Aishwarya in Jazbaa to Sridevi in English Vinglish: 'Comeback' films of some of our favorite Bollywood heroines

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s “comeback” film Jazbaa released its trailer online recently, and it has met with equally negative and positive responses. Whether you liked the trailer or not, one can’t deny that it is refreshing to see a former leading actress back in business. It only means that phrases like “a Bollywood heroine’s shelf life” is getting a serious re-hash. While we may not be completely ready to make the move to character driven roles, as opposed to star-driven roles, at least we’re getting there one step at a time. In the past few years, a bunch of leading film actresses from the 90s have returned to the big screen. Whether it’s Madhuri’s Aaja Nachle or Sridevi’s  English Vinglish, what is interesting to note is that most “comeback” films are centered solely around the female character. Aishwarya seems to only be furthering this trend with Jazbaa. And so, here’s a look at how some of Aishwarya’s contemporaries from the 90s performed in their “comeback” films: Karishma Kapoor in Dangerous Ishhq [caption id=“attachment_2410430” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Karishma Kapoor in Dangerous Ishhq. Image from Youtube.[/caption] Karishma Kapoor. Vikram Bhatt. Supernatural thriller. These are 3 words that we didn’t expect to hear in the same sentence. Especially during Kapoor’s prime time, when she was doing roles like Dil Toh Pagal Hai and Zubeidaa. Only Karishma herself knows why she chose Dangerous Ishq to be her comeback film (her co-star was Rajneesh Duggal. Google him), however, let’s move on. In the film Karishma plays 4 different roles, as the film is centered around the theme of reincarnation. While the film didn’t do anything for Karishma’s career, it’s good to know that the entire film was riding on her shoulders. Madhuri Dixit in Aaja Nachle [caption id=“attachment_2410474” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Madhuri Dixit in Aaja Nachle. Image from IBN live.[/caption] No matter what anyone says, one can get the logic behind Madhuri Dixit choice of a comeback film: playing to your strengths. Infact the film is sort of autobiographical. Madhuri Dixit plays a dance instructor who returns to India after being in New York for many years. The film plays out the challenges she has to face. Unfortunately, even though we all love to watch Madhuri dance, Aaja Nachle  didn’t do very well at the box office. Kajol in Fanaa [caption id=“attachment_2410556” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Kajol in Fanaa. Image from Facebook.[/caption] There’s barely a 6 year gap between Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham  and Kajol’s touted comeback film Fanaa. However, by playing a visually challenged character and starring opposite an actor who she has never been pitted against romantically (Aamir Khan, and no, Ishq doesn’t count) Kajol ensured a dedicated number of eyeballs. Even though Fanaa  was essentially centered around Aamir Khan’s character, Kajol was praised for her performance and the film did well at the box office as well. Raveena Tandon in Bombay Velvet and short film Jai Hind [caption id=“attachment_2410616” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Raveena Tandon in Bombay Velvet. Image from Youtube.[/caption] Raveena Tandon hasn’t really made a comeback yet, but she’s been doing small snippets here and there, reminding us why she was the “mast mast” girl of the 90s. At first it was her sizzling but blink-and-miss performance as a jazz singer in Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet,  where, one can argue, Tandon has more oomph that Anushka Sharma herself. This was then followed by her performance in the Oyo Hotels sponsored short film Jai Hind  where she plays the wife of  Manoj Bajpayee. Raveena may be teasing us with her sporadic performances, but could it mean that she’s open to returning full time? Sridevi in English Vinglish [caption id=“attachment_2410622” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Sridevi in English Vinglish. Image from IBN live.[/caption] Yes, we’ve saved the best for the last. Sridevi’s last movie, before her epic comeback with Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish was Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahi (in 2004) but Judaai  was the last film that we saw her playing a prominent role. What perhaps won our hearts the most about Sridevi’s rolen as a mother and houseiwfe is the fact that she slips into such a regular, everyday character with so much ease. With the success of English Vinglish Sridevi proved that age may not be a factor for films to do well, and to be a female lead in a Bollywood film, an actress doesn’t have to be young, and conventional.