The year proved to be absolutely dismissal for the film industry. Business wise it was at its worst phase! Films had flopped badly at the box-office. It was going through a crisis that one had never experienced or seen in the last 100 years. When films that predominantly emphasized on male themes sank without a trace, could woman oriented themes stand a chance? Forget films centering on female characters, there were very few roles an actress could proudly associate herself with. In fact you could easily count them on your fingers... Aishwarya Rai in Devdas and Bipasha Basu in Raaz. Tabu, Preity Zinta and Raveena Tandon made headlines more off screen rather than on screen. So here are the newsmakers of 2002.

Aishwarya Rai
The one actress who drew laurels for her performance in Devdas was Aishwarya Rai. In fact at the Cannes Film Festival in France the foreign media went berserk reporting about this most beautiful Indian lady even though Devdas was predominantly a male oriented theme. Most leading newspapers and films tabloids there featured Aishwarya Rai on the cover making her to be the most talked about Indian actress internationally. It was one of those phases where the hero had to play second fiddle in real life. The film festival opened new avenues for Ash. She was approached to play lead in Hollywood films. "Expect news sometime in mid 2003," she said. But back home she made headlines once again for all the wrong reasons. Ex-boyfriend Salman Khan disrupted the shooting of Shahrukh produced Aziz Mirza directed film that had Ash in the lead. Khan’s act made Rai pay a heavy price. She was shown the door. Adding insult to injury was when "good friend" Rani Mukherjee was roped in her place. The news created havoc amongst the press and thus began a series of articles confessing betrayals and denials. Aishwarya Rai admitted about having split up with Salman Khan year and a half ago. She also admitted of Khan having physically abused her "but without leaving any marks." The year however seems to have ended on a positive note for Rai what with she bagging plum Hollywood offers including Partition with Toby Mcguire, a UTV film with Val Kilmer and Gurinder Chadda’s Bride and Prejudice with Phoenix. So as of now Aishwarya Rai has a lot to look forward to in 2003!

Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit was an exception always! When it came to her the rules did bend. Sterling performances in Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam and Devdas proved that if she bid adieu permanently to the silver screen, the screen would not remain silver anymore. Thankfully Dixit is here to stay. Guess the actress has been compelled to take a long break what with motherhood on its way. The year also marked Madhuri Dixit debut on television. The matchmaking reality show Kahin Na Kahin Koi Hai failed to live up to the hype it had generated turning out to be one of the worst shows of the year.

Bipasha Basu
Her performance in her debut film Ajanabee was too good for a newcomer. She wanted to prove that her acting skills were not a fluke. Bipasha Basu just needed that one solid hit! And yes her wish was finally fulfilled. Vikram Bhatt’s Raaz starring Bipasha and flop actor Dino Morea created history of sorts, as it happened to be the first hit of 2002. With her stunning looks and acting skills to match Bipasha Basu is certainly here to stay.

Preity Zinta
Kundan Shah’s Dil Hai Tumhara failed to create the Kya Kehna magic but Preity succeeded in scoring a perfect 10 for her unabashed performance of a lonely stepdaughter who makes desperate attempts to win over her stepmother, played by Rekha. She even puts her love at the altar when she learns about her stepsister’s, played by Mahima Chaudhary affection for the same man. When it came to her personal life strangely it was love that was heavily discussed in the media. Some even reported how Zinta had got secret married to a colleague. And that colleague happened to be none other than Aamir Khan. Preity Zinta denied it outright when confronted about it. I think this is stretching it too far,’ she said. She also confessed that she was going steady with someone "but he has nothing to do with the film industry," she maintained. But one wonders if this clarification holds weight. With Aamir Khan’s divorce coming through and openly discussed in the media, the rumours of his liaison with the actress have resurfaced adding only fuel to fire.

Raveena Tandon
The year marked actress Raveena Tandon’s foray into production. She launched two films - Pehchan with Vinod Khanna and Rati Agnihotri and Stumped with newcomers whose highlight would be the presence of cricketers praising our soldiers who are waging a war on the border so that we can continue to live the way we do. The film draws a parallel between cricket and war. Raveena plays a wife eagerly awaiting her husbands return who is fighting the kargil war while her family is busy glued to the television engrossed in watching a cricket match. It is one of those subjects that is different that Raveena has dared to delve into. Looks like the coming year will see Raveena in absolutely different roles unlike the ones she played this year in films like Waah Tera Kya Kehna.