Gul Panag gave the phrase ‘Turning 30' a glamorous dimension with her film. Even before Gul, Bollywood had warmed up to the 30s club, when a number of actresses at the peak of their career turned 30 and had no qualms admitting it.
Kajol, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Bipasha Basu, Rani Mukherji, Vidya Balan and recently Kareena Kapoor didn't flinch when they hit 30. Some continued to cast a spell while others didn't and their age had nothing to do with it.
One could argue that established actresses would have it fairly easy with big production houses continuing to woo them (like in the case of Kareena), but surprisingly, the industry is witnessing actresses even making a debut post 30.
Two of this year's spunky debuts — Poorna Jagannathan ( Delhi Belly ) and Nargis Fakhri (soon-to-be-released Rockstar starring Ranbir Kapoor, directed by Imtiaz Ali) — are on the ‘wrong side' of 30, conventionally speaking. Add to that list Barbara Mori of the cold turkey Kites who was 30-plus when she made her debut.
Thirty five-year-old Mahie Gill, who has been around in the industry, didn't hit the bull's eye till Dev D came her way in 2007. Vidya Balan, too, was a late entrant by Bollywood standards at 28, when she arrived with Parineeta .
Dhobi Ghat's Monica Dogra, too, was 28 when she auditioned for the film. The list doesn't end there. Riya Sen, Reema Sen and Anjana Sukhani are also part of the 30s club.
Nargis Fakhri
Ever since Imtiaz Ali revealed that half-Czech, half-Pakistani model Nargis Fakhri will be sharing the screen with Ranbir Kapoor in Rockstar , the spotlight has shone on her.
The production team barred her from talking to the media prior to the film's release to ensure she remains a mystery woman. Speculations on whether she is dating the Kapoor scion only added to the aura. Nargis hails from New York, met Imtiaz Ali in Prague and was at first reluctant to step into Bollywood but eventually agreed. Rockstar is scheduled to release in November.
Poorna Jagannathan
She had no problems smooching Imran Khan or mouthing expletives in Delhi Belly . The 39-year-old actress was a brand strategist in advertising before taking up acting lessons at Actor's Studio, New York. Born in Tunisia and having spent her early years in Brazil, US, Argentina and Pakistan thanks to her diplomat father, Poorna Jagannathan romanced the camera for television productions in the US before Delhi Belly came along.
Monica Dogra
Armed with a camera, she scans the gritty bylanes of Mumbai in Kiran Rao's picture-perfect Dhobi Ghat .
Of late, she has been touring the country performing as part of her band Shaa'ir+Func and looks forward to her new albums — a solo and a collaborative work with Midival Punditz' Gaurav Raina. Monica turned down Kiran Rao's request for an audition as she felt Bollywood was steeped in clichés. She relented much later when Kiran called her a second time.
Monica also lent her voice to the Dooriyan number in Break ke Baad . Though Monica made heads turn with Dhobi Ghat , production houses haven't made a beeline to sign on this dusky singer/actress who loves unconventional roles. Will she be another late bloomer like Vidya Balan and Mahie Gill?
Look who's turning 30
