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 black and 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.

An Aishwarya Rai or Bipasha Basu fit the obvious requirements of beauty, talent and sex appeal but, like many of the heroes of today, our heroines too, have a short shelf life. Maybe Aishwarya will go international. Maybe Kareena will win a National Award. Maybe Bipasha will settle down to marital bliss. But will we ever remember them as fondly as we do some of the earlier screen queens?

DEVIKA RANI: BOLD SIREN

The original diva, she was also the superstar with a scandal sheet. Long before some of our bindaas babes turned up their pretty noses at society, Devika Rani, the first lady of the Indian screen, did what was considered unthinkable in the '30s. She eloped with co-star, Najmul Hassan. Naturally, her husband, Himanshu Rai, threw a fit. But all's well that ends well. Devika eventually returned to her spouse, while the deflated Hassan found himself not only without his lady love but also without work.

For most of us though, Devika Rani, the first recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, will be best remembered for Achyut Kanya (1936), a huge box office success of its time, and her duet with Ashok Kumar - "Main ban ki chidiya banke ban ban dolun re".

MEENA KUMARI: GENTLE WOMAN

There was something mystical about the legendary Meena Kumari. It's probably those eloquent eyes and oomphy body language. But ultimately, the fact is that she was extremely attractive and seemed to bring grace to whatever films she did. How can we forget Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) and the poignant "Na jaon saiyan"?

For those who are appalled by a Manisha Koirala downing a few pegs, Meena Kumari hit the bottle at a time when it was not considered socially acceptable. Her friendship and obsession with Dharmendra is well documented, just as is her last film, Pakeezah. Unfortunately for director and former husband, Kamal Amrohi, the huge success of Pakeezah in 1972 was attributed to her untimely death.

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.

The Madhubala mystique can be attributed to her near perfect bone structure and voluptuous figure. Not surprisingly, she posed as a statue in Mughal-E-Azam (1960). In fact, when the Salim-Anarkali romance epic was being filmed, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala were involved in their own real Cupid capers. And the scene where Madhubala makes Dilip Kumar drink goblets of wine while playing with a white feather is considered the most romantic ever filmed on the big screen.

WAHEEDA REHMAN: SIMPLY CLASSIC

Guru Dutt's muse…The actress who Amitabh Bachchan once remarked was the most beautiful woman he's ever known. For proof, you need to watch her in CID (1956), Pyaasa (1957) or Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) all Guru Dutt films. At a time when it was considered professional hara-kiri, Waheeda played Rosie in Guide (1965), a woman who leaves her husband and lives with another man. Guru Dutt knew how best to capture her on screen - as the beauty who was distant yet soulful.

Waheeda also aged gracefully, shifting effortlessly from Amitabh Bachchan's wife to his mother. They called her the classical Indian beauty - and there are no arguments about it.

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.

Watch her in Qurbani, Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) and Abdullah (1980), with whose maker, Sanjay Khan, she shared a tumultuous affair. She was truly the Bold and the Beautiful.

SHARMILA TAGORE: DIMPLED SWEETHEART

Those dimples! Bollywood lost itself in them! Sharmila Tagore effortlessly straddled the worlds of masala Bollywood flicks and arty Satyajit Ray fare quite skilfully and earned the status of a good actress. Uninhibited, she even appeared in a bikini that showed off her terrific curves in An Evening In Paris (1967). Incidentally, Shashi Kapoor claims it was he who persuaded her!

Sharmila was also the screen trendsetter, with her experimentation in make-up, wigs and designer shoes. And, as most Delhiites will vouch for, Saif Khan's ma is still a very sexy lady.

MUMTAZ: VIVACIOUS CHARMER

Mumtaz had a streak of mischief in her body language. She also had a pug nose that Dev Anand thought didn't befit a heroine when he cast her in Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971). Little did he anticipate that the same nose and its ebullient owner would attract men in droves to movie halls.

Her rise was phenomenal, a success story that's remained unparalleled in Hindi cinema. From being a dancer who used to be relegated to the background to becoming one of the most popular actresses of our times, her initial success came with Dara Singh films, followed by the Rajesh Khanna phase where she bloomed as the heroine who always seemed to have a blast on the big screen.

HEMA MALINI: DIGNIFIED DIVA

The Dream Girl. Then and Now. Those who have seen Baghban (2003) couldn't take their eyes off Hema Malini. She is just as beautiful as she was in, well, Johnny Mera Naam (1970). Or Dream Girl (1977). Or Trishul (1978).... While she made a reel and real life hit pair with Dharmendra, Hema preserved her dignity and grace in the way she conducted herself on screen and off it. There aren't many instances of her going dare-bare on the big screen - except for an occasional Kranti (1981) where Manoj Kumar got her soaked in studio rain in a tight costume.

Hema retained her mystique even after she faded from the big screen - by trying her hand at production (Sharara, 1984), direction (Dil Aashna Hai, 1992) and her classical dance performances. And, even as queries were raised over her marriage to Dharmendra during the recent elections, Hema maintained a dignified silence. In many ways, Hema Malini is a diva without any of the baggage that comes with the title.

DIMPLE KAPADIA: SENSUAL STAR

1985. She emerged from the sea and decided to towel herself on the 'deserted' Goan beach. A sudden breeze sent her towel flying and the audience got a split-second glimpse of Dimple Kapadia's glistening body. Forgive me if this sounds a bit obscene, but that moment had a jaw-dropping effect on the audience in the movie hall where I saw Saagar.

Over a decade after she first sashayed in a bikini in and as Bobby (1973), 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 and got romantically linked with Sunny Deol. While Bobby, Saagar and Jaanbaaz (1986) lingered on her body, La Kapadia also proved to be a competent actress in films like Rudaali (1993) and Dil Chahta Hai (2001).

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).

SRIDEVI: EROTIC CHILD-WOMAN

Somebody once called her a child-woman with the cheeks of a Botticelli angel and a Dennis the Menace grin. It's an apt description of one of my favourite actresses. And like Ram Gopal Varma, I was most upset when she married Boney Kapoor! Her thunder thighs notwithstanding, Sridevi went from the overweight sex symbol of Himmatwala (1983) to an actress who wowed her worst critics in films like Mr India (1987) and Lamhe (1991). In the former, dressed in a rain-soaked blue chiffon sari and dancing with an invisible lover, Sridevi turned the "Kaate nahin katte" song into one of the most erotic ones ever filmed in Bollywood. Of course, this was before the advent of many other rain songs that imitated but never equalled the original. She spoke little and made "Ask Mummy" a definition for Southern actresses with a mother who doubled as secretary and publicist. Of course, that didn't stop gossip rags from talking about her alleged affair with Mithun Chakraborty.

MADHURI DIXIT: THE LAST SUPERSTAR

The Madhubala of the '80s with just as explosive a grin. The Ek do teen number in Tezaab (1988) mirrors her career moves - step by step, film by film. Nobody noticed her in her first film, Abodh (1984), but nobody could miss her in Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) - and both films were by Rajshri Productions.

She is not everybody's idea of a sex symbol, but she could surely turn on the heat when required - like her intimate scenes with Vinod Khanna in Dayavan (1988). And Madhuri Dixit remains our last true lady superstar, a bit smarter than most of her predecessors. She was tactful with the media, only letting them know about her personal life as much as she wanted them to - though that didn't stop them from mentioning Sanjay Dutt's name with her in the same breath until the hunky hero landed behind bars. She also stuck to an aggressive secretary who clearly knew how to manage her career. And then she got married to a US-based doctor. Boy, do you know anybody smarter than Ms Dixit-Nene?