The male star stakes have seen little changes in the last few years with the same names dominating the top places but its a different story as far as female leads are concerned as younger actresses like Alia Bhatt and Shraddha Kapoor have made fast inroads despite not being paired in big films with the reigning Khans. They are the most in demand actresses in the industry at the moment. Deepika Padukone still retains top spot but the peak was Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express and its not been the same since which huge flops like Finding Fanny and Tamasha and then there is a Bajirao Mastani where the second lead steals the show for many.
The only star who gets any mileage from a limited appreciation film like Kapoor & Sons is Alia Bhatt. In Udta Punjab, a more senior Kareena Kapoor is playing single fiddle which is another signal of the fast rise. Its a similar story for Shraddha Kapoor as a huge share in the successs of films like Aashiqui 2, Ek Villain, ABCD 2 and Baaghi, in fact barring ABCD 2 it can be said the bulk of the credit for the other films is going her way. This rise has also coincided with reigning stars like Katrina Kaif having a very bad phase with big duds like Fitoor and Baar Baar Dekho and it remains to be seen if this downward trend can be altered. The top ten female leads in terms of the popularity stakes at present are as follows.
1. Deepika Padukone
2. Alia Bhatt
3. Shraddha Kapoor
4. Katrina Kaif
5. Anushka Sharma
6. Kareena Kapoor
7. Priyanka Chopra
8. Sonakshi Sinha
9. Kangana Ranaut
10. Parineeti Chopra
