.Verve magazine has come out with its own list of top female achievers this year. We bring to you a few who have made it to the list.
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Bollywood queen: Kareena Kapoor is having the last laugh as she zoomed to the top in popularity or earning power. She turned size zero into a nationwide debate, has bagged the biggest banners and the hottest heroes.
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Reigning superstar: From playing the physically and emotionally scarred Kiranjit Ahluwalia in Provoked to the sensually beguiling queen in Jodhaa Akbar, the former Miss World and Bollywood’s Beauty No 1 still squirms when dubbed the most beautiful woman in the world .
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Destiny's child: Exuberant, chirpy, happy-go-lucky Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, who has now turned into a businesswoman, recently said that she would become the 50th wife of the Sultan of Brunei if her stint with the Indian Premier League did not work out.
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Hey sexy lady: Travelling round the globe, living out of a suitcase, shooting for too many films back-to-back, Bollywood bombshell Katrina Kaif not only rocked the industry with five back to back hits but has also been rocking at the recently concluded Indian Premier League.
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K Queen: Aptly called as the reigning queen of soaps, Ekta Kapoor not only changed the face of Indian television but also captured the imagination of masses and her serials dominate all the major TV channels in India.
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Dancing queen: She has always made the right moves, from her friendship with SRK to Karan Johar to her films. Farah Khan is enjoying all that is coming her way be it judging or donning the new role of a mother.
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The Namesake: She started off making documentaries on the streets of Delhi before turning to feature films such as Salaam Bombay and Mississipi Masala. Her recent film The Namesake won Mira Nair accolades both of the critics and the masses.
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Star wife: Married for 16 years to the country’s top screen idol, Gauri Khan is the elusive, almost unapproachable trendy dresser surrounds herself with a clutch of handpicked beautiful people.
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Philanthropist and society czarina: Parmeshwar Godrej leads a power-packed life that is a fantastic blend of fabulous style and tremendous commitment. Her parties are what legends are made of, even as she entertains the likes of Goldie Hawn and Imran Khan and most recently, Salman Rushdie.
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SONIA GANDHI {61} President, Indian National Congress: Named the sixth most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine this year and one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world for the years 2007 and 2008, it was the reluctant politician’s inner voice that prompted her to turn down the prime ministership when her party won the elections in 2004. The country watched in unbelievable awe as she relinquished a throne earned by hard work and political courage. Rajiv Gandhi’s widow has withstood, with stoic resilience, tragedy and taunts, notably the intense debate by her opponents (BJP, RSS) on the issue of her foreign birth though she became a citizen of India in 1983 and its First Lady in 1984, when her husband succeeded his assassinated mother as prime minister. That she remains the most powerful matriarch in a land of one billion is undisputed.
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VASUNDHARA RAJE SCINDIA {55} Chief Minister, Rajasthan: A welcome change from the Hindutva-card playing hardliners of her party, the fiery BJP politician’s stint stands out for her commitment to socio-economic issues like infrastructure and development. Be it the issue of according Gujjars, Scheduled Tribe status, which sporadically erupts in violence in Dausa and in Delhi or the more recent bomb blasts that rocked Jaipur last month, the spirited Gwalior royal continues to put forth a positive, intelligent, often tough response during political flashpoints and times of crises.
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TASNEEM MEHTA {53}Managing Trustee, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, and Convener, Mumbai Chapter of INTACH: After successfully undertaking the restoration of the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, which won the prestigious UNESCO award in 2005, its managing trustee now wants to see the museum evolve into a dynamic city institution and a cultural buzz centre through educational programmes, book readings, theatre and exhibitions to get people interested in the cultural history of the city. “When I started, people told me the place was a kapad, a graveyard. But I motivated myself to persist because I could see the museum’s beauty and vast potential even in its derelict state. I did it because I’m an idealist.” Currently, she’s working on restoration projects for Gateway of India and Jinnah House, planned as the first SAARC cultural centre.
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20 THE NEW POWER WOMEN In the 21st century, power women are not difficult to come by. They are everywhere, pioneering, leading, ruling - some with a quietness of purpose, others basking in the afterglow of attention. MALA VAISHNAV profiles a hand-picked, currently most visible lot who have captured the Indian imagination with their power to effect change. Women on top. All under 40 years of age...
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SANIA MIRZA (19) Tennis Champ, Power Grip Currently ranked World no 34, the chubby teenager is a national treasure who deserves every citizen's unconditional vote, even from obtuse fundamentals, who cannot see the talent for the length of her skirt. The first Indian since Ramesh Krishnan to break into the top 50 in world rankings and the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam event (Junior Wimbledon) the tennis ace, included in Time magazine's 2005 list of Asia's heroes, was the only player outside the top ten at the US Open who was allowed to play her matches on the showcase courts because of the huge viewership interest!
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RANI MUKERJI (27) Screen Queen, Power Star Bunty's Babli has slowly ascended the career graph from forgettable B-grade films to top A-bracket ventures; from an embarrassingly garish wardrobe to a Manish Malhotra makeover; from solid supporting roles to award-winning solo performances. The scene-stealer with genetically-tinted caramel eyes, has never let her less than perfect figure, lack of height and husky tenor come in the way of seducing the camera as evidenced in her recent mesmerising acts in Yuva, Hum Tum, Mangal Pandey and the much feted Black. Sporadic Odissi practice reins in the bulges and moisturiser, her preferred cosmetic, keeps the complexion glowing.
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ANAMIKA KHANNA (34) Fashion Designer, Power Chic Ana-Mika - her international label - selling at Harrods for over a year and her participation at London Fashion Week and Bridal Asia in Pakistan, have given a whole new sheen to her signature collections - prêt and couture - inspired by familiar Indian elements and bestowed with a quirky international twist. Colour and texture are her forte, be it tie-dye tunics or printed trench coats. The petite designer's own personal style borders on the imaginatively edgy and the first garment she ever designed was for herself. "Total time pass," she laughs, adding, "Professionally, it was for a collection called Shoowa, in beige and black, based on African tribes."
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HEMA UPADHYAY (33) Avant-garde Artist, Power Strokes Her early installation, 'The Nymph and the Adult' drew horrified gasps, fascinated revulsion and won her an award. In an exhibition that later travelled to Australia for her first showing abroad, the experimental artist had sculpted 2000 lifelike cockroaches, infesting the gallery with them. Was there a purpose to this display? At a politically and militarily tense time in the South Asian subcontinent, it raised the pertinent question that in the event of a war, would cockroaches be the only survivors? "Some people even imagined that they saw one moving and refused to go close to the installation!" laughs the artist from Baroda, now living in Mumbai with painter husband, Chintan.
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SHAHEEN MISTRI (34) Founder, Akanksha Foundation, Power Mission Is there benevolence at 18? For that was the age when the young collegian discovered her calling - to better the lot of underprivileged children. "It breaks my heart when I see children who could be in an Akanksha (meaning aspiration) school but aren't," she says. 'Top didi' of an organisation that has expanded from 15 children in one centre to over 2500 children in 49 centres in Mumbai and Pune, with an additional 2000 children in 10 schools, the Akanksha Centres, as they are called, provide engaging supplemental education for poor children living in slums in a bid to improve their job prospects and combat high levels of illiteracy among the urban poor. The ex- St Xavierite, who spent more hours studying the slums than theoretical socio-economic reforms, recalls, "It amazed me then, that young people had so much time on their hands while there were huge social problems that needed to be addressed."
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SHWETA BACHCHAN NANDA (31) The Namesake, Power Connections Amitabh Bachchan's beti. Nikhil Nanda's wife. Ritu (née Raj Kapoor) Nanda's daughter-in-law. Surely, that must open doors. The best table at Mumbai's Taj; the most coveted seats at the opening night of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Bombay Dreams in London; definitely the front row, at a Delhi designer's premiere showing. Though slightly uncomfortable with the limelight, she has lent her famous surname to causes she cares about - saving the dolphins for one and agreeing to walk the ramp for a fund-raiser. Not just for any designer but for past matchmakers and chaperones, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, long-time buddies of the Bachchans.
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