International Women's Day 2018: Priyanka, Deepika and Sushmita - The most influential women in Bollywood

On the occasion of International Women's Day 2018, let's take a look at some of the most powerful, influential and exemplary women in Bollywood who are serving as role models to thousands of people across the world and making India proud.

Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra has come a long way since she was crowned Miss World 2000. She is an actor, a global star, a singer, a film producer, a philanthropist and also a recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri. She has not just established herself as a leading actress in Bollywood but has cemented her foot in Hollywood. She is one of the highest paid actresses in the Hindi film industry. She also has a production house, Purple Pebble Pictures, which has been venturing into regional cinema.

Deepika Padukone

The model-turned-actress has also cemented her position as a bankable leading lady in Bollywood. Apart from her contribution to the Hindi film industry, Deepika also made her debut in Hollywood with Vin Diesel starrer xXx: Return Of Xander Cage and garnered immense appreciation for her performance. She recently earned the title of the 'Rs 100 crore actress' considering the back-to-back box office success of her films over the past couple of years. She also fought depression and came out stronger and is now spreading awareness about mental health and destigmatize the taboo through Live, Love, Laugh foundation.

Sushmita Sen

Sushmita Sen was the first Indian women to win the prestigious Miss Universe pageant in 1994. She then started spreading her wings and made her debut in Bollywood and eventually became the filmmakers' favourite actress. Apart from her professional life, Sushmita is also known for being a single mother to daughters Renee and Alisah. She adopted Renee in 2000 when the actress was just 25 years old. She adopted her second daughter Alisah in 2010. She has been a title holder for several charitable endeavours that make positive efforts to 'give back' to society. The base of the I AM Foundation is to take this 'giving' to newer heights. The foundation has adopted various reputed charity organizations doing commendable work to make the world a better place to live in.

Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan is best known for portraying strong women-oriented roles in Bollywood films like Kahaani, The Dirty Picture and Tumhari Sulu. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri, one National Film Award, six Filmfare awards and six Screen Awards. From starting her career in the 1995 TV show Hum Paanch to becoming a member of the Indian Central Board of Film Certification in 2017, the actress has surely come a long way.

Anushka Sharma

Anushka Sharma has proved her mettle on the silver screen right from her Bollywood debut film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Apart from being a leading actress in Bollywood, the actress has also established a production house called Clean Slate Films which ventured into producing films like NH10, Phillauri and Pari. Last year, she was also named PETA's Person of The Year for protecting animals and spreading awareness about their suffering through various promotional activities.

Ekta Kapoor

Ekta Kapoor, the daughter of veteran actor Jeetendra, is the driving force behind her production company, Balaji Telefilms, which she started at the age of 19. Known as TV Czarina and the Queen of Indian TV, Ekta has produced numerous daily soaps, TV series, movies and has now ventured into digital platform with ALTBalaji.