Sensuous icons of Indian cinema

In Bollywood, sensuality is always subtle yet beautiful in a way only artists think of their muses. Every once in a while a movie comes out with female protagonists so legendary and sensuous that they change entire cultures Today we bring to you one of the few we believe definitely need to be remembered...

In the yet-to-release Hisss Mallika Sherawat will be seen as a snake woman, spewing venom and shedding her skin. 'She's venomous, she's sexy and she'll swallow you whole'... with a tag line like that we can only helplessly imagine ourselves falling into her trap.

There is no doubt that Rekha is the quintessential diva. Her shoes were too big even for the likes of Aishwarya Rai, as the lady gave an incredible performance in Umrao Jaan. Her eternal beauty gives a larger dimension to the characters that she plays, be it the alluring Madam Maya in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi or femme fatale Vasantsena in Utsav.

Luring the cacophobic Shammi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman's charred beauty sent out a strong message. Seducing with her voice and making her man accept her inner and outer beauty, Zeenat pulled off the role of a lifetime with ease. Her revealing outfits were the first of its kind and the wet white saree became iconic.

Those hypnotising blue eyes spoke of Umrao Jaan's suffering so eloquently that all Aishwarya Rai baiters had to revise their opinion. The role of the tragic woman whose beauty also proves to be her curse was almost tailor-made for Ash. She filled the screen just as beautifully as Rekha, and there is no clear winner here!

Nishabd became known so much for its controversial storyline as for its controversial scenes. As the sultry Jiah Khan seduced a 60-year old Amitabh Bachchan with her dark and enticing looks, it was difficult to take one's eyes off the screen. The intense lip-locking scene shared by the two was criticised on moral grounds but people still could not stop talking about it.

In Jism, Bollywood's very own femme fatale Bipasha Basu raised quite a few eyebrows. The bootylicious babe's portrayal of the sensuous gold digger won a lot of accolades, as did her smoking hot intimate scenes with boyfriend John Abraham.

DevD was described by many as the 'modern day Devdas' and with good reason. Kalki Koechlin played the role of the slightly bolder Chandramukhi, the quintessential tragedy queen with an edgy philosophical attitude. Only now she is Chanda, a traumatised schoolgirl turned prostitute. Kalki's signature luscious red-hot lips made millions flock to the theatres. The thought-provoking movie set a new standard for censorship and paved the way for bolder Indian cinema in the future.

Kamasutra wins hands down when it comes to sensuality. So much so that it was entirely banned in India, with the Censor board taking an objection to everything, right from the title to the explicit scenes. The film was released as Maya and Tara in India. Set in ancient India, the movie broke all barriers with its tastefully done intimate scenes, both homosexual and heterosexual. Starring Indira Verma as Maya, the exquisite servant who is a free spirit; Sarita Chaudhary as the jealous beautiful princess yet to find serenity and peace; and Rekha as Rasa Devi who teaches the ancient Indian art of Kamasutra, the movie brings to us an intoxicating cocktail of love, dance and passion.

Dimple Kapadia's sheer carnal appeal as an innocent young girl in Sagar won her a huge fan base. Her ‘towel-dropping' scene with Rishi Kapoor was undoubtedly the perfect comeback after a gap of more than 12 years. But then for an alluring beauty like her, making it big in tinseltown is not too difficult.

Priyanka Chopra became the first ever 'other woman' to win the Filmfare Best Villain Award for her performance in Aitraaz. As a woman married to an ageing millionaire, she did a convincing job. She came across as a sexually-charged woman who has no qualms about satisfying her desires. The ending was rather sad because the sultry seductress is killed off. We would love to see Priyanka back in a similar role...

Nandana Sen did a repeat of the trademark Zeenat Aman transparent saree in Rang Rasiya, and managed to looked equally stunning. Nandana Sen's raw appeal and her luscious locks added just the right zing to this biopic based on painter Raja Ravi Varma's colourful life.

Daag had quite a few love-making scenes in it, more suggested than actually enacted. But back in the 70s, Sharmila Tagore created quite a stir as the irresistible Sonia Kohli. This role definitely deserves a mention here...

Actress Madhubala turned her career around with her performance in Howrah Bridge. Her deep-cut blouses, fitted Capri pants and Chinese dresses got her noticed, so much so that the news of her beauty even reached Hollywood. As she swayed to Ayiye Meherbaan she truly stole a million hearts with her overwhelming looks.

Urmila Matondkar chilled us to the bones as she played a neurotic psychopath obsessed with a man in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya. Everything she does, even when it is simple pilates, is so much more sensuous and alluring. Men all over the country shuddered as Urmila showed us just how aggressively clingy a woman could get.

With an angelic face like hers, its hard to imagine Katrina Kaif as the' vamp'. But the actress pulled it off quite easily in Boom. She made seduction look like art. Just as aggressively sensuous was her role in the multi-starrer Race. Gyrating to Zara Zara Touch Me she seemed like an on-screen goddess, inaccessible and dangerously bewitching.

Who could play the role of Chotti Bahu better than the 'tragedy queen' herself, Meena Kumari. This ethereal beauty always played roles that were close to reality and Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam was no different.

The sequence where Chhoti Bahu dresses for her husband singing Piya Aiso Jiya Main is a poignant exploration of female sexuality. You cannot help but shed a few tears for her when she expresses her sorrow for trading her values away

Madhuri Dixit enticed us with her body gyrating to soulful tunes. As the woman no man can resist, she played the role of a damsel in distress trying to find the free life. Truly mind-blowing!

Girlfriend went where few Bollywood films had gone before in exploring a homosexual relationship between two women. Different from Deepa Mehta's Fire in the sense that it was not as tastefully done, the film still managed to bring audiences to the theatres with the hype created around its intimate scenes by certain political activists.

Supermodel Padma Lakshmi gave sizzling Katrina Kaif a run for her money in Boom as she played the part of an enchantress out to seduce the 'big boys'. The sexy siren beat the other jezebels to the crown as she strutted her stuff in 'barely there' clothes...

Julie left us all stunned as she pranced about bare-backed and had the libido of a teenage boy. And what's more? She was seen carelessly flaunting it. With Neha Dhupia as the seductress, Julie broke quite a few rules.

Sherlyn Chopra as Sonia gave a 'typical-Sherlyn' performance, read in-your-face-sensuality. Her suggestive acting surely got the movie the required audience.

A woman trying to make a man fall in love with her crazily enough to make him rob a bank: the role of a 'vamp' and the then bubbly Kareena Kapoor pulled it off with perfection.

Nadira in Shree 420 was applauded for her performance in a negative role. As she was seen puffing cigarettes in Audrey Hepburn style, she made female sensuality almost synonymous with the negative. A cultural belief that was broken only much later...

Bindu's cabaret dance number Mera Naam Shabnam from Kati Patang is to this date remembered as one of the highlights of the film. Playing the role of the 'other woman' who is trying to seduce the honorable Prem Chopra away from his respectable young lady love, 'Shabbo's' revealing outfits and convincing acting left us all charmed.

In a white saree by the beach, Sridevi was seen moving sensuously for the ultra-male cop in Janbaaz. And she managed not only to win his heart, but capture ours as well.