6. Tabu
While most of her peers find it difficult to be still relevant in today’s time, Tabu has surprised us all. She has never shied away from difficult and challenging roles. Movies such as ‘The Namesake’, ‘Chandni Bar’, ‘Haider’, ‘Cheeni Kum’ and not to forget ‘Maqbool’ and ‘Astitva’ (the last two movies are a must watch) exhibit her acting prowess and the stability she has as a performer. I would definitely love to see her as an antagonist in a Hollywood movie.
5. Alia Bhatt
She might have just started out but she’s one of those few actresses in Bollywood who can actually act. You can see her doing a masala movie like ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’ and an intense movie like ‘Highway’ or ‘Udta Punjab’ with equal dedication. She has the potential to reach the sky. It’s only a matter of time before Hollywood producers will start noticing her and rope in for a movie.
4. Nandita Das
Of course, she has gone international and has also been on the jury of Cannes Film Festival, but she still has to make it big. He career is full of critically acclaimed movies such as ‘Earth’, ‘Fire’, ‘Before the Rains’ and ‘Firaaq’ – the movie was also her directorial debut. She is the first Indian to be inducted into the International Women’s Forum’s Hall of Fame for her contributions to the arts. With such an illustrious career, I feel she deserves more recognition.
3. Kangana Ranaut
The ‘Queen’ of Bollywood. She is one actress who did not fall for the honeytrap of big blockbusters with big names. Instead, what did she do? She made her own movies blockbusters. Frankly, she is one of the very few bankable persons in the industry. This lady can be given the Khans and the Kapoors (even the Roshans, but for a different reason) a run for their money. With all the surrounding controversies, there’s no way her image as a truly talented actor can be tarnished. Whether Hollywood wants her or not is not the question, the question is does she want Hollywood. Only Kangana will tell.
2. Vidya Balan
The queen before the Queen (Kangana Ranaut). Who would have thought that a movie with a female actress as a lead can attract the audience to the theatres before Vidya Balan came with back-to-back hits? While female actors were only thought of as a vanity or cast only because the hero (usually double the actress’s age) has to have a love interest or because there ought to be an item number in the movie, she decided to tread her own path and write her own ‘Kahaani’. Her breakthrough film, ‘The Dirty Picture’ ironically was exactly about male chauvinist actors and the male-dominated industry.
1. Kalki Koechlin
Ok, she’s not bankable. She is not a star. She can only manage a handful of the crowd to the theatres, but man she’s one powerhouse of an actor. If Hollywood is looking for an actor who can put life into any character, then Kalki has to be their first choice. She’s so natural that it seems like she has man suits of different personalities. All she does is wears them when she’s acting. I’m not comparing her to others, only because she in the league of her own. And time and again she has proved it. If you get an opportunity, then please do watch her in a play!
