Full of smouldering glares and scathing words, she's armed with more evil than hell can contain.
She can also kill with a kiss and crush with a smile, all in a day's work.
Beware! Buxom babe or cranky crone, the deadly Bollywood vamp comes in all shapes and sizes.
Where the larger-than-life villain hogged the show by hurting the hero or throwing hurdles in his path, the role of his female counterpart has evolved from seductive sidekick to she-devil.
In Ayan Mukerji's superhero extravaganza Brahmastra, Mouni Roy dons a supervillain costume to unleash her diabolic side as Junoon: The Queen of Darkness.
Before her, several actresses left the silver screen shivering with their blatant display of evil.
Sukanya Verma shows us the various varieties of Bollywood vamps over the years.
The Big Bollywood Saas
Lalita Pawar's corrosive mother-in-law is carved in cinematic stone. Not only are her bossy, bullying tactics the stuff of domestic nightmare but would influence the brand of torture future saasu maas would inflict on their docile bahus in a spate of Bollywood melodramas.
Small screen is still making a living out of this vile prototype.
Sex Siren
Back when Hindi cinema didn't know how to handle Helen's hotness, they cast her sexy, seductive aura in a tricky, teasing mould where she'd burst into a scorching dance number, tempt the hero with her come hither looks and almost always side with the baddies.
Gangster's Moll
Sexy secretary-cum-scotch companion, she'll handle all the villain's shady affairs, chitchat in riddles and exude a mysterious air while tiptoeing in slinky, glittery numbers and flamboyant wigs. Remember Sonika Gill's steamy Vivienne in Ram Lakhan?
Gold-digger
Diamonds are her best friends and she'll not blink twice before bumping off the better half. Simi Garewal's hit and run treatment of Raj Kiran in Karz still sends a shiver down our spine.
Femme fatale
Hot and hypnotic is a killer combination and that's exactly what this type aspires to be. Bipasha Basu's enticing ways sure made a murderous puppet out of her beau in Jism.
Shrew hoo!
Haughty, wealthy, snooty and super bratty Nadira has a ball cracking the whip on lesser mortals and making them bend to her whims like the proverbial spoiled princess in Aan.
Troublemaker
Impish mumma's girl making it her life's aim to tattle tale, Shashikala mastered the art of mischief early on in her career. Watch Neel Kamal to see the havoc she wreaks in poor Waheeda Rahman's marital life.
Step Mom
Sauteli Maa, two words that can turn the hero and heroine's world upside down. Reeking of venom and cruelty, she's as terrifying as they come. And Aruna Irani made a meal out of this archetype.
Mean Girls
Ever ready to scoff at our wide-eyed leading lady and demonstrate her hostility over a threatening blade, Bindu's sneering man-eater in Hawas is the A to Z of mean.
Obsessive Possessive Lunatic
Kajol's surprising shift from sweet to slayer in Gupt, wherein she shoves a dagger into anyone who comes in the way of her love, highlighted the female side of paagal pyaar.
B for Bewafaa
When damsel-in-distress turns out to be devil-in-disguise, Aishwarya Rai's shocking betrayal in Khakee showed how loudly the audience gasps after she takes Akshay Kumar's smitten cop for a ride.
Lady Mantrap
Dictated by desire, ambition and libido, this slick diva doesn't handle rejection too well. Once again Akshay Kumar finds out the hard way after he rejects Priyanka Chopra's advances in Aitraaz.
Madam Vixen
Lawless. Check. Heartless. Check. Badass. Check. Beautiful. Check. Kitschy costumes. Check, check, check. Rekha's over-the-top baddie in Madam X single handedly takes on Bollywood's bad boys club.
Black Widow
Cold-blooded to the core, she's evil at its unflinching, remorseless best. If only you could ask her poor dead husband or unsuspecting old neighbour. And Tabu is chillingly effective personifying this kind in Andhadhun.
Power monger
Juhi Chawla breaks the corrupt neta monopoly with her deliciously devious act in and against Gulaab Gang.
Devil Woman
There are chudails and there's Konkona Sen Sharma embodying her in the most literal sense to creepy results in Ek Thi Daayan.
Partner-in-Crime
As vicious as her mate in matters of scheming, plotting and tormenting their preys, Rohini Hattangadi and Anupam Kher's deceitful duo make quite a team in Chaalbaaz.
Good God Godmother
Supriya Pathak's ferocious, severe mafia don in Goliyon Ki Raas Leela: Ram Leela is all for parampara, pratishtha and anushasan of the sinister kind.
Brothel Madam
With a perennial paan in her mouth, gaudy styling and trashy talker ways, the uncouth, heartless kotha-running madams of Bollywood made life hell for many a young woman, sold unwittingly into the flesh trade. Himani Shivpuri's hawk-eyed sex worker in Koyla is one of them.
