Chirpy, luminous and gorgeous, Shraddha Kapoor has always had what it takes to be a star. An enviable and loyal fan following, an unmistakable charm about her performances and an effervescence that inadvertently encourages you to root for her, no matter how awful the film is. Once heralded a major frontrunner in the race to the top (especially after the thumping success of Aashiqui 2 in 2013), Kapoor floundered when she had a series of epic misfires, especially in the last couple of years, what with all her major releases spectacularly biting the dust one after the other.

Rock On 2, Ok Jaanu and Half Girlfriend did nothing for her dwindling star power and even a highly publicised, biographical Haseena Parkar, which was to bring in the accolades brought nothing but brickbats with particular emphasis being made on her lack of expertise in carrying off such a complex, layered role.

That is until this year’s unexpected, sleeper hit, Stree which released at the fag-end of August, changed her fortunes, more so because it wasn’t backed by a huge publicity machine and neither did it have a megastar top-lining its credits – no offence but her co-star in the film, Rajkummar Rao, a phenomenal actor in his own right, is yet to prove his commercial credibility.

Stree, a horror comedy in fact proved to be one of the most original films to come out of Bollywood this year, and a fair bit of credit for its success belongs to Kapoor and her doe eyed charisma or as Rajeev Masand so eloquently put it:

“Frequently miscast or even misdirected in other films, Shraddha Kapoor blended in nicely as the alluring out-of-towner with an air of mystery around her…”

There’s not much else that Kapoor has in the pipeline except a stray Batti Gul Meter Chalu, which looks lukewarm at best, but the unexpected and welcome success of Stree, is undoubtedly going to set the ball rolling for her – and it’s all about making the right choices from here on!

FACTS:

Age: 31
Net worth: $8.4 Million
Notable performances: Aashiqui 2, Stree, Haider, Ek Villain
Awards: N/A
Frequently paired with: Aditya Roy Kapur, Shahid Kapoor
Upcoming films: Batti Gul Meter Chalu (Shahid Kapoor)