No Queen In Hindi Cinema? Analysing The Race Between Deepika Padukone, Triptii Dimri, Alia Bhat, Rashmika Mandana And Others

Bollywood’s No 1 throne has fallen vacant!

Just about all calculations have failed in the last year, at least as far as the Hindi cinema No 1 female slot goes. The throne is currently vacant, khaali. “Till 2023, Deepika Padukone was undoubtedly the queen,” says a trade source. Pairing up with Shah Rukh Khan, who was returning to the big screen after a gap of four years, Deepika caused a flutter in her swimsuit (orange and yellow) and with huge box office numbers. She followed up with Jawaan (once again with SRK) and consolidated it with Kalki 2898 AD (2024).

Post this, two immediate scenarios played out. Deepika became a mother in September 2024 and took a short break from hectic film activity, leaving room for rumours and reclaimers.

Alia Bhatt, a close second to Deepika, who was being toasted because of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) and Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani ki Prem Kahani (2023), projected herself as a ‘sitting’ queen.

Point to note here is that both Gangubai and RRKPK did respectable box office numbers, yet they couldn’t match up to the numbers of a Pathaan, Jawaan or Kalki, either singularly or collectively. And so, Deepika’s shadow, even while she was home nursing Dua, loomed large over the throne.

While this entire Deepika-Alia game of musical chairs was playing out, the music abruptly stopped. Quietly, a rank outsider, Rashmika Mandanna, with her PR in overdrive, tons of self-confidence and four mega-hits, was touted as the Pan-India No 1 heroine. She rightfully occupied the Bollywood throne because she had four of the highest grossers in Hindi cinema, i.e., Pushpa (2021), Animal (2023), Pushpa 2 (2024) and Chhaava (2025).

Alia, who was Hollywood-bound with Heart of Stone (2023), in which she appeared with Hollywood diva Gal Gadot, got stone-hearted ‘mixed’ critic reactions for her foreign outing; her presence was praised, but many felt her screen character in HOS was not up to the mark. And then, the cookie crumbled completely when Jigra (2024), in which she tried a rescue operation, failed. The film itself needed desperate rescuing at the box office.

2025 was the year when Deepika and Alia hit the pause-and-reflect button. Both girls knew they had lost ground because the younger girls—Kiara Advani (War 2 (2025) and Game Changer (2025)) grabbed the lead in Geetu Mohandas’ Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown Ups (slated for a 2026 release), and Triptii Dimri (Animal (2023) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (2024)) got Sandeep Vanga Reddy’s Spirit, both touted as tentpole films. A point to note here is that both of Kiara’s films—War 2 and Game Changer—got her no praise. And Tripti has had three mediocre films like Vicky Vidya ka Woh Wala Video, Dhadak 2 and O’Romeo. However, her spirits are high because she’s bagged Spirit with the charismatic Prabhas and enviable endorsements from lingerie and jewellery brands.

Even as these girls inched closer in the hustings to Deepika and Alia, the prodigal Priyanka Chopra returned to S. S. Rajamouli’s Varanasi, likely to release next year. In other words, with PC’s entry into the Indian cinema fray, destiny had put the cat amongst the pigeons, causing a further scramble for the No 1 Bollywood slot. Once she shed her post-pregnancy weight, the gorgeous DP grabbed the lead in King with Shah Rukh Khan and Raaka with Allu Arjun. Not to be outdone, Alia made a beeline for Alpha with Yash Raj Studios and Love & War with Bhansali.

The release of Alpha has been pushed twice; clearly not a great signal. And Love & War is slated for a January 2027 release. In a scenario where out of sight is out of mind, Alia, a successful entrepreneur, has to currently concede with making news from non-traditional avenues because the gap in her releases has widened.

Rashmika, who tasted failure with the average Thamma (2025) and disastrous Sikandar (2025)—two alarm bells in one year—quietly left the coronation room and celebrated instead with her marriage to Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda on February 26 this year.

And Deepika recently made headlines with the news of her second pregnancy.

So, who will occupy the vacant Bollywood throne? Will these gorgeous girls trip one another to reclaim the No 1 slot? Or is someone younger waiting in the wings. The Jury is still out…