Anybody who's watched her in the song Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi will vouch for the fact that the stunningly beautiful Madhubala defined the wet look in a drenched sari, long before Sridevi gyrated in the rain with an 'invisible' Anil Kapoor.

Arguably the original sex bomb, Zeenat Aman attracted enough male attention in the film industry and provided enough fodder for gossip columns. Unfortunately, she also paid the price for it by coping with abusive relationships. All this makes her our equivalent of a desi Marilyn Monroe.

Over a decade after she first sashayed in a bikini in and as Bobby, Dimple Kapadia continued where she left off from, in her first film - the ultimate bombshell. Off screen too, she led a life that was eventful - married superstar, Rajesh Khanna and gave up a promising career; then returned as a single mom with two daughters.

Beautiful women all, they mesmerised audiences with their mystique and sensuality and were idolised by fans for years to come. Suresh Nair celebrates the unforgettable charm of screen goddesses down the ages

                

From the blackand white movies to the present-day colourful extravaganzas, Bollywood has had its
fair share of actresses who were looked upon with awe. Their aura was not just the result of how they appeared on screen or the roles they portrayed; it was also about the way they lived their lives - mostly characterised by quiet dignity, occasionally peppered with candid confessions. True-blue screen goddesses, they ruled the silver screen.

MADHUBALA: WILD BEAUTY
Anybody who's watched her in the “Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si” number from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) will vouch for the fact that the stunningly beautiful Madhubala defined the wet look in a drenched sari, long before Sridevi gyrated in the rain with an 'invisible' Anil Kapoor. And you haven't seen an explosive grin like that on the big screen, except for Madhuri Dixit nearly three decades later. What brought Kishore Kumar and Madhubala together still remains a bit of a mystery but the duo remained a couple until her death.

ZEENAT AMAN: SEXY BOMBSHELL
Qurbani (1980) made me realise what watching a woman in a bikini can do to a boy not yet out of school! Predictably, the censors had rated it an 'Adults only' film. Arguably the original sex bomb, Zeenat looked a million times hotter than current hottie, Mallika Sherawat. She attracted enough male attention in the film industry and provided enough fodder for gossip columns. Unfortunately, she also paid the price for it by proving to be unlucky in love, coping with abusive relationships. All this makes her our equivalent of a desi Marilyn Monroe.

REKHA: DRAMA QUEEN
Transformation, thy name is Rekha. From a dusky and overweight actress with big, kohl-laden eyes to a svelte stunner, she went from Saawan Bhadon (1970) to Khoobsurat (1980). A diva in the truest sense, because Rekha continues to be an ageless, enigmatic figure whom few people seem to know intimately. Her romance with Amitabh Bachchan is legendary, particularly her veiled references to him in her interviews. But there is enough material for anyone to script her life into a dramatic film - from a brief affair with Vinod Mehra and rumours of an attempted suicide following a tiff between the two, to a tragic, short-lived marriage to a businessman. If her personal life was all that, her career is peppered with some brilliant performances in films like Kalyug (1980), Umrao Jaan (1981) and Khoon Bhari Maang (1988).

[ Suresh Nair, who writes extensively on Bollywood, is the deputy features editor, Bombay Times. While he claims that there is more to his general knowledge than what Shah Rukh Khan eats for breakfast, he is otherwise best known for his weekly column in the paper ].

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