From Kajol to Shraddha Kapoor, actresses are exploring their dark side on screen

While Bollywood has been churning out female-centric movies for sometime now, there’s a whole new genre that is emerging. Heroines are no longer playing by the rule or being Miss Goody Two-Shoes. They are the new renegades, determined to get what they want — by hook or by crook. After all, Priyanka Chopra chose to make her Hollywood debut playing a vamp in Baywatch. In fact, the role, which was initially written for a guy, was reworked as the director liked the idea of PC playing a baddie. And, now, Kajol, Shraddha Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Sonakshi Sinha are exploring their dark side in their upcoming films. Here’s a lowdown...

Shraddha Kapoor: Haseena Parkar

She has always been this sweet girl-next-door; sugar wouldn’t melt in her mouth. But Shraddha is all set to change her image by playing a badass in Haseena Parkar, a biopic. She’s donned the role of a woman, who ran a crime syndicate for her brother Dawood Ibrahim in Mumbai. The actress will be ageing from 17-40 and play mother to four kids in the film, a first for the actress. For her intense role as the underworld queen, who was wanted by the police for extortion and real estate deals, Shraddha met Haseena’s family, went through her albums and put on nine kilos to essay the character. Now, whether she will be able to carry this heavy-duty film on her dainty shoulders can only be gauged next month when the film releases.

Kajol: VIP 2

The Tamil-Hindi bilingual film will see the actress returning to South movies after more than a decade. And, that too, as the main antagonist opposite Dhanush. However, being a baddie is nothing new for the actress who played a killer in one of her earlier films, Gupt. In VIP 2, Kajol plays a ruthless and shrewd businesswoman. In an interview to this paper, she said, “Vasundhara (her character) is a woman I love innately. There’s a dialogue where she says, ‘It doesn’t matter where I am, I will always come back. It doesn’t matter what you or anyone else does to me, I will rise to the top once more. Wherever you throw me, I will come back’. This line epitomises the character. Sometimes, this self confidence can be taken as arrogance as well.” That pretty much sums up Kajol, too! What say?

Kangana Ranaut: Simran

The film is said to be inspired by an America-based Indian con woman, who gambled and pulled off several bank heists. The trailer of the film shows Kangana donning various disguises, shoplifting, gambling and robbing. There’s a thread of humour, too, albeit, dark. Kangana has already played a vamp in Krrish 3, but Simran will see her showcasing a quirky side to her. Sample this: In a scene, she tells her potential boyfriend, ‘Mujhe juae ki aur chori ki latt hai.’ Need we say more?

Deepika Padukone: Biopic on Sapna Didi

She already showed her killer moves, literally and figuratively, in her Hollywood debut film xXx — The Return of Xander Cage, in which she played a huntress. And now, the leggy actress is all set to play a dark and dangerous role as the mafia queen in a film based on Sapna Didi. A charming lady, Rahima Khan aka Sapna Didi married a gangster, and when her husband was killed by the D-company, she vowed to avenge his death by bringing about the downfall of Dawood Ibrahim at a cricket match in Sharjah. However, he is said to have got wind of her plans and got her murdered. Deepika will start shooting for the film once she wraps up Padmavati. It will be interesting to see how Dippy transforms from a Rajput Rani to a mafia queen!

Sonakshi Sinha: Ittefaq

Sonakshi may have kicked butt and packed a serious punch in some of her films like Akira and Force 2, but she was not the baddie. Now, she steps into Nanda’s shoes in the remake of Ittefaq, which has been modified to suit the times. For the first time, Sonakshi will be playing a character with grey shades in a film.

Priyanka Chopra: Baywatch

She played the flirty and devious vamp Victoria Leeds in Baywatch — her debut Hollywood movie. When asked why she chose to play a baddie, Priyanka said in an interview, “There is no debate on why. I would choose a baddie over a bikini. It’s a much better character. Wearing a bikini is easy; you can do it on a cover of a magazine. You don’t need a movie for that, you choose movie for characters. And my character was extremely intriguing to me.” Moreover, playing a baddie is nothing new for PC, who won an award for her negative turn in Aitraaz early on in her career.