Bengali beauties of Indian cinema

1. Devika Rani: Not just the First Lady of Indian cinema, but the actress who noticed the likes of Dilip Kumar. May have been born in Visakhapatnam and may have established the Bombay Talkies, but this Bengali actress - the grand niece of Gurudev - is true Bengal blood who is said to have the longest kissing scene (four minutes) in the film ‘Karma’ in 1933.

2. Suchitra Sen: An enigma wrapped in mystery. Even today the curiosity quotient of this great actress is high. A number of actors have tried their best but she was the ideal Paro to Devdas. Just look at the directors she has acted with: Bimalda, Asit Sen and Gulzar. Hindi cinema is poorer by her rare appearance.

3. Sharmila Tagore: The Bengal tigress. A lady who got the best roles, great box office success, a successful marriage and what not. With Ray in her CV, what more can an actress want? At Bombay Talkies Dilip, Dev, Shammi, Shashi, Rajesh, Amitabh, Dharam, Jeetu…..

4. Raakhee: This hazel eye beauty was known for being selective about her roles. Her sarees made great news. Unfortunately she is today remembered for the ‘over the board’ mother roles in ‘Karan Arjun’ and ‘Ram Lakhan’. But since she made her low key debut with ‘Dharam’ (‘JeevanMrityu’) she shared great screen chemistry with Big B and Shashi.

5. Jaya Bhaduri: She may have made an early debut in Ray’s ‘Maha Nagar’ but cinema for her truly began in ‘Guddi’. For more than a generation, she was the girl next door. Charming, unpretentious and innocent. Today’s tough lady had been a light-hearted homely little girl. A filmography that swings from ‘Guddi’ to ‘Hazar Chaurasi Ki Ma’ is a sweep few would be proud of.

6. Moushumi Chatterjee: The original ‘Balika Badhu’. Also known for being an actress of great calibre moved quickly to bhabhi roles did one too many films with Vinod Mehra and the like, but was acknowledged as a good actress.

7. Sushmita Sen: She first walked the ramp and with a gentle ‘Dastak’ made her entry to Hindi cinema. She too was born in Hyderabad, but the surname tells it all. The diva of Indian Cinema has surely not got her due though the list of her admirers (including yours truly) would walk an extra mile to watch her magic on the screen.

8. Rani Mukherjee: A lineage that goes to S Mukherjee and includes Subodh Mukherjee, Deb, Joy and other Mukherjees, Rani the next hazel eyed beauty of Bengal may have made her debut with a tear jerking ‘Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat’, but was soon in big league making films with Karan Johar and very specially Aditya Chopra. Directors with good scripts invariably turned to her. Her performance in ‘No One Killed Jessica’ is still talked of.

9. Bipasha Basu: Bold and unpredictable. From the Mahesh Bhatt school of cinema, she exploited the potentials that had a raw appeal and went on to do racy commercial films. Many think she got more exposure than her talent did. I hope her career is not over, yet.

10. Konkona Sen Sharma: She may not have the killer looks of mom Aparna or a Nandita Das but she announced her talent in no uncertain times with ‘Mr. and Mrs Iyer’ and since has made a niche space for herself. She was even commercially accepted alongside Ajay Devgn in ‘Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge’. Unfortunately some of her commercial outings like ‘Lagaa Chunari Mein Daag’ bombed to the loss of mainstream Bombay Talkies.

Some Sens (Moon Moon, Rima, Riya, etc) and others would not make the list for they would have to elbow out the likes of the above or may not have tasted commercial success (like Nandita Das). Their exclusion is attributable to the numerical limitation of 10. Nothing else.