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Zeenat Aman, Rekha, Priyanka: Bollywood's avenging angels!
Even the so-called damsels-in-distress transform into raging Lyssas when badly offended!
On celluloid, every single evil action faces consequences of the dramatic kind.
Be it Amitabh Bachchan in Aakhri Raasta, Sanjeev Kumar in Sholay, Sunny Deol in Ghayal or Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Gangs of Wasseypur, no Bollywood hero misses an opportunity to settle scores with the nasty villain.
And since the very nature of revenge belies subtlety, the upshot is an intense combination of spectacular and thrilling.
Even the so-called damsels-in-distress transform into raging Lyssas when badly offended.
Take the upcoming Hate Story 2, Surveen Chawla, like her predecessor Paoli Dam, engages in all sorts of dangerous, erotic manipulations to get back at her foe.
Like its steamy promos suggest, revenge is a dish that can be served scalding hot too.
We've already asked your opinion on the femme fatales, now here's looking at Bollywood's most noteworthy avenging angels.
Zeenat Aman, Don
A sleek Zeenat Aman sets out to seek vengeance against Amitabh Bachchan in Don, only to fall in love with his lookalike after discovering the not-so-nice original responsible for the murder of her sister and brother-in-law is already dead.
Priyanka Chopra plays the same character with a lot more martial arts know-how in Farhan Akhtar's commercially successful remake.
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Rekha, Khoon Bhari Maang
In Rakesh Roshan's remake of Australian TV drama, Return to Eden, Rekha portrays an unsightly heiress who's duped by her vicious new husband (Kabir Bedi) and tossed into a lake filled with hungry crocodiles.
Terribly disfigured from the ordeal, the lady undergoes plastic surgery, which transforms her into a photogenic beauty facilitating her smooth badla against the vile hubby.
Reena Roy, Nagin
Reena Roy embodies the classic 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' quote with her bitter turn as a snake-woman avenging the murder of her mate (Jeetendra) by going after every single individual responsible for the same.
Despite its over-the-top notes, Nagin's starry line-up and mounting casualty count ensure the Rajkumar Kohli supernatural fantasy is cheesy yet fun.
Kajol, Dushman
Kajol received rave reviews for her performance as a timid young girl who trains herself for physical combat under a blind ex-armyman's guidance to exact revenge from the psychopath responsible for her twin sister's brutal rape and murder.
Directed by Tanuja Chandra, Dushman takes ample inspiration from Sally Fields starrer, An Eye for an Eye.
Sridevi, Army
After her village belle turned outlaw act in Sherni, Sridevi goes on a vengeance spree yet again in Ram Shetty's Army.
This time it's on the husband's (played by Shah Rukh Khan) account.
After he's unceremoniously slain, his furious half sets up an army of unlikely comrades to crush the monster responsible for her loss.
Madhuri Dixit, Anjaam
Considered one of the most violent films of her career, Madhuri Dixit faces a somewhat Sridevi like situation in Anjaam.
Only this time it's Shah Rukh who's responsible for all the unpleasantness.
His obsessive behavior results in the demise of her entire family as well as a hellish time behind the bars.
Obviously, Mads is in no mood to forgive and forget.
As soon as she gets out of prison, she goes on a bloody rampage.
Vidya Balan, Kahaani
One of the most gifted actresses of her generation, Vidya Balan delivered one of her most well received roles in a sly, suspenseful revenge drama.
Pretending to be pregnant through most of Kahaani's duration, it's only in the last few minutes one learns her entire tussle was in retaliation against those responsible for her husband's tragic death.
Raakhee, Karan Arjun
Call her batty or optimistic, Raakhee's hyper-hammy Maa in Karan Arjun is 100 percent convinced her dead sons would return to her in a reincarnated avatar and teach the loathsome Amrish Puri a lesson.
And so Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan pop out just like that to reaffirm their mum's faith and realise her revenge.
Sujata Mehta, Pratighat
One of the most talked about films when it came out, N Chandra's Pratighat is filled with explicit moments of graphic aggression and violence.
Here Sujata Mehta plays a college teacher, who takes on a local goon after he publicly strips her, by chopping his head off with an axe in its dramatic climax.
Urmila Matondkar, Ek Haseena Thi
Sridhar Raghavan's directorial debut showcases Saif Ali Khan playing a remorseless criminal mind who cons gullible young things to advance his shady career.
But Urmila Matondkar's not like every other victim.
A torturous stint in the cell hardens her soul and she escapes to teach the callous cad a lesson straight out of Hollywood's The Bone Collector.
Kareena Kapoor, Talaash
Vindication can come in the afterlife too, insists Kareena Kapoor in Talaash.
In Reema Kagti's soulful police procedural, the actress plays a sex worker who dies in a road accident out of sheer negligence.
How her humiliated soul seeks revenge from every single person responsible for her indifferently treated demise forms the big reveal.
Sadhana, Intequam
A virtuous Sadhana vows revenge out of her cocky employee (Rehman) after she's falsely accused of a theft and thrown in jail.
What does she do?
Join hands with a fellow target (Ashok Kumar) and they scheme of his ruin by laying a love trap around his goodhearted son (Sanjay Khan) and then making their collective lives a living hell till her conscience kicks in hard and loud.