Bollywood Actresses In Horror Films: Shraddha Kapoor’s ‘Stree’, Anushka Sharma’s ‘Pari’ & More

Written By: Entertainment Desk

Nov 02, 2026 14:53 IST ⓘ

Bollywood leading ladies who embraced scares and supernatural stories.

A romantic close-up is one thing. Holding the audience’s attention while something sinister lurks just outside the frame is quite another. Over the years, some of Hindi cinema’s most recognisable leading ladies have traded familiar glamour for haunted homes, unsettling transformations and characters whose intentions are anything but reassuring. Sometimes they are fighting the darkness. Sometimes they are the reason everyone else should run. Kangana Ranaut’s next project brings that relationship with horror back into focus. At HorrorCon India in New Delhi on October 31, Rana Daggubati announced ‘Scary Picture’, a Hindi horror film starring Kangana and directed by Ravi Babu.

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Kangana subsequently reposted a video of the announcement. Its release date, supporting cast and plot have not been disclosed.

While we wait to discover what that title is hiding, here are 15 actresses who embraced horror, psychological scares or supernatural comedy – including Hindi film stars whose Tamil and Telugu outings took them into equally unsettling territory.

1. Kangana Ranaut - Raaz: The Mystery Continues And Chandramukhi 2

Kangana had already discovered that a glamorous career offers little protection from supernatural trouble in ‘Raaz: The Mystery Continues’. Directed by Mohit Suri and released on January 23, 2009, it cast her as Nandita, a model whose life begins to mirror an artist’s disturbing visions. Emraan Hashmi plays the painter, while Adhyayan Suman plays her boyfriend; Jackie Shroff also features. Nandita’s increasingly frightening experiences make her the vulnerable centre of a mystery involving predictions, secrets and a persistent presence.

In P. Vasu’s Tamil horror-comedy ‘Chandramukhi 2’, released on September 28, 2023, Kangana instead became the titular court dancer whose tragic history drives a present-day haunting. Raghava Lawrence, Lakshmi Menon, Vadivelu and Radikaa Sarathkumar co-star. Elaborate costumes and classical dance give the role its spectacle, but the character’s anger supplies the danger. ‘Scary Picture’ will therefore be a return to familiar, if distinctly uncomfortable, ground.

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2. Shraddha Kapoor - Stree And Stree 2

Shraddha made mystery her strongest accessory in ‘Stree’. Released on August 31, 2018, Amar Kaushik’s horror-comedy follows Chanderi’s residents as a female spirit abducts men during an annual festival. Alongside Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana, Shraddha plays an unnamed visitor whose appearances leave both Vicky and the audience asking questions. Her calmness is particularly effective in a town where almost everybody else is panicking.

Amar Kaushik’s ‘Stree 2’, released on August 15, 2024, brings the ensemble back to confront Sarkata, a headless entity targeting women. It also establishes Shraddha’s character as Stree’s daughter, giving the earlier film’s evasiveness a clearer purpose. Crucially, she is not simply playing the ghost named in the title: her character has her own connection to Chanderi’s supernatural history.

3. Bipasha Basu - Raaz And Alone

Few actresses have returned to horror as consistently as Bipasha. In Vikram Bhatt’s ‘Raaz’, released on February 1, 2002, she plays Sanjana, who travels to Ooty with her husband Aditya to repair their troubled marriage. Unfortunately, their retreat comes with a spirit connected to his past. Dino Morea, Malini Sharma and Ashutosh Rana co-star. Sanjana must piece together the truth while discovering that the person beside her has not told her everything. Romantic reconciliation rarely comes with so many ominous interruptions.

Bhushan Patel’s ‘Alone’, released on January 16, 2015, gave Bipasha a different challenge: playing conjoined twins Anjana and Sanjana. Karan Singh Grover co-stars in a story about a surviving sister haunted by the sibling who died after their separation. Bipasha described filming the dual performance with a body double, making the physical construction of the roles as demanding as their emotional conflict.

4. Anushka Sharma - Pari

The title sounds reassuring. The film emphatically is not. Released on March 2, 2018, Prosit Roy’s ‘Pari’ stars Anushka as Rukhsana, an isolated young woman whose encounter with a sympathetic man draws him into a terrifying history. Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Rajat Kapoor, Ritabhari Chakraborty and Dibyendu Bhattacharya complete the principal ensemble. Rukhsana is frightening, but her loneliness and need for affection keep the performance from becoming merely a parade of sinister expressions.

Anushka also backed the film as a producer. Discussing its intentions later, she emphasised the contrast between human cruelty and the humanity a supposedly demonic being might possess. That tension is what makes her role distinctive: the film asks viewers to fear Rukhsana while also questioning whether the people pursuing her are any less monstrous.

5. Vidya Balan - Bhool Bhulaiyaa And Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

Vidya’s Avni initially seems like the curious newcomer in Priyadarshan’s ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’, released on October 12, 2007. Then the locked rooms, Manjulika’s legend and Avni’s startling changes in behaviour turn curiosity into dread. Akshay Kumar, Shiney Ahuja, Ameesha Patel and Paresh Rawal co-star in the story of a couple returning to an ancestral home. An important distinction: the film ultimately gives Avni’s condition a psychological explanation rather than confirming straightforward ghostly possession.

Vidya returned to the franchise in Anees Bazmee’s ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’, released on November 1, 2024, alongside Kartik Aaryan, Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri. She plays Mallika, a different character – not Avni returning for another chapter. The film builds another mystery around Manjulika, with Vidya and Madhuri’s dance confrontation adding a suitably theatrical layer to the scares.

6. Tabu - Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

A haunted mansion, an apparently imprisoned spirit and a family with secrets: ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ has plenty to keep its visitors occupied. Yet Tabu’s dual performance as Anjulika and Manjulika gives the film its most consequential emotional turns. Released on May 20, 2022, Anees Bazmee’s horror-comedy also stars Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani, Rajpal Yadav and Amar Upadhyay.

The story follows Ruhaan, who enters Reet’s family home and acquires a reputation as Rooh Baba while becoming entangled in its supernatural troubles. Tabu shifts between reassurance and menace, ensuring that the family’s history matters as much as the next apparition. The comedy keeps the household busy; her performance gives viewers a reason to look more closely at the people living in it.

7. Kajol - Maa

Kajol’s ‘Maa’ places a mother’s determination inside a mythological horror story. Directed by Vishal Furia and released on June 27, 2025, it stars Kajol as Ambika, whose visit to her husband’s ancestral village draws her daughter into a terrifying legacy. Ronit Roy, Indraneil Sengupta and Kherin Sharma play key roles as disappearances and an ancient evil threaten the family.

Ambika’s defining quality is her refusal to surrender her child to forces she barely understands. That gives Kajol a role built around fear turning into action, rather than helplessness alone. The village’s ominous atmosphere and the family’s concealed past supply the mystery, but the film’s central confrontation is personal: a mother discovering how far she will go when her daughter is in danger.

8. Nushrratt Bharuccha - Chhorii And Chhorii 2

A secluded house surrounded by sugarcane fields becomes a trap for Nushrratt’s pregnant Sakshi in ‘Chhorii’. Directed by Vishal Furia, the film premiered on Prime Video on November 26, 2021, with Mita Vashisht, Saurabh Goyal and Rajesh Jais in the cast. Its apparitions lead towards a disturbing story about the treatment of women and girls, making Sakshi’s fight to protect her unborn child the emotional centre of the horror.

Vishal Furia’s ‘Chhorii 2’, which arrived on Prime Video on April 11, 2025, returns to Sakshi seven years later, when her daughter is taken by a sinister cult. Soha Ali Khan joins as Daasi, with Gashmeer Mahajani and Saurabh Goyal also featuring. Nushrratt’s character has survived one nightmare, but motherhood brings another battle against people who turn oppressive beliefs into instruments of terror.

9. Triptii Dimri - Bulbbul

Before her later mainstream success, Triptii delivered an unsettling central performance in ‘Bulbbul’. Written and directed by Anvita Dutt, the period horror film premiered on Netflix on June 24, 2020. Avinash Tiwary, Rahul Bose, Paoli Dam and Parambrata Chattopadhyay co-star in a story about a former child bride presiding over a wealthy household as mysterious deaths spread fear through the surrounding village.

Triptii’s transformation from youthful innocence to an enigmatic adult gives the film its emotional continuity. Her composure invites questions: what has happened to this woman, and what does she know about the terror outside? Produced by Anushka Sharma and Karnesh Ssharma, ‘Bulbbul’ uses its supernatural framework to examine violence and power. The striking red imagery catches the eye; the pain beneath the character’s serenity makes it linger.

10. Konkona Sen Sharma - Ek Thi Daayan

Konkona does not need to announce danger at full volume. In ‘Ek Thi Daayan’, her Diana enters a young boy’s world with a composure that becomes increasingly unnerving. Kannan Iyer’s film, released on April 19, 2013, also stars Emraan Hashmi, Huma Qureshi and Kalki Koechlin. Its story follows magician Bobo, whose childhood memories return to disturb his adult life and pull him towards a mystery involving witchcraft.

The role lets Konkona make apparently ordinary interactions feel deeply suspicious. Rather than relying only on a transformed appearance, she creates unease through the possibility that Diana knows far more than she should. There is also a personal connection behind the casting: the film grew from a short story written by Konkona’s father, Mukul Sharma. An unusually unsettling family contribution to movie night.

11. Urmila Matondkar - Bhoot

Not every haunting needs a crumbling ancestral mansion. Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Bhoot’, released on May 30, 2003, puts Urmila’s Swati and her husband Vishal, played by Ajay Devgn, in a Mumbai apartment with a deeply troubling history. Nana Patekar, Rekha, Fardeen Khan, Tanuja and Seema Biswas form the supporting ensemble as Swati begins experiencing events her husband cannot easily explain.

Urmila makes the character’s growing distress the film’s principal source of tension. A familiar domestic space gradually stops feeling safe, and her behaviour forces the people around her to reconsider what they believe is happening. It is a demanding horror performance because the change has to register in the body, expression and atmosphere - not simply through somebody insisting that the house is haunted.

12. Katrina Kaif - Phone Bhoot

Katrina’s Ragini brings a business proposal from beyond the grave. In Gurmmeet Singh’s ‘Phone Bhoot’, released on November 4, 2022, she recruits two unemployed horror enthusiasts, Major and Gullu, played by Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ishaan Khatter, into a ghost-catching venture. Their partnership comes with a condition: the pair must eventually help her with a dangerous personal mission. Jackie Shroff plays the sinister Aatmaram, with Sheeba Chaddha also featuring.

This is the lighter end of the supernatural spectrum, giving Katrina room to play a ghost who is organised, persuasive and considerably more capable than her living collaborators. Ragini is not waiting around for somebody to solve her problems. She has identified her team, worked out the pitch and arrived with unfinished business. The afterlife apparently rewards initiative.

13. Sonakshi Sinha - Kakuda

Marriage brings Sonakshi’s Indira an unexpected responsibility in ‘Kakuda’: finding a way to save her husband from a village curse. Aditya Sarpotdar directs Sonakshi, Saqib Saleem and Riteish Deshmukh in a horror-comedy set in Ratodi, where residents must obey a peculiar door-opening ritual. When Sunny falls foul of it, Indira seeks help from ghost hunter Victor. Her scepticism has to contend with a threat that the village takes very seriously.

Advertised for July 12, 2024, the film actually began streaming on ZEE5 on July 11, a day early. Sonakshi’s role places her between frightened locals, an endangered husband and an eccentric expert, giving her plenty to react to beyond the ghost itself. In this marriage, settling into the household includes investigating why everyone is so particular about the smaller door.

14. Tamannaah Bhatia - Aranmanai 4 And Odela 2

Tamannaah’s Selvi is a mother whose fate drives the mystery in Sundar C’s Tamil horror-comedy ‘Aranmanai 4’. Released on May 3, 2024, it also stars Sundar C, Raashii Khanna, Santhosh Prathap and Yogi Babu. A brother’s investigation into his sister’s death uncovers a supernatural threat to her family. Tamannaah said she drew on her own mother while portraying Selvi’s protective instincts – a useful reminder that even a spectacle-heavy haunting needs an emotional foundation.

She took a more overtly spiritual role in Ashok Teja’s Telugu supernatural thriller ‘Odela 2’, released on April 17, 2025. As Shivashakthi, a sadhvi confronting demonic forces threatening a town, she leads a cast including Hebah Patel and Vasishta N. Simha. Across the two films, Tamannaah moves between maternal protection and an active confrontation with evil.

15. Nayanthara - Maya

Nayanthara’s Tamil horror film ‘Maya’ gives its heroine a proposition that sounds manageable from the safety of daylight: watch a scary film alone and win money. Released on September 17, 2015, writer-director Ashwin Saravanan’s debut stars her as Apsara, a struggling actor and single mother. Aari Arjunan, Amzath Khan and Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli also feature as the narrative connects her circumstances with a disturbing story involving an asylum.

Apsara accepts the screening challenge because she needs the money, which gives her decision a more persuasive basis than the usual horror-film habit of investigating suspicious noises. As the boundary between the film she is watching and her own experience becomes uncertain, Nayanthara’s vulnerability anchors the elaborate mystery. Watching alone suddenly seems like a considerably less attractive way to earn a living.

Honourable Mentions: More Leading Ladies Who Brought The Chills

Long before today’s horror franchises, Sridevi made the supernatural spectacular as Rajni in Harmesh Malhotra’s ‘Nagina’ (1986), combining romance, fierce determination and an unforgettable confrontation with Amrish Puri’s snake charmer. It belongs to supernatural fantasy rather than conventional horror, but her transformation remains essential viewing. Revathi brought a more intimate terror to Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Raat’ (1992), playing Mini, whose family’s move into a new home leads to disturbing incidents and possession. Shabana Azmi, meanwhile, became the stuff of childhood nightmares as the supposed witch in Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Makdee’ (2002), confronting Shweta Basu Prasad’s resourceful young heroine. Among newer outings, Kriti Sanon’s Dr Anika added mystery to Amar Kaushik’s ‘Bhediya’ (2022), opposite Varun Dhawan, giving her a character with considerably more going on than her profession initially suggests. Madhuri Dixit embraced horror-comedy as the enigmatic Mandira in Anees Bazmee’s ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ (2024), sharing its elaborate mystery – and a memorable dance confrontation – with Vidya Balan. Soha Ali Khan took a distinctly darker route as Daasi Ma in Vishal Furia’s ‘Chhorii 2’ (2025), turning an imposing appearance and chilling conviction into a formidable threat to Nushrratt Bharuccha’s Sakshi. Sometimes, the most startling transformation comes from the actor you least expected to fear.