Bollywood Stars

Shruti Haasan 2009–11: Debut and early career

Haasan's first appearance in a feature film was a cameo role as the daughter of Vallabhbhai Patel in the Tamil-Hindi bilingual Hey Ram, based on a murder attempt of Mahatma Gandhi, directed by her father Kamal Haasan. After rejecting prominent film offers, most notably the lead role in Venkat Prabhu's Saroja, reports suggested in late 2007 that Haasan was set to make her actual acting debut in 2008 with a film opposite Madhavan directed byNishikanth Kamat. Despite Madhavan admitting that the news "was premature",she eventually did sign up to the film, which was titled Endrendrum Punnagai, only to be stalled prior to production.

Haasan eventually signed up to feature in Soham Shah's Hindi film Luck opposite Imran Khan in July 2008, and shot for the film for nearly a year. Imran Khan, her childhood friend, had recommended her name to the director and Haasan signed on after listening to the entire script and accepted to play a dual role in the action film. Shruti took part in action scenes during filming, while she also worked out to get a toned body for a sequence in which she appears in a bikini in the film.The film opened in July 2009 to unanimously poor reviews from critics and took a poor opening at the box office, with critics stating that she "deserved a better launch vehicle". Reviewers were critical of her performance with Rajeev Masand of IBN stating that she delivers "dialogues with deadpan expressions", while another critic added that she is perhaps"synthetic and fails to impress". Haasan then went on to appear alongiside Blaaze in the promotional videos for Unnaipol Oruvanand Eenadu, the bilingual films starring her father, which she had composed the music for. She made a further appearance in a promotional video for the horror film Hisss starring Mallika Sherawat, where she had also sung a song composed byDave Kushner.

Shruti Haasan

Sonakshi Sinha Debut and breakthrough (2010–13)

Sinha started her career as a costume designer, designing the costumes for films like Mera Dil Leke Dekho in 2005. She made her acting debut in the 2010 film Dabangg, in which she starred opposite Salman Khan. It went on to become thehighest grossing film of 2010 and ultimately emerged as an all-time blockbuster. Sinha had to lose 30 kg in preparation for the role as a village girl.^[12] Her performance was well received, with noted critic Taran Adarsh noting that "Sonakshi Sinha looks fresh, acts confidently and pairs off very well with Salman. Most importantly, she delivers the right expressions and is not overpowered by the galaxy of stars in the cast."Although Sinha had no film releases in 2011, she won awards for her debut. This included the Filmfare Award as well as the IIFA Awards among many others.

Sinha had four releases in 2012, her first being Prabhu Deva's Rowdy Rathore, opposite Akshay Kumar. The film opened to mixed reviews from critics, although it had a strong opening at the box office, collecting approx. ₹150.6 million(US$2.2 million) on the first day and eventually became a blockbuster.

Sinha at DVD launch of Rowdy Rathore in 2012.

However, critic Rajeev Masand criticized her ornamental role and wrote that Sinha "seems to exist in this film only to have her midriff repeatedly pinched by Akshay Kumar." Her next film, Shirish Kunder's Joker, also opposite Akshay Kumar, proved to be a trade disaster at the box office and received overwhelmingly negative reviews.

Sonakshi Sinha

Priyanka Chopra Maxim selected her twice (2011 and 2013) as "Hottest Girl of the Year". In 2012,

Priyanka Chopra Maxim selected her twice (2011 and 2013) as "Hottest Girl of the Year". In 2012,"Top 10 Actresses of 2000–2010"

Chopra has been described by the critics as one of the most talented actresses in Bollywood. Analysing Chopra's career highlights, Bollywood Hungama noted: "Despite a career that has seen a constant flip-flop the performer in her has seen a constant growth with every passing year." After playing strong characters in a series of films, she gained recognition for her versatility in portraying a range of unconventional roles, leadingCNN-IBN to describe her "as one of the most powerful actresses in the current lot and someone who doesn't shy away from experimenting with roles within the realms of popular cinema".The Times of India called her a "game changer" and added that she "made the age-old demarcation between a hero and heroine redundant and one can easily describe her as a Shero". In 2012, film critic Subhash K. Jha labelled her "the best actress in the post-Sridevi generation" and listed her character in Barfi! as being "one of the finest inwardly ravaged characters in Bollywood." Chopra has often featured on Rediff.com's annual listing of "Bollywood's Best Actresses", and was featured in their list of "Top 10 Actresses of 2000–2010".

Chopra is one of Bollywood's highest-paid actresses, and considered one of the most popular and high-profile celebrities in India. She is described as a sex symbol and a style icon. Her body, figure, eye, lips and exotic looks have been cited by the media as her distinctive physical features. Designers Falguni and Shane Peacock wrote, "She is comfortable in her own skin and looks ravishing in whatever she wears, be it a bikini, short or long dress or even a sari." She ranks high on lists of the most influential, powerful, popular and attractive Indian celebrities. In 2006, 2012, 2014 and 2015, the UK magazine Eastern Eye ranked her first on their "World's Sexiest Asian Women" list, and she was featured on Verve's list of most powerful women in 2009 and 2010. She was named "India's Best-Dressed Woman of the Year" by People in 2011, and Maxim selected her twice (2011 and 2013) as "Hottest Girl of the Year". In 2012, she was declared the most influential Indian on the social-media circuit in a survey conducted by Pinstorm. In 2015, People featured her as one of the "Most Intriguing People of the Year". In 2016,Time named her one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" and also featured on the cover of the issue.

Chopra at a Guess event in 2013

Chopra was declared queen of brand endorsements in India, ranking second in on the list of brand ambassadors of 2008 (only after Shah Rukh Khan) in a survey conducted byTAM AdEx. The following year, she was named "India's top brand endorser" by the same agency, becoming the first woman to top the endorsement charts in India.^]Manish Porwal of Alchemist Talent Solutions said in 2012 that Chopra was a stable and dependable brand endorser, and many brands renewed their contract with her. Chopra has represented many brands, including TAG Heuer, Pepsi, Nokia, Garnier and Nestlé; she was the first female representative of Hero Honda.She and three other Bollywood actors (Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Hrithik Roshan) had their likenesses made into a series of miniature dolls for Hasbro and the UK-based Bollywood Legends Corporation. In 2009, Chopra became the first Indian actress to cast a foot impression at the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence, Italy, and she received custom-designed shoes from the Ferragamo house.^[3] In 2013, she became the first Indian model to represent Guess, whose CEO Paul Marciano called her "the young Sophia Loren".^[The actress became the first Indian actress to feature in a school textbook. Her life is described in a chapter of Roving Families, Shifting Homes, a book taught at Springdales School. The book also includes pictures of her family and the moment she was crowned Miss World in 2000.

Chopra is particularly known in the Indian media and film industry for her professionalism and is often referred to as "Piggy Chops", a nickname given her by co-stars on the set of Bluffmaster! in 2005. She is popularly referred to by the media and the film industry as "PeeCee" or simply "PC". Although she is known for her media-friendly attitude, Chopra is reticent to discuss details of her personal life in public. She has had a Twitter account since January 2009, and has the greatest number of followers of any Indian actress. In 2015, Chopra appeared in The Huffington Post's "100 Most Influential Women on Twitter" list, where she was named the most influential Indian woman on Twitter.