Alphabetically placed:

-Madhubala
-Madhuri Dixit
-Manisha Koirala
-Rani Mukherjee
-Rekha
-Shabana Azmi
-Sharmila Tagore
-Shefali Chaiya
-Urmila Matondkar
-Tabu

Rita, I hardly post these days... But just couldn't resist complimenting your musical heroines

now thats a joke

Amrita Arora sticks out like a sore thumb in this list, she surely does not belong in such 'illustrious' company. Although Karishma Kapoor ought to fit right in with the gang.

I haven't seen that many oldies, but here's my list

Kajol
Juhi
sreedevi
Madhuri
Urmila
Tabu

Thats all i can come up w/

Obviously, this list is subject to change (I still have huge holes in my screening duties):

Shabana Azmi [consistently dependable to give solid work, even in unexceptional movies; case in point - Tehzeeb]

Karuna Bannerjee [not counted among Bollywood actresses, but her performances in the Apu Trilogy constitute some of the all-time stupendous; devastating in every frame and a perfect example in portraying understated grief that a lot of other actresses could learn from]

Shefali Chhaya [luminous in Monsoon Wedding and commanding in Satya. I wish she'd work more, and no, I don't mean playing Akshaye Kumar's mother]

Madhuri Dixit [post marriage only; her supporting work in Lajja and Bhansali's Devdas outshadow anything she's ever done]

Karisma Kapoor [solely for Fiza and Zubeidaa; her unglamorous and fierce approach in the former was breath-taking. Who knew that she had it in her?]

Manisha Koirala [solely for Dil Se.. and Bombay; as for her remaining body of work, I have to say "What happened there?"]

Smita Patil [need I say more?]

Surekha Sikri [foremostly known as a character actress in many of Benegal's films, she always blows me away with her focus and dedication to powerful and meaningful cinema]

Tabu [no explanation needed I presume; robbed last year for back-to-back greatness in Meenaxi + Maqbool]

Sharmilla Tagore [if only for Aradhana, a beautifully crafted and layered piece of work]

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Nandita Das [unpredictable, fiery and passionate. Like her a lot]

Urmilla [not a huge fanboy of hers; I think her recent work shows promise, but she was over-the-top in Bhoot and very shaky in Tehzeeb. However, Ek Hasina Thi featured her in fine form and she was my pick for Best Actress in 2003 for Pinjar]

Farida Jalal [my favorite of the "mothers" in current cinema; always plays the same character, but that's not necessarily a bad thing]

Kajol [given exactly TWO great performances - in DDLJ and K3G; otherwise, I can't quite understand the raves accorded to her. I look forward to her comeback like everyone, but not for a second do I think she's quite so deserving of the hype she commands]

Juhi Chawla [like Madhuri, delivering solely post-marriage, Juhi has been picking a lot of interesting risky fare lately. I loved her in Teen Deewarein, in which she stole the film from everyone else involved]

Vijanthymala [always dependable, and I love her in Roy's Devdas, but I fail to see very great range]

Waheeda Rehman [oh-so-stunning in Neel Kamal]

Rani Mukerji [have not seen her in Black yet, but she's proven herself consistently solid in most roles. She stole the show in Veer Zaara, but her award-winning work in Hum Tum left me cold and unimpressed. I await the future with interest]

THANKS, BUT NO THANKS [The Overrated]

Preity Zinta [I fail to see the appeal; gawky, crass and badly in need of acting lessons, Preity has relied way too long on her "oh-so-bubbly" persona. It may have worked in one film, but now it's getting very tiring. Her superficial and dull work in Kal Ho Naa Ho simply confirmed for me that she just can't play outside of her security role. However, she was half-decent in Veer Zaara, so who knows? Otherwise, I give her a failing grade as an actress]

Malika Sherawat [Jeez, maybe if I strip repeatedly in every film, maybe I could be called an "actress" too? She's simply embarrassing to watch]

Priyanka Chopra [again, don't understand it. Why does she command so much favour and attention in the industry? No talent. I repeat NO TALENT]

Kareena Kapoor [need I say more? Refugee and Asoka were steps in the right direction, and Chameli was a noble - although unsuccessful - effort, but she's way too busy chasing fame to concentrate on her craft]

Bipasha Basu [the absolute WORST actress working today. Atrocious beyond belief. Like, I can't even put into words how - ugh, that's enough, I can't go on]

Hey Kamran, I agree with your list 100 %.

Yaar, how can you seriously have her on the list. All she ever did was screech and make faces in the name of acting.

How could you have missed her wonderful performances in '1942 A Love Story', 'Khamoshi: The Musical', 'Company' & 'Agni Sakshi'? She is truely one of the best actresses of Bollywood, now if only she would get some decent movies.


You are right about the fact that you do have "huge holes in your film screening duties" Please do watch 'Anupama', 'Safar', 'Amar Prem', 'Avishkar', 'Mausam', 'Khushboo', 'Chupke Chupke', 'Amanush', 'Griha Pravesh' & 'Namkeen', your rating of her might also go up quite significantly.

You're right on the money if discussing all other efforts, but her work in these two films were the exception. I found her fierce and formidable in Fiza while perfectly cast as the title character in Zubeidaa.



I've yet to see Khamoshi unfortunately, but there wasn't too much demanded of her in 1942 or Company (Antara Mali had the meatier role). She was good in both, but I'd hardly consider either performance as among her best.



Did I strike a nerve or something? All I was suggesting was that this one performance in Aradhana (one of the most powerful performances I've seen from an Indian actress) would be enough to consider her one of the greats. I was not discounting or dismissing her other work at all.

Nutan
Shabana Azmi
Nargis
waheeda Rehman
Smita Patel
Madhubala
Vyjayanthimala
Jaya Bachchan
Meena Kumari
Madhuri Dixit
Tabu

here is my new very honest list:

1- Sridevi
2- Sridevi
3- Sridevi
4- Sridevi
5- Sridevi
6- Sridevi
7- Sridevi
8- Sridevi
9- Sridevi
10- Sridevi

11- The rest comes here

I just until the date cant see anyone who can beat her not from past not from present and i dont think future either.

hahhaha comeon man! she is good ....i love her..but they r others that are good too!

Man! What to say????? If you say that for Madhubala, then I'm appalled at how you chose Kajol...

Do you also feel that Lata Mangeshkar is an over rated singer?

I used to think so too umtil I found out that Shamshad Begum was paid more than twice what Lata was paid. She had to sing more songs to make up for the lost revenue and so
got more and more assignments .