It is high time to turn our eyes to the awards season in the year to come. Which actress will win the most accolades in the upcoming awards season? As per the current scenario, it seems that the best actress category has five front-runners including Kalki Koechlin, Kangana Ranaut, Tabu, Richa Chadda and Deepika Padukone. 

Here are 7 actresses whose names will be seen everywhere across awards season, ranked in order of likelihood of winning.

7. Bhumi Pednekar, “Dum Laga Ke Haisha”

I mean we can’t just forget this endearing performance of the year delivered by a refreshingly confident newcomer Bhumi Pednekar. She sucks you into a world of her own. Pednekar steals the show with her gutsy portrayal. She has already won the ‘Best Actress’ title at the Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2015.

6. Anushka Sharma, “Bombay Velvet”

Many will disagree, but I am adamant that Anushka Sharma has topped her own best in “Bombay Velvet.” It was shockingly depressing to see Sharma expressing her grief through her eyes. Sharma’s eyes were the most expressive element of the film, sometimes expressing the joy of love and sometimes the sorrow.

5. Deepika Padukone, “Piku”

In an ensemble so great, Deepika Padukone plays a connecting role that joins the dots to make the movie look more meaningful. Padukone is a gem, who not only adds weight to the proceedings but also simmers the narrative with considerable about of sensitivity. She is bound to be one of the top-performers this year.

4. Richa Chadda, “Masaan”

Richa Chadda is superb in “Masaan.” She is a complete revelation in this ballsy role. In one of the initial sequences, the way Chadda terms her act of deviance as ‘curbing sexual curiosity’ with confidence in front of the police officer is worth lauding. Her eyes have so much to say to the audience. She registers an inimitable screen presence leaving all and sundry spellbound.

Kudos!

3. Tabu, “Drishyam”

Yet again, Tabu has surprised everyone with her emotionally stirring portrayal of IG Meera Deshmukh in “Drishyam.” It is surprising that how I was unable to put my eyes off her, while watching this edge-of-the-seat thriller. Her monologue describing Ajay’s entire plan serves as the centrepiece sequence of this movie. Tabu, indeed, has a natural tendency to radiate emotions through her eyes – even when she was quite her eyes conveyed a lot in the final act.

2. Kangna Ranaut, “Tanu Weds Manu Returns”

Kangana Ranaut definitely knows how to turn the tables around. After Queen, Ranaut has given yet another befitting performance of her career. While watching ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’, it is almost difficult to believe that the roles of Datto and Tanu are played by Ranaut alone.

While Ranaut shines in the role of Tanu, but it is Datto’s winning performance that will add a lot of trophies in her awards gallery.

1. Kalki Koechlin, “Margarita, with a Straw”

I have no words to chronicle the grief that I was filled with after watching “Margarita, with a Straw.” Kalki Koechlin brought a sense of originality to the role of Laila, a wheelchair bound girl with cerebral palsy. Her emotions were so fluid that you could almost flow with them - you smiled with her, you cried with her. It is also worth mentioning that Koechlin has won ‘Best Actress’ award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2014.

Wild-card spots (unreleased movies): Deepika Padukone for “Tamasha” and “Bajirao Mastani”, Priyanka Chopra for “Bajirao Mastani”, Shweta Tripathi for “Haraamkhor”and Kajol for “Dilwale.”