All time dancing Queens of Indian cinema..

If there is one thing that makes Indian cinema stand out from the rest of the world’s cinemas it has to be the dances that our cinemas are tapestried with. Dances that captivate the audience and the hero alike by mesmerizing heroines go back in time immemorial and many unforgettable dances have been etched in the annals of Indian cinema.From the black and white eras, danseuse set screens ablaze with breathtaking performances. Post independence in 1948, Gemini studios released the first Indian movie “Chandralekha” that was made with a budget of 30 lakh Rupees, a humongous amount at that time and the dance sequences were grand and given the maximum importance. There were tamil movies like “Vankikottai Vallibhan” when the famous dance competition between the legendary beauties Padmini and Vijayanthimala made the erstwhile villain Veerapan go ballistic and utter in tamil – ” Sabaash, Seriyana potti” translating into ” a fitting competition”. A notable role of Vijayanthimala was when she played Chandramukhi in Bimal Roy’s Devdas in 1955 as the seducive dancer. Padmini has given her all time best dance performance in the famous tamil movie “Thillana Mohanambaal” where she plays the role of a dancer competing against a musician ( Sivaji Ganesan ).Bhanumati was another actor who slowly and surely swayed with MGR and NTR in some unforgettable movies, a personal favorite being in “Alibabhavum Narpathu Thirudargalum” in 1955 with MGR. The classic beauties Bhanumathi , Padmini , Vijayanthimala made many a hearts flutter with their elegant moves in the 50′s and 60′s. Padmini and Vijayanthimala were trained classical dancers and besides being flawless in their execution of dance numbers, their beauty set aflame their charismatic energies.

Then Helen cha-cha’ed her way to fame with “mera naam chin chin chu” and swooned the audience with her pulsating moves and more so with her infectious flamboyance. She probably holds the undisputed specialized title of cabaret Queen in Indian cinema albeit we now have the lead actors performing cabarets and seductive numbers but there can never be another Helen. Another beauty from the dravidian ranges, skilled in Odissi and Bharatnatyam styles – Hema Malini went on to become the dream girl of Indian cinemas. The famous two dances in Sholay ( jab tak hai jaan & mehbooba mehbooba ) that made Gabbar Singh tweak a smile were both executed to perfection by Helen and Hema Malini respectively amongst countless others in their acting careers.
Jayapradha, the telegu beauty trained in kuchipidi is best known for her dramatic dancing with Kamal Haasan in the award winning “sagara sangamam”. Her dancing intoxicated one and all in “sharaabi” and my favorite number of hers is in ” inteha ho gai intezaar ki”, the build up of the tempo in this song is extraordinary .She makes her appearance in the second half of this song and I can never forget the look of Mr Bachchan’s when he sees her gliding down the ramp way. 
The reason I would like to include Rekha amongst the dancing greats is simply because nobody could execute “mujras” like the way she did. In “Umrao Jaan” Rekha danced with her eyes alone. She completely captured the essence of synchronization and was in perfect harmony with herself as much as she was with her surroundings.Rekha is like a timeless, beautiful painting that comes to life with the brush stroke of a choreographer.
One of Sridevi’s unforgettable dances was when she enchanted one and all with her slithering moves as “Nagina”, her dancing eyes were no less hypnotic. Sridevi previously had a successful stint in tamil and telegu cinema, a complete actress with an immaculate sense of timing in comedy that she brought into some of her famous dances in Mr India. She remains a complete actor with very few able to surpass her talent.
Madhuri has been labeled the dancing Queen of the hindi film industry ever since she tapped her feet in the hit number “ek do teen”. Madhuri grew from strength to strength and in partnership with her favorite choreographer Saroj Khan she gave one hit after another. Madhuri was an industry by herself in this department. Her sultry dancing in “choli ke peeche” and the ” dola re dola ” number with Aishwarya in Devdaas remain my favorite. Aishwarya danced her way to fame in the ” nimbuda” number and has consistently given notable dance performances ever since. From a stylish dancer in Dhoom 2 to a flirtatious lass in “kajra re” wooing both the cop and the robber, Aishwarya has worked hard to perfect her dance moves since her “Jeans” days. Aishwarya can execute a folk or classical dance with the same elan that she brings into the western styles. A multi faceted dancer without a doubt.

It is indeed a tall task to choose the best . What best way to reach a conclusion other than taking a poll. Please vote for who you think is the best amongst the ten and you also have a eleventh option of your choice.

In parting, from Devdas – Aishwarya and Madhuri dance to “dola re dola” in HD.