these ladies are happy to make their presence felt on stage. And most choose to play it safe, settling for the tried-and-tested formula of family entertainers and rib-tickling comedy. The last few years have seen at least five of them surfacing, with those extra kilos in place, but in roles dramatically different from those they have been known for. Here?s cruising through the new-found passion of five faces that blazed through Bollywood.

Rati Agnihotri

After 16 long years, it was good to see the Ek Duje Ke Liye girl back on the big screen (Kuch Khatti Kuch Mithi, Yaadein, Hum Tum, Kyun... Ho Gaya Na!, among others). But here she was, playing mother to the hero or the heroine. So, when Rati took centrestage in Vandana Sajnani?s Please Divorce Me Darling as the coy nurse of a dentist who seeks her help to win his love, people did throng the auditorium to catch the return of Rati.

She followed it up with Love Hua Once More, yet another feel-good play by Sajnan, laced with loud, in-your-face humour. The bitter-sweet tale of heartburn and heartbreak features her as an attractive divorcee who ties the knot with a Bollywood script-writer after a lot of coaxing. The mother of a college-going boy staged both plays to a packed GD Birla Sabhagar.

Poonam Dhillon

She wore the Miss India crown in 1977, graced magazine covers and shot to stardom with her first film Trishul, where Yash Chopra cast her opposite Sachin, but alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Rakhee, Shashi Kapoor and Sanjeev Kapoor. The next 10 years or so have belonged to this lovestruck beauty of Sohni Mahiwal and Teri Kasam.

When flooded with offers, Poonam chose a comedy to launch her theatre career. And she sure has reaped the benefits of a safe bet. Mumbai audiences have lapped up Nitin Rai?s Hindi production, The Perfect Husband, where she plays an exuberant housewife craving for her globe-trotting husband?s attention. When a newspaper advertisement promising ?supply of the perfect husband? catches her eye, Poonam promptly places an order for one and watches her life take a twist. For worse, or for good? We will have to wait till she comes to town.

Padmini Kolhapure

Casting couch, debauched producers, pushy parents and calculating private secretaries ? Padmini Kolhapure?s stage debut is all about the wolves lurking in Bollywood. Kaash.? has the much-in-demand child artiste of yore playing a starlet-turned-prostitute who tries to stop her step-sister from falling into the lure of showbiz. And though her naive spontaneity is a throwback to Prem Rog, Woh Saat Din, Pyar Jhukta Nahin and Souten, critics are not too happy with the way Padmini?s role has shaped up. Her character comes across as drab, mouthing moralistic dialogue, instead of getting under the skin of a prostitute, they say.

Sonali Bendre

The leggy actress is known more for her good looks than her acting skills. But Sonali Bendre has bagged one of the most plum projects in town ? the sequel to Farooque Sheikh-Shabana Azmi?s Tumhari Amrita. Aap Ki Soniya finds the sultry Sonali trying out theatre after matrimony and a film career on the down swing. But the girl has surprised one and all with her fine intonation, Urdu diction and rendition of Mirza Ghalib?s couplets.

With a desk, a chair and a bunch of letters as props, Aap Ki Soniya starts where Tumhari Amrita ended ? Amrita?s daughter, Soniya, writing to the ageing governor Syed Zulfiqar Haider to know the exact nature of the relationship between him and her mother. The play received a standing ovation in Dubai and was performed again the following day on public demand.

Let?s see how far Sonali takes the sequel of a play that Farooque Sheikh and Shabana Azmi have performed for 13 years to packed houses.

Zeenat Aman

The Hare Rama Hare Krishna woman sure knows the survival strategy on stage better than the rest. Having tasted sweet success with debut production Chupke Chupke, the Hindi adaptation of a popular Gujarati play, Zeenat has now moved on to a bigger stage ? a Mumbai version of the 1967 Hollywood blockbuster The Graduate, starring Anne Bankcroft and Dustin Hoffman.

Under Divya Palat?s direction, Zeenat plays a charming Mrs Robinson who seduces a man much younger than her. Though Hollywood star Jerry Hall had stunned all by stripping on stage in the Broadway adaptation some four years ago, Zeenat is more conscious about her Indian audiences and has made obvious sartorial changes in her role to suit their sensibilities. Displaying huge sets and live music, The Graduate has been running to full houses in Mumbai after opening in September 2004.

By now, Zeenat has become well-versed with what clicks on stage, having sampled even the Bengali jatra scenario some seasons back.