Mumbai: Kangana Ranaut:
Vikas Bahl’s Queen can be called the most successful film of 2014 and the Kangana-starrer wasn’t even expected to garner such a great response. Her character, Rani Mehra, became a symbol for women’s emancipation. Kangana followed up Queen with Sai Kabir’s Revolver Rani and while it didn’t have the same box office impact, it certainly established her as an actress to reckon with.
Alia Bhatt:
As Veera Tripathi in Imtiaz Ali’s Highway, Alia made every girl want to run away with a truck driver provided he was as good looking as Randeep Hooda, of course. Stellar acts in Humpty Sharma and 2 States cemented Alia’s position as the rising star of 2014.
Honourable mentions:
Vidya Balan and producer Dia Mirza both get our thumbs up for the unconventional Bobby Jasoos. Farah Khan may not have given Deepika Padukone much to do in Happy New Year, but for helming one of the year’s major blockbusters, she gets our vote.
Priyanka Chopra:
Her portrayal as Olympic boxing star Mary Kom wasn’t without its controversies, but Priyanka Chopra did manage to silence most detractors with a compelling performance.
Madhuri Dixit:
Her Gulab Gang may have stuttered at the box office, but as Begum Para in Abhishek Chaubey’s Dedh Ishqiya, Madhuri (ably backed by Huma Qureshi) shone.
Rani Mukerji:
Her tough cop act in Pradeep Sarkar’s Mardaani showed the industry why Rani Mukerji can’t be written off yet.
Parineeti Chopra:
Dr Meeta Solanki in Hasee Toh Phasee was an unusual Bollywood heroine indeed. But Parineeti made it work and how!
Deepika Padukone:
When you’re part of a cast that includes stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur and Dimple Kapadia, you have to be really good to hold your own and in Finding Fanny, Deepika Padukone did.
