Alia Bhatt, Rani Mukerji to Bhumi Satish Pednekkar: Actors Who Surprised Audiences With Darker Roles

Gone are the days when actresses inclined towards conventional roles. These days, actresses are not only shouldering projects but are also surprising everyone with dark roles, ones that bring out psychological tension, emotional complexities and a lot more that are usually unexpected from Bollywood’s glitz and glam. Take a look:

Alia Bhatt:* Having started with bubbly roles, Alia Bhatt took a detour from that space to enter into a bruising and emotionally complex territory with projects like Udta Punjab, Darlings and Gangubai Kathiawadi – marking the arrival of untapped shades of actresses.

Bhumi Satish Pednekkar:* Bhumi’s venture into the darker space has been steady but powerful, from the raw honesty of Sonchiriya to the deep intensity of Bhakshak and now with the upcoming no-holds-barred world of Daldal. The actress has never played it safe, and she continues the streak with morally complex and unsettling narratives.

Vidya Balan:* Vidya Balan has attached a new definition to mainstream heroines by diving into spaces of psychological tension and quiet menace with projects like Kahaani and Ishqiya. If Vidya Balan’s such picks are anything to go by, it’d be safe to say that the actress paved the way for such emotionally challenging roles.

Tabu:* Be it Andhadhun, Haider or Drishyam, Tabu continues to set the benchmark for layered, morally grey and ambiguous roles. From sending chills down the spine in the crime thriller Andhadhun to keeping everyone on the edge of their seats in Drishyam, Tabu set it straight that such layered characters were tailor-made for her!

Rani Mukerji:* Rani Mukerji stunned everyone with restrained yet chilling intensity in gritty law-and-order narratives of the Mardaani franchise. The actress took a detour from the glamorous quotient and donned the hat of grit and grunge as Senior Inspector Shivani Shivjai Roy.

If the grit and drive of these actresses are anything to go by, the audiences are in for a string of massive treats with more unseen grey shades coming up!