It was women power that ruled Bollywood this season. From Mardaani to Mary Kom, actresses showed they can pull in audience to theaters in hordes without any help their male Bollywood counterparts. Though female centric movies didn't do roaring business at the box-office (except Queen), it certainly is a step forward in the right direction. We take a look at the actresses who made a difference this year.

Kangana Ranaut

Finally, after immense trials and tribulations, Kangana Ranaut got her due at the box office. Queen will remain forever etched in memory as that rare female centric movie that moved all sections of the audience alike. Kangana adeptly portrayed the transformation of an underdog village belle into a sophisticated and liberated woman of today. Even Rajkumar Rao had to play second fiddle to her powerful performance. The movie made on a shoestring budget amassed close to 50 crore and ran uninterrupted for almost of a week at multiplexes. Definitely a superhit.

Alia Bhatt

The teenager who was dismissed as another pretty face after Student Of The Year showed the nation that she is talented well beyond her years when she played a sexually molested victim in Highway. With Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya, Alia charmed one and all with her romantic bearings while with 2 States, the girl proved her box-office bankability and a future female superstar was born.

Rani Mukerji

Mrs. Aditya Chopra..oops Rani we mean made a telling statement by choosing a female centric movie as her comeback vehicle. The actress roped in her favourite director Pradeep Sarkar to helm Mardaani that saw her playing a tough cop taking on the master minds of child trafficking. The movie delighted critics but failed to set the cash registers ringing. Rani however made a brilliant comeback.

Priyanka Chopra

Before the release of Mary Kom, Priyanka faced intense scrutiny for being chosen to play Mary Kom. The actress however silenced all her detractors by delivering a power pack performance that was applauded by none other than Mary Kom herself. The movie, like Mardaani was a box-office dud but Priyanka's heart-rendering performance found many takers.

Tabu

Haider found an unlikely candidate emerging as the central figure of the movie - Tabu. The actress yet again showed why she is considered to be one of the best in business when it comes to essaying serious and mature roles. Even a powerful actor like Kay Kay Menon stood a shade diminished before Tabu's screen presence. She even broke taboo barriers by lip kissing her onscreen son, Shahid Kapoor.

Jacqueline Fernandes

The Sri Lankan beauty queen finally found her time under the sun after bagging a plum role opposite Salman Khan in Kick. Overflowing with graceful sensuality, Jacqueline provided the movie with its much needed glam quotient. Her split in Jhumme Ki Raat won her some thousand more admirers.

Deepika Padukone

Compared to last year, 2014 didn't give Deepika much chance to please audience as Happy New Year had only brief moments of SRK -Deepika romance. True the girl sizzled in the movie but the story line and ensemble starcast meant she had little to do as compared to Chennai Express. Deepika played a prominent part in Finding Fanny too where she held her own amidst other veterans like Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah and others. The lady however remained in news courtesy the cleavage controversy that made headlines for quite a while.

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