Down cast eyes, a tentative smile and an uncertain body lingo add up to a ‘bahenji’ or a wallflower in the movies. Now those attributes were certainly not expected of the hi-fashion-model-turned-actress Diana Penty. Surprisingly that just what’s made her click, especially with all the young dudes-next-door.

The shy and retreating Meera of Cocktail has wowed practically all the campus kids I know in and around my neighbourhood. Indeed, there’s something about newcomers who make a palpable impact. It makes me whoop with relief that there’s more choice in the market. I don’t have to be trapped mostly with the Katrinas and Priyankas for three hours at the multiplexes any more.
Rotten tomatoes were hurled at Nargis Faqri for her clumsy performance in Rockstar, but she does deserve another go at stardom. If only Ms Faqri would quit pouting those mosquito-stung lips, and also get a fix on her private life, which just a few months ago was linked to Shahid Kapur’s. Ho-haw-hum.
Quite ironically, Diana Penty was to be Ranbir Kapoor’s original object of desire in Rockstar. Never mind. It’s plain to see that the 26-year-old Ms Penty is sufficiently restrained, and can pull off the dance moves expected of a leading lady. Perhaps her voice was dubbed, perhaps not, a phase which so many heroines have had to go through right from Sridevi and Rani Mukherjee to Katrinaji.
Now why this rah-rah for Ms Penty? Am certainly not fishing for a candle-light dinner or a heart-to-heart interview with her. The exultation purely because there’s a dire shortage of heroines on the scene, even leading to some of the nearly-faded- jaded ones demanding multi-crore salaries.
The emotionally-askew Meera of Cocktail has thousands of miles to go still in establishing herself as an actress of substance, but what the hell! Here’s a likeable performance and personality. Her choice of projects and roles, of course, will determine her staying power in the market. Right now, Google tells me that she’s in a Tamil film titled Biriyani. Whoa! Bon appetit!
Glamour is a must-quotient for fledgling femmes. Let’s accept that. I found that in Esha Gupta who debuted earlier this year with Jannat 2. She didn’t display any acting chops in the role of an altruistic doctor at a finance-stressed hospital. Indeed, the budget spent on her designerwear in the film could finance a ward for a dozen patients instantly. Yet the Miss India International (2007), with an uncanny resemblance to Angelina Jolie,was uber cool when it came to exuding sensuality in body-hugging saris.
Smooches with Emraan Hashmi, chart-buster songs , upmarket styling and voila, Kangana Ranaut becomes quite dispensable from the Bhatt Brothers’ factory of murder-‘n’-erotica movies.
Despite the beauty pageant winner tag, New Delhi’s Esha Gupta went through the rigmarole of projects which either didn’t take off or were aborted midway. After the Jannat 2 success, she’s in the Bhatt Brothers’ Raaz 3 and Prakash Jha’s Chakravyuha.
Her media image has been low-profile though. Her few interviews in print, so far, haven’t contributed towards establishing a distinct identity. So, umm, let’s see.
The Sensation Newcomer Award, for the 2012 heroines, however, may be grabbed from under the noses of Diana Penty and Esha Gupta though. Karan Johar’s Student of the Year releases in October. I happened to watch Aliya — daughter of Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan — on the sets. Without a doubt, she’s a natural. Pretty and peppy, Aliya has that chutzpah to become the Next Big Thing.
Quite clearly, then, the monopoly of heroine’s roles by the same ‘ole faces and figures, is about to end. Mercy be.