The hottest village belles of Bollywood

Image: Sonakshi Sinha

With her first film Dabangg, Sonakshi Sinha brought the rustic appeal of village belles back on screen with her character Rajjo with much success.

Looks like the young actress has taken a shine to the countryside as photographs from her upcoming film Joker have indicated that she may be playing a village girl yet again.

The quintessential gaon ki gori has been Bollywood's pin up girl for as long as we can remember and several actresses have sizzled on screen as village-dwelling young spirited girls who remain etched in our memory.

So let's revisit the countryside and have a peak at the hottest village belles of Bollywood.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Guru

Image: A still from Guru

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan fit the bill for the role of Sujata -- a fiesty young girl from a small Gujarat village in Mani Ratam's Guru.

As a young girl, she frolicks in the first rain of the year, flitting through her picturesque village and transforms into a resilient wife to an ambitious entrepreneur husband.

Bipasha Basu in Omkara

Image: Bipasha Basu

Bipasha made Bidi Jalaeele an anthem as the sultry village dancer Billo in Vishal Bhardwaj's Omkara, his desi take on Othello.

Lara Dutta in Billu

Image: Lara Dutta

Lara Dutta, plays the doting wife to Irrfan Khan's naive barber husband. While dressed like a rural housewife in cotton saris and subtle hues, Lara still manages to retain her glamorous appeal.

Deepika Padukone in Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

Image: Deepika Padukone

Deepika plays freedom fighter Kalpana Datta in Ashutosh Gowarikar's Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.

Dressed in crisp cotton saris, Deepika looks quite the idealistic and brave woman she portrays in the film.

Priyanka Chopra in What's Your Rashee

Image: Priyanka Chopra

One of the 12 characters that Priyanka plays in the film is that of a 15-year old village girl Jhankhna.

Nervous and aloof, Jhankhna meets Yogesh Patel (Harman Baweja) for a prospective matrimonial alliance.

Amrita Rao in Welcome To Sajjanpur

Image: Amrita Rao

The petite Amrita Rao plays Kamla Kumharan in Shyam Benegal's film. Kamla lives with her mother-in-law in their native village while her husband is in the 'city' to earn a decent living.

The naive and demure village lass is faithful to her husband but is also drawn to Mahadev (Shreyas Talpade).

Ayesha Takia in Dor

Image: Ayesha Takia

In Nagesh Kukunoor's Dor, Ayesha Takia features in one of her best roles, a kind-hearted Rajasthani girl Meera.

Dressed in the regional attire and jewels, Ayesha pulls off the look and gives a career best performance.

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