Sushmita Sen, Raveena Tandon, Kajol and Madhuri Dixit are as compelling on streamers as they were on the big screen

Long before the term ‘OG’ was invented, actors like Sushmita Sen, Raveena Tandon, Kajol, Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla had established their dominance in 90’s cinema with their onscreen charisma and off screen mystique. Even today, their performances on OTT streamers continue to rivet legions of fans and we explore just why they will always be inimitable and immensely watchable.

Sushmita Sen in ‘Taali’:

Full marks to creators Arjun and Kartk for choosing a powerhouse like Sushmita Sen to bring transgender activist Shree Gauri Sawant’s story to life. Just the motion poster and the line ‘Main taali bajaati nahin..bajwati hoon,” was enough to give goosebumps to the audience and the series itself showcases perfectly not just the struggles and triumphs of Shree Gauri Sawant’s journey but Sushmita’s gravitas as a person and her range as an actor. The former Miss Universe is unrecognisable as a firebrand activist and a single mother who against all odds, carves a unique life for herself and her child. Sushmita had also won much acclaim for her web debut in 2020 with Disney+ Hotstar’s crime thriller ‘Aarya’. ‘Taali’ is streaming on JioCinema.

Kajol in ‘The Trial’:

Be it Renuka Shahane’s ‘Tribhanga,’ where Kajol played a child-abuse survivor with believable anguish or ‘Lust Stories- 2,’ where she played a domestic abuse victim, Kajol is always just the actor a role needs. She can be powerful or understated and never fails to deliver a line convincingly. Even at 17, as a debutante in Rahul Rawail’s directorial ‘Bekhudi’, she was magnetic whether she was shedding tears or raging against a forced marriage. In Disney+ Hotstar’s ‘The Trial’, a remake of the American show ‘The Good Wife’, she convincingly steps into the shoes of Julianna Margulies to play a cheated wife who resumes her legal career to take care of her family. The iconic Simran of the 90s is now playing Noyonika Sengupta on the small screen, without missing a single beat.

Madhuri Dixit in ‘The Fame Game’:

It won’t be wrong to say that Madhuri Dixit is the last of the female superstars who sparkled bright even in average films like ‘Beta,’ ‘Raja’, ‘Thanedaar’ and ‘Anjaam’ and made an entire generation groove to songs like ‘Ek Do Teen’, ‘Dhak Dhak,’ ‘Tamma Tamma’ and ‘Humko Aaj Kal Hai Intezaar.’ She also displayed her histrionic range in films like ‘Mrityudand’ and ‘Gulaab Gang’ and established her superstardom with blockbusters like ‘Tezaab,’ ‘Dil’, ‘Khalnayak’, ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’ and ‘Saajan.’ When she debuted on Netflix with ‘The Fame Game’, a twisted tale about toxic family ties and stardom, she once again showed how effortlessly brilliant she is whether she is on the big or the small screen.

Raveena Tandon in ‘Aryanrak’:

She may never have given as many hits as her peers Karisma Kapoor or Kajol but she made a mark right from her debut film ‘Patthar Ke Phool’, showed her class as an actor in Kalpana Lajmi’s ‘Daman’ and showed off her ability to shine in easy breezy roles in films like ‘Mohra’, ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ and many more. She also became a fan favorite for featuring in some of the most iconic songs of the 90s. After a long hiatus, she debuted on Netflix with a crime thriller ‘Aryanrak’ where she played a cop torn between her work and her family responsibilities. And fans are hoping they will see a lot more of her in long format stories as well as films.

Juhi Chawla in ‘Hush Hush’:

This former Miss India became India’s sweetheart with her radiant smile and innocence in hits like ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak,’ ‘Darr’, ‘Bol Radha Bol,’ ‘Ishq’, ‘Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke’, ‘Lootere,’ ‘Pratibandh’ and many more. Her rise was consistent and even though her 1986 film ‘Sultanat’ was a damp squib, she is today remembered as one of the finest and most versatile actors of all time. Her fans have missed her and her work in the recent web show ‘Hush Hush’ (on Prime Video) is a perfect example of why good actors like her should never stop working.