There is always a demand to do heroine rankings like we do for male stars but it cant really work that as the top heroine would be the one working with the bigger male stars as its those films that take an initial and it would give results which are not actually correct. So with a big heroine orientated film CHHAPAAK releasing tomorrow (Friday) the list of top heroines is down below

There is no heroine with what you would call a box office draw but a more popular heroine can obviously push up a film compared to a less popular one although when there are big stars involved it hardly matters if the heroine is most popular a bit lower down the pecking order.

The difference between Alia Bhatt and the others is that there is huge popularity in Mumbai and Pune which shows in box office collections. A film like GULLY BOY was a Mumbai and Pune film so the out performance of that was always going to be these two cities and the Alia Bhatt factor contributes just a little here. The popularity though shows in films like 2 STATES and RAAZI as these are films which would be expected to have a big North ratio but the presence of Alia Bhatt gives strong numbers in Mumbai and Pune which means Mumbai circuit performs better than it should. Both these films hit 33-34% ratio in Mumbai while without here they would be 30% and a RAAZI could even be same in Delhi/UP and Mumbai at 27%.

The draw if any for a heroine will in the big centers today and not smaller cities as they hero hold too much importance here but no other leading heroine has a draw in any other center. There is a case for Rani Mukerji in West Bengal who is still the top heroine there and this is easily seen from the numbers but she is not in the race and West Bengal alone is not going to make a difference when in others there is a big gap.

If we talk about outside the metros then the most popular heroines will probably be Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif although this will not show up in numbers. But as they have bigger body of work and more popular films it probably makes them the most known heroines outside metros.

Kareena Kapoor deserves a special mention as after GOOD NEWWZ, she is probably close to that second position and the results of CHHAPAAK will tell. But more than that, its the longevity of twenty years as a main female lead which is far more than any other heroine in history and still among the top three. There have been four superstar heroines in the film industry with Mumtaz, Hema Malini, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit but this longevity of Kareena Kapoor lasts a few more films, then there will be a case for a fifth superstar heroine in the 100 odd year history of Hindi cinema. The top ten heroines at the present time taking into account collections in different places which can show certain trends, genres and taking into account the set up of a film and male stars are as follows. This can always be be arguable as its not based on just facts and figures but facts and figures wont give the correct picture here.

1. Alia Bhatt
2. Deepika Padukone
3. Kareena Kapoor
4. Katrina Kaif
5. Shraddha Kapoor
6. Kriti Sanon
7. Kangana Ranuat
8. Anushka Sharma
9. Sara Ali Khan
10. Priyanka Chopra

2015 was a mediocre year with only a few films finding real acceptance. The hits were few and appreciation of films by the audiences even less as many films rode to success on initials and hardly any content film barring PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA 2 really went outside its boundaries.

The tops of the year were pretty straghtforward with the main categories being practically one horse races barring director and music. The director category had two candidates Kabir Khan and Anand L Rai and the latter wins out as TANU WEDS MANU RETURNS did not have the resourses of a BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN nor a superstar like Salman Khan whose film is bound to find huge appreciation universally when it is good.

In terms of music there was no super hit like KICK or EK VILLAIN last year. The music of BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN worked after the mega success of the film, The title song of PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO was a rage as was Gerua from DILWALE but musically the biggest hit was probably ROY. The toppers of 2015.

Film
Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Actor
Salman Khan (Bajrangi Bhaijaan)

Actress
Kangana Ranuat (Tanu Weds Manu Returns)

Director
Aanand L. Rai (Tanu Weds Manu Returns)

Studio
Eros International (Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Bajirao Mastani, Welcome Back)

Music
Roy

Emerging Star

Varun Dhawan - The initial of ABCD 2 (even North managed good collections initially though dance films never really work there) means he is on par with Ranbir Kapoor as far as young stars are concerned. With careers going in opposite curves, Varun Dhawan may have momentum to be biggest star in the younger age slot soon. Even a BADLAPUR which was a weak film became a hit due to the initial and a song or two. The collections came down fast after the opening.