Happy Birthday Sushmita Sen: 5 projects where the actor aced her roles with powerful performances

Sushmita Sen has always taken the path less trodden. The first Indian to win the Miss Universe pageant in 1994, this beauty with brains has always been a tad unconventional, whether it was in her relationships, choice of movies or her decision to adopt her first child at 24. As the diva turns 47 today, we revisit her best performances along the way

Known best for the sultry number 'Dilbar Dilbar' in the movie, Sushmita Sen actually had an important role in the flick where she played the businesswoman Neha in love with Deepak, (Sanjay Kapoor) who in turn was in love with Aarti ( Priya Gill). Playing an unrequited lover with a lot of grace in this Agathiyan directed film, Sushmita won rave reviews for her small, but powerful act.

Playing the 'other woman' Rupali, Sushmita aced the difficult role, while not making it caricaturish or portraying her as a 'vamp'. Instead, the audience directed all their displeasure to Prem (Salman Khan), who started cheating on his wife Pooja with Rupali in the first place. Directed by David Dhawan, this one also starred Karisma Kapoor in the lead role, along with Tabu and Anil Kapoor as supporting cast.

The first Bollywood movie that deals with surrogacy and gets it right, this Meghna Gulzar directed flick also starred Tabu, Sanjay Suri and Palash Sen. Sushmita played the career-oriented Sia who decides to be the surrogate to her best friend Rewa and her husband, despite not believing in marriage and kids. How this decision completely changes their lives is what forms the crux of the story. Sushmita won over hearts with her mature performance.

When mentally troubled Vijay Singh Rajput (Amitabh Bachchan) decides to seek revenge on the bank that fired him, he hires a blind school teacher to train three visually impaired rookies to rob the bank. Neha (Sushmita) has her own reasons to unwillingly join hands with Rajput, as she ends up forming a close bond with the three recruits. Directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, this one also starred Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal and Paresh Rawal.

In her first stint on OTT, Sushmita Sen plays Aarya Sareen, the dutiful mother and wife who however, is unaware of her husband's illegal business. Things go worse when her husband Tej is incapacitated and then mysteriously killed, forcing Aarya to take over the reins of her life. How she then sails through the murky world of crime forms the crux of the story. Directed by Ram Madhvani, the two season drama series streamed on Disney+ Hotstar and also starred Chandrachur Singh.