The correct number would be closer to 4,500.There must be as many or more women out there, who deserve to be in here. But since we are celebrating our 45th anniversary this year, we sifted through the young and upwardly mobile to find 45 women, who are making their presence felt on the fast track.

Mind our words, we know how to spot talent. We have done it for 45 years. And today, most of the ones who have stood the test of time, from a Shobhaa De to a Poonam Sinha (nee Chandiramani) to a Madhuri Dixit and a Sushmita Sen will vouch for the fact that they were celebrated by Femina much before they became full-fledged celebs in their own right.

We've scanned various disciplines and scoured the length and breath of the country to shortlist 45 fine young women who will burn bright in the coming years. Whose grit, determination and inner strength, combined with their vision, will shape their destinies and that of their universe too.
More power to them!

Yamini Reddy
Emerging as: A naturally talented Kuchipudi dancer, the next generation from the Reddy 'gharana'.

Lineage: Daughter of Raja and Radha Reddy, virtual institutions in Kuchipudi. But while there are many who shy away from what their parents excel in, Yamini took to it because, "Dance was part of my life, my growing up. I'd come from school and eat my lunch in the practice room and see what they were doing. When I took to it, I never realised I was dancing. To me, it was as natural as eating, drinking...."

Why we think she's special: Young Yamini has drawn applause at major dance festivals including the Parampara National Festival of Music and Dance, 2003, Delhi, and the Elephanta Festival at Pune. She has extensively toured abroad, performing in the UK, Europe, the USA and Dubai. Recently awarded the 'Yuva Ratna Award' for the performing arts, Yamini is also the proud recipient of the Key to the City from the Mayor of Dublin and Fort Lauderdale.

Miles to go: "Art is something that you can never master, you'll have to keep learning, keep practising. I would like to be one of the top dancers and carry my parents' teaching forward."

Ujjwala Raut
Profession: Supermodel, much sought after by international couture and cosmetics houses. Just graced the cover of 'Time' magazine.

In 1996, Femina unleashed the then 17-year-old Ujjwala on an unsuspecting world as the Femina Look of the Year winner. Since then, she has regularly notched up one success after another.

Why we think she's hot: Ujjwala has walked the ramp for names like Emmanuel Ungaro, Roberto Cavalli, John Galliano, Angelo Tarazzi, Paco Rabanne, Veronique Leroy, Chanel, Claude Montana, Hugo Boss, Bally, Michael Kors, Victoria's Secret and was selected the face of YSL cosmetics last year.

Winning attitude: "It's not easy to survive there, but it isn't impossible."

Konkona Sen-Sharma
Family tree: Daughter of filmstar-director Aparna Sen and writer-editor Mukul Sharma. Grandpa is well-known film critic and filmmaker Chidananda Dasgupta.

Profession: Acting
Why Konkona is a hot bargain: She picked up a national award for her very third film, 'Mr & Mrs Iyer'. For this, mommy sent her off to South India to learn the way the Iyer women live their lives, their English accent and the Tamil tongue. The hard toil paid off, though she admits, she was the most scolded person on the set.

Present project: 'Page 3', almost near completion
Life so far: Childhood was spent mainly at school or travelling with mommy to film festivals, reading or hanging around on film sets and being thrown in to act in a scene because the child artiste didn't show up...