Kajol

Source

Kajol made her acting debut in 1992 in Bollywood alongside Shahrukh Khan and has since built her reputation as one of India’s most successful and talented actresses. More recently, she starred in the come-back feature “My Name is Khan,” which did very well in India, and even found some success in North America. She is also known for proudly sporting one very unique physical characteristic (a la Frida Kahlo), do you know what it is? (Check for yourself here, sans la photoshop.)

Aishwarya Rai

Source

Known as the “most beautiful woman in the world,” Ashwarya started her career as Miss World in 1996, and that was just the beginning. Since then she has become a mainstay of the Bollywood scene, keeping her body in great shape in the process. In a more recent blockbuster, “Dhoom 2,” she said she had to work out for 8-10 hours a day! Check out a clip here.

Sushmita Sen

Source

Sushmita Sen was the first Indian woman to be crowned Miss Universe in 1994, and for good reason. More recently, it’s been rumored this Bollywood-beauty will take a fast career turn from her normal, light-hearted roles to play a more serious part in a film portraying the life of the great Benazir Bhutto.

Preity Zinta

Source

This Bollywood hottie is known for her cute dimples and bubbly roles, which would be enough for most, but not Ms. Zinta. She also holds a degree in Criminal Psych, writes a series of columns for BBC News Online South Asia, and is a co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kings XI Punjab! Cute, bubbly, whip-smart and successful!

Shilpa Shetty

Source

Our UK readers best know Shilpa from 2007′s “Celebrity Big Brother UK,” in which she, unfortunately, had to deal with both racial tension and discrimination on the show, directed her way primarily from a few housemates. The scandal ended in widespread anger amongst international viewers, especially in India. It wasn’t, however, until show sponsors began to pull out that “Celeb UK” finally took action, evicting the offending housemates. Still, a woman of class, as well as beauty, Shilpa went on to win the show with 63% of the final vote and even, eventually, received apologies from two of the three bullies.

Rani Mukerji

Source

Best known for her trademark, husky yet sexy voice, Rani Mukerji doesn’t disappoint in the looks department either, especially her stunning light-hazel eyes. This, of course, isn’t too surprising as she comes from a powerhouse family of entertainers, including her first-cousin, Kajol, our top pick.

Amrita Rao

Source

Pursued by filmmakers from a very young age for her natural beauty, Amrita abstained from the world of acting until she had completed her college degree in Psychology first. After finding easy success post-college in modeling, she soon after took her natural place at the top of the Bollywood scene.

Kangana Ranaut

Source

In 2008, this twenty-year-old beauty catapulted onto the stage with the blockbuster Bollywood hit “Fashion.” Ever since, the eye-friendly actress has taken the lead in a new generation of Bollywood actors, taking over the silver screen by way of a very “western” cultural phenomena, social media. She currently updates her personal blog regularly, reaching out to fans worldwide, giving them the inside scoop to projects past, present and future.

Dia Mirza

Source

Dia is not only beautiful, to say the least, she also has a great heart and a giving personality. Using her fame for good, Dia has helped many great humanitarian causes gain publicity both in India and worldwide. Very active locally, she has brought much-needed awareness to several important issues, causes and organizations, including: HIV awareness, PETA, CRY, and a number of environmental-awareness groups. Writing often for the The Hindustan Times, Dia has proven she has not just beauty, but brains too — making her a very-sexy double-threat.

Malaika Arora Khan

Source

Malaika first came on the scene as an MTV India VJ, and unsurprisingly, she garnered quite a bit of attention, and fast. Soon after she was approached for modeling and acting gigs, which is how she met her husband, the famous Bollywood actor Arbaz Khan. The rest? Beautiful, beautiful history.

Bipasha Basu

Source

Bips, as they call her in B-Wood, is not known just for her worldclass beauty, but for her athleticism as well. Recently doing a spread for Reebok showing off her rock-hard abs, Bips also will soon be releasing her own exercise video, giving you the inside scoop on how to bring your sexy back.

Lara Dutta

Source

The second Indian woman to win the Miss Universe Pageant, Laura is regularly considered the best contestant of all time for her heart-felt answer defending the pageant lifestyle. That same year, Priyanka Chopra and Dia Mirza won Miss World and Miss Asia Pacific titles, respectively, giving India a rare triple victory in the world of beauty pageants — as they deserved to.

Deepika Padukone

Source

Although Deepika has only had a handful of feature films in the last several years, and only two finding meaningful success, this stunning starlet still shows a lot of promise. As already seen, she’s not only beautiful, but can also act and hold her own too. Now she just needs to pick better films.

Gul Panag

Source

Gul grew up as an army brat, attending 14 schools until her family finally settled down in Punjab, India. But being well traveled isn’t her only asset, in 1999 she not only won Miss World, but walked away with the best smile award too. She is also a Twitter-a-holic, recently even being appointed a Twitter ambassador, bringing her beauty, brains, and the occasional TwitPic, to her thousands of followers, one 140-character message at a time.

Konkona Sen

Source

Konkona is known for her stand-out performances within India’s excellent arthouse and indie film industry. Pairing her raw talent with her natural beauty, Konkona has found success both critically and commercially. Despite this success, she’s never given into the pressures of the limelight, managing to keep a healthy distance from the scantily-clad trend that is currently sweeping Bollywood. Can you believe that kissing was rare on the Bollywood silver screen just a few years ago?

Priyanka Chopra

Source

Priyanka won the Miss World title in 2000 making her the fifth Indian woman to win the crown. Following her win, she then appeared on the cover of Maxim India’s premier issue, which caused a bit of a stir. We didn’t mind though.

Kareena Kapoor

Source

Kareena Kapoor comes from a family of entertainers, and as such, is no stranger to the spotlight — but with a body like her’s, who are we to complain? According to the young starlet,  her slender figure is all thanks to an all-vegetarian diet and a daily Yoga routine. A diet completely free of meat? Maybe not such a bad thing after all.

Katrina Kaif

Source

Katrina, much like many of the other women in the industry, began her career in modeling, but beyond that fact, her story is a bit different. Originally modeling in London, Katrina was first discovered by a very impressed Bollywoood producer and soon after moved to Mumbai. In the beginning, film producers were hesitant to cast her as she didn’t speak any Hindi, but that hesitation didn’t stick long. Since 2006 Kaif has starred in several blockbusters proving that she is not only a quick learner, but a true star of the big screen as well. We agree.

Leave a Reply