B town’s Barbie Dolls

When I was a kid, one of my prized possessions used to be a beautiful Barbie doll gifted by my parents. I could spend hours playing house with her, so what if she couldn’t quite converse with me at our frequently held tea parties? Her long flowing golden tresses, those dreamy eyes with the long lashes, those sparkling brown eyes, that tiny waist and the never ending legs she had made for such a pretty picture, I could sit and admire her for hours. And nothing can describe the sheer joy of seeing her dressed up in trendy clothes of the seasons ranging from a cute summery frock to a dangerously low cut swim suit, showing off that well-toned body. Now if you have started doubting my mental health thanks to this sudden bout of nostalgia at mere girlie fascination with a toy, think again. Are we as a generation truly over our Barbie doll phase? I beg to differ and in fact would like to include the entire male  population that enjoys watching contemporary Hindi cinema indulging in just such adulation for the said Barbie dolls that girls as kids play with. Still thinking? Since you are asking for it, here’s introducing the Barbie Bolls that have endeared themselves to tinsel town so much that most of them are some of the highest paid actors in the industry today. As for their acting talent? Err…Barbie dolls don’t exactly come equipped with that quality, do they?

Katrina Kaif: There is no arguing with the fact that this British Indian beauty has looks to make a Greek Goddess envious of her. She is one of the few heroines on the block who can look cool even without make up and has the standard qualifications that guarantee you the eyeballs- long hair, fair complexion, great smile, towering height and those oomphy legs. What she doesn’t seem to have on ample display though is the strength of her performance to match the external packaging. Yes, so she seems to have earned a significant number of hoots and whistles with her Sheila and Chameli acts but that could only mark her as a good item girl. After playing wallflower in several of her initial films, Katrina has bravely tried to tread deeper waters with films like Rajneeti, Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. What goes clearly in her favour is her getting cast opposite actors like Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan in her forthcoming films that ensures great mileage and provides excellent cover against getting pulled up for poor histrionic skills. Some people simply get lucky, as my Mom would say.

Jacqueline Fernandez: She made her debut in a film called Aladin but her claim to fame was as Dhanno in the hit item song remake of the Laawaris original, ‘Aapka kya hoga’…with Riteish Deshmukh, Akshay Kumar and Arjun Rampal for company. She sizzled with Emraan Hashmi in Murder 2 which failed to elicit too many votes in her favour. Mahesh Bhatt in this case couldn’t make a Bipasha Basu of this Sri Lankan import. Enter Sajid Khan who has now cast her in his already crowded ensemble sequel, Housefull 2 where she will be romancing John Abraham. Now considering her mentor has his hands literally full with so many actors jostling for space, it will be interesting to see what acting lessons Jacqueline is able to pick up that will make her rise above the rest.

Deepika Padukone: This is one debutante who couldn’t have asked for more in her very first film. Om Shanti Om launched her with as much pomp and splendor as befits a newbie among a thousand others. The hit Jodi of Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan could do no wrong and together they propelled her to the heights of instant stardom, winning her quite a few plum projects in its wake. It’s been a drop downhill since then with hardly a film that would go down in the history of cinematic glory. Of course, a happening personal life has kept Deepika afloat in the front pages of gossip columns but she will need more than a Ranbir Kapoor to turn the tide of her lukewarm career in days ahead.

Sonam Kapoor: You’d have thought being blessed with a silver spoon in her mouth and Anil Kapoor’s genes and simply being a Kapoor would make life easy for Sonam. Yes, she has managed to get the paparazzi going crazy over her recent tryst with international fashion houses and designers but if her last film Players is anything to go by, Sonam will need more than just cocktail gowns and backless cholis to help her get appreciated as a blooming actor in her own right. And you thought being a star kid was easy.

Nargis Fakhri: The good news is her age seems to be the least of the factors that could make or break Nargis’ film career. The girl who brought so much grief to Ranbir Kapoor’s character in Rockstar must be having sleepless nights over the fact that no A-list star is particularly knocking on her door with offers after her debut. The fish like pout, the light brown mane and the regal posture may be getting the flashbulbs popping wherever she walks but we will have to wait and watch how this half Kashmiri-half Czech damsel’s shot at glamour and fame pans out.