WHO’S THE HOTTEST OF THEM ALL?
Kaun Banegi Rani Hindustani: Preity, Kareena or Rani? The race has begun, the box office waits
May 26, 2004

If one of them is the queen of hearts, the other is firmly established as Bollywood’s ‘With It’ girl, while the third boasts of a lineage as old as the industry itself. But who amongst Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Kareena Kapoor is finally going to be crowned Queen Bee? 
If Preity has two blockbuster hits, back to back (Kal Ho Na Ho and Koi..Mil Gaya), then Rani has firmly established herself as an actress who can play an NRI heiress (Chalte Chalte) or a young woman from the lower strata of society (Yuva) with equal ease. ‘‘Watch out for her in Hum Tum,’’ says trade analyst Taran Adarsh. The film will see the actress portray her character’s journey from 18 years to 28 years. ‘‘Preity has an energy that leaps out to the viewer from the screen. She lives her characters, making them believable,’’ he adds.

Kareena Kapoor is on the weakest pitch as she has not had a solo commercial success for some time, though her perform but Preity has an edge given her recent success,’’ says Komal Nahta. 
While the trade experts have clear slots in which the actresses work best, with ‘bubbly’ reserved for Preity, ‘emotional’ for Rani and ‘sexy’ for Kareena, the industry begs to differ. Film director Satish Kaushik ance and screen presence count. Trade pundit Indu Mirani would like to bet on the Kapoor kudi. Kyunki, ‘‘she has Chameli and Dev to her credit. Not many actresses experiment so early on,’’ says Indu Mirani. ‘‘Rani’s eyes speak, with Preity it is yet to be seen how well she will perform in a role that does not demand her to be the bubbly girl next door,’’ says Mirani. But whom does the boxoffice prefer? ‘‘A film always works in combinations. So it is the banner and the star cast that decides who is working with Kareena in 
Milenge Milenge says ‘‘if an actress is talented then she can mould herself in any role. All three actresses have reached a stage where they have a strong fan following and can carry a film on their name.’’ 

Rani Mukherjee

We thought we’d resolve the debate with a quick peek into the kitty of each actress. While Preity has Lakshya and Mantra (Vishal Bhardwaj), she is also working in Yash Chopra’s untitled venture opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Interestingly, the venture also stars Rani who has Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastaniand Black,Ketan Mehta’s The Rising and Shaad Ali’s next venture. Kareena plays the title role in Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani and her other films include Priyadarshan’s Hulchal, Satish Kaushik’s Milenge Milenge, Ken Ghosh’s Fida and Govind Nihalani’s Dev.‘‘They are good films but the banners of the Chopras and the Johars matter the most here,’’ chuckles Nahta. All eyes now, needless to say, are on the casting of Karan Johar’s next directorial venture. 
With all three actresses charging the same price (Rs 80 lakhs-1 crore), the industry is waiting with bated breath for The Final Female Rising.