Macho queens strike!

Move over simpering damsels in distress, macho heroines are here with their death-defying stunts. Deepika Padukone jumped walls and deflected bullets in Chandni Chowk to China, Katrina Kaif learnt to ride a dirt bike for Zoya Akhtars Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara,Aishwarya Rai Bachchan jumped from a 400-foot high cliff in Dhoom 2 and now Esha Deol is riding a camel for her mothers forthcoming Tell Me Oh Khuda.
Priyanka Chopra, too, sporting a grunge look, takes over from the true action hero Akshay Kumar to conquer the small screen with Khatron Ke Khiladi. In Drona, she did a fight atop a running train moving at 70 kmph, somersaulting from one bogey to the other, outdoing her hero Abhishek Bachchan. Says Priyanka excitedly, I do get butterflies in my stomach and the occasional moments of fear, but I’m ready to dive right into the stunt. I am basically a very spontaneous, adventurous person.
While Aishwarya Rai Bachchan learnt to wield a sword and ride a horse for Jodhaa Akbar, she took karate classes for her role in the Tamil scifi thriller Endhiran. In one scene,she takes on hero Rajnikants challenge for a hand-tohand combat.I enjoy action films and that’s the genre I have always been keen on exploring, I have always been game for stunts, says Aishwarya, who had extensive sword fighting scenes in her English film, The Last Legion. The British girl whom they had got to double for me kept teasing that there was no work for her because I kind of insisted on doing everything on my own and I completely took to the sword fighting scenes, chuckles Aishwarya, who didn’t back out from a single stunt, right from scaling mountains and slippery rocks, rappelling, swimming in turbulent rivers or braving the chilly wind, in Raavan.
For a scene in Lafangey Parindey, Deepikas character had to walk straight into a man-hole and vanish into the swirling muddy water. Her expertise as a swimmer helped her to hold her breath underwater as divers rushed to get her. Says Deepika, Being a sportsperson, I have been very keen on staying fit. It needs a lot of focus, dedication and control.
Action was not expected from the girls 15 to 20 years back. They were essentially used in song and dance sequences. Even men were not conscious of their physical fitness those days. The original dream girl and Sholays Basanti, Hema Malini was one of the first few heroines to participate in stunt sequences. However, admits Hema, Most of the time, a body double would do it. She adds, Why break your bones Esha rode a camel in my film, but I didn’t allow her to jump from the camel. Only the stunt artistes know the technique of falling, we don’t. One of the top action directors, Sham Kaushal adds, The audience is more educated now. We cant cheat. Today, if you see Seeta aur Geeta or Sholay, you can easily make out when a duplicate was used.
Having trained Aishwarya and Bipasha Basu in Dhoom 2 and Race respectively, prominent stunt director Allan Amin places these two actresses in the top league in performing stunt sequences.Bipasha actually ran while a car behind her exploded and somersaulted over her head. Ash had to jump on top of a helicopter, Allan remembers. Thanks to good safety measures and slick post-production, more and more actresses are doing stunts comfortably, he says.
Says Priyanka, Doing a stunt is always risky. It is important to have faith in your stunt director or you will never be able to do justice to what he has in mind and it will not come across convincingly. And then, right safety measures should be ensured so that there are no serious mishaps.
Never before has fitness played such an important role in determining careers in acting. From buxom belles to fashion couturiers to size zero, women have realised that they wont survive as subdued, self-sacrificing sati savitris in the global marketplace that Bollywood competes in. They need to know kickboxing, bungee jumping, water skiing, kung fu,karate, kalaripayatu, etc.
Besides treading some treacherous terrain as the host in Khatron Ke Khiladi, Priyanka is all set to undergo rigorous training in martial arts for Don 2.Kareena Kapoor will be seen playing a negative role in beau Saif Ali Khans action-adventure espionage film Agent Vinod. Ash will be seen knocking out some wily villains in Shankars Endhiran and Vipul Shahs Action Replay. The ride may be bumpy but the fast and furious femme fatale is here
Check out Deepika Padukone’s homepage
Follow us on Twitter for more stories