The Top 18 Best Actresses in Bollywood

Since everyone does a top ten, top twenty or even a top twenty five list, I thought I would be a little different and do the top 18 actresses in Bollywood so far this year.
Bollywood has exploded since 2000, with films like Ghajini (2008), Dhoom 2 (2006) and Om Shanti Om (2007) being not only Indian hits, but international hits as well. This has led to some Bollywood actresses getting international attention.
For example, the 2001 Bollywood sports film Lagaan won the Audience Award at the Locarno International Film Festival and was then nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy Awards.
And the films are making money as well.
3 Idiots, Dabangg, Ra.One and Singham have all made millions and in some cases, caused Hollywood studios to plan remakes of the Bollywood films, instead of the other way around!
Of course part of the allure of these films are the beautiful and talented actresses that perform in them.
So here are the most popular Bollywood actresses on the net so far in 2012.
Don't bother telling me that they cant act, are ugly etc, these are the women that are the most searched for.....

After a long time of coming in at number two to Kat, Aishwarya Rai is back at number one.
Once hailed as "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World" Ash doesn’t seem to have the world by the horns like she once did.
Case in point, in 2009, she only appeared in one film, The Pink Panther 2, which flopped.
In 2010, she seemed to be trying to make up for that with Raavan, Raavanan, Endhiran, Guzaarish and Action Replay.
And in 2011, she didn't release anything.
But, she was popular enough to finally topple Katrina and take the number one spot.

Of course the number two lady is the actress that used to always dominate my bollywood lists, Katrina Kaif.
Her fall isn't because she hasn't been working.
In 2009 she appeared in New York, Blue, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and De Dana Dan.
In 2010, she appeared in Raajneeti, Tees Maar Khan and Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara.
In 2011 she appeared in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Bodyguard and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.
And in 2012 she has Agneepath, Main Krishna Hoon and Ek Tha Tiger lined up and she even has Dhoom 3 and Dostana 2 set for 2013!

Kareena Kapoor may be number three, but she may be the most successful actress out of the top three.
She appeared in two of the all-time highest-grossing Bollywood films, 3 Idiots and Ra.One.
In 2011 she appeared in Bodyguard and Ra.One.
So far in 2012 she has Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Agent Vinod, Heroine and Talaash.

Number four out of the top eighteen is the beautiful Priyanka Chopra.
You know a lot of times I forget just how stunningly beautiful she is what with all the competition at the top.
"Piggy Chops" always ranks high and coming in at fourth is no small thing.
In 2011 she appeared in 7 Khoon Maaf (and won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress), Ra.One and Don 2.
In 2012 she has Agneepath, Teri Meri Kahaani and Barfi!
And for 2013 she has the much anticipated Krrish 3.

The winner of the 2008 Filmfare Best Female Debut Award (for Om Shanti Om) and the winner of the Star Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female (again for Om Shanti Om), Deepika Padukone, stayed busy in 2011.
She appeared in Dum Maro Dum (as herself), Aarakshan and Desi Boyz.
So far in 2012 she has Cocktail, Kochadaiyaan, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and Race 2.
She possibly has a Tamil historical action film Rana set for 2013.

Anushka Sharma's first film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), got her nominated for a Star Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female, a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and a Filmfare Best Actress Award and she jumped from 15th last year to number 6.
Not a bad move up.
In 2011 she appeared in Patiala House and Ladies VS Ricky Bahl and in 2012 she has Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola and a project with Yash Chopra.
In 2013 she already has Bombay Velvet lined up.

Legendary Madhuri Dixit turns 45 this year and is still gorgeous.
She was born on May 15th, 1967 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and made her acting debut in 1984 in Rajshri Productions' movie Abodh.
Since then she has gone on to appear in almost seventy films.
Madhuri hasnt made a film since Aaja Nachle in 2007, but she is still very popular.

The Bollywood star trying to make it in Hollywood, Mallika Sherawat, comes in at number 8.
Mallika seems to be a lot like Angelina Jolie...people either love her or hate her.
She was quite busy in 2011 with Thank You, Bin Bulaye Baraati , Double Dhamaal, Politics of Love (aka Love Barack) and Osthe all released.
So far in 2012 Mallika only has the Hindi action thriller film Tezz coming out.

Indian actress Vidya Balan had a very good year in 2011.
She appeared in No One Killed Jessica, Urumi, Thank You, Dum Maaro Dum and The Dirty Picture.
She was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her role in No One Killed Jessica and won the National Film Award for Best Actress and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her role as Silk Smitha in Dirty Picture.
In 2012 she has Kahaani and Ferrari Ki Sawaari.

Kajol Devgan (Mukherjee) didnt have anything come out in 2011, but she has the animated Koochie Koochie Hota Hai and Student of the Year in 2012.
That may not sound like a lot, but remember, Kajol has taken a lot of time off between projects before.
And after My Name Is Khan and We Are Family, she deserves a rest.

Indian actress Rani Mukerji (Rani Mukherjee) has appeared in over forty films since her debut in the Bengali film Biyer Phool back in 1996.
This lady with absolutely stunning eyes only had one film in 2011, No One Killed Jessica, which got her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2012 she has Aiyaa, Talaash and Koochie Koochie Hota Hain.

Asin Thottumkal was born on October 26th, 1985 and made her acting debut in 2001 in the Malayalam film Narendran Makan Jayakanthan.
Since then she has appeared in over twenty Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films and her fans have seen her go from a teenager to a woman.
Asin didn't have a big year in 2011 with only Kaavalan and Ready.
So far in 2012 she has Housefull 2 and Bol Bachchan.

Sonam Kapoor was born on June 9th,1985 in Chembur Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
She made her acting debut in the 2007 Hindi film Saawariya and was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
Since then Sonam has appeared in only seven films.
In 2011 she had Thank You and Mausam, but in 2012 so far she has Players, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Raanjhnaa and Herogiri.

Tabassum Hashmi was born on November 4th, 1971 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.
She is a very busy actress, having appeared in over seventy films since her official debut in 1985's Hum Naujawan.
In 2011 she had one cameo in the Malayalam film Urumi.
In 2012 she has Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai, Life of Pi and David.

Although she was born in the USA (Queens, New York) and has only done one film so far (Rockstar in 2011), Nargis Fakhri is popular enough to come in at number 15.
She will be appearing in Krrish 3 though.

I personally think that Bipasha Basu is one of the most beautiful women in Bollywood and I would have ranked her much higher than 16.
She made her acting debut in 2001 and has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Bengali and Tamil language films.
Bipasha only appeared in Dum Maro Dum in 2011, but she is making up for that in 2012 with Players, Jodi Breakers, Singularity, Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum, Raaz 3D and Race 2.
By the way, Singularity is an English language film with Josh Hartnett and Neve Campbell.

Preity Zinta is not only an actress, but she's also the only woman (and seemingly man) in India unafraid to take on the Mob.
She made her acting debut in Dil Se (1998) and has gone on to appear in over thirty films.
Preity didn't appear in any films in 2011, but has Har Pal (possibly) and Ishkq in Paris set for 2012.

Ayesha Takia was born on April 10th, 1986 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and made her acting debut in 2004 Taarzan: The Wonder Car (that's not a light-hearted comedy like it sounds like).
She has appeared in over twenty films with Mod and Aap Ke Liye Hum being released in 2011.
So far in 2012 she has Mad Dad.