7 Yesteryear Actresses We Would Love To See In Bollywood Today

The first South Asian woman to win the title of Miss Asia Pacific, Zeenat Aman is the perfect embodiment of mesmerising beauty and a powerhouse of talent. She, too, was the first choice of Indian producers who wanted to flaunt the modern, bikini-clad women to win over the audience. Known for her great performances in films such as Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Manoranjan, Dharam Veer, Don and Qurbani, she would have been a perfect choice for today’s films that demand a great combo of sizzling looks and amazing acting skills.

Mumtaz was born to parents of Iranian origin, who separated soon after her birth. After losing her mother at a young age, she had no other option but to take up acting as her career. However, this turned out to be a stroke of luck for the Indian cinema, which got a beautiful and talented actress in the form of Mumtaaz. Lauded for her innocent looks and sweet voice, Mumtaz is widely known for her roles in movies like Brahmachari, Khilona, Ram Aur Shyaam and Roti. If only she were born a few decades later, she could have easily posed a tough challenge to the leading ladies of today because of her cute looks and amazing acting power.

Born as Mahjabeen Bano, Meena Kumari was not only an accomplished actress but also a gifted poet. In the three decades she had spent in the tinsel town, she did around 100 movies and those including Majhli Didi, Phool Aur Patthar, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Pakeezah are now considered as the classics of Indian cinema. In today’s Bollywood, we are in dire need of such great performers who can bring to life the 21st century women with the same poise and élan as Meena Kumari did when she played those powerful characters in the 50’s and the 60’s.

Born as Mumtaz Jahaan Dehalvi, Madhubala was famous for her unmatched beauty and amazing acting in movies like Mughal-E-Azam, Howrah Bridge and Mahal. She is supposed to be the first Indian actress to have caught the attention of Hollywood. In 1952, an American Magazine called Theatre Arts published an article titled The Biggest Star in the World – and she’s not in Beverly Hills in praise of the beauty and acting prowess of Madhubala. Now that Hollywood and Bollywood are shaking hands, she would have won many accolades for the Indian cinema.

Born as Fatima Rasheed, Nargis is one of the finest actresses that the Indian cinema has ever witnessed. Debuting as a child actress when she was just six, she went on to become the first choice of many ace directors and producers for decades to come. Widely appreciated for playing the role of the selfless mother, Radha, to her real-life husband and on-screen son Sunil Dutt in Mother India, Nargis also won the National Award for her movie Raat Aur Din. Her pairing with the iconic showman Raj Kapoor would have been a treat to watch in one of the romantic-musical movies that are now made in Bollywood.

The list would be incomplete without mentioning her name.
She was the actress who finally broke the glass wall and brought the dusky beauties into the limelight of Bollywood. Smita Patil is often regarded as one of the best performers of Indian cinema. Noted for her unconventional looks and strong personality, she had played some unique roles in her time and her movies such as Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, Bazaar, Mandi, Arth and Aaj Ki Aawaz can actually teach today’s professionals everything about power acting. If Smita were to be back in Bollywood, she would have given all the actresses of art house cinema a run for their money.