The property is said to be worth ` 10 crore — an enormous sum for a girl who started out with modest means. Deepika Padukone has bought a plush four-bedroom apartment in a 33-storey tower in South Mumbai's Prabhadevi for Rs 16 crores.

On the occasion, she told a daily, "I run my own life, live on my own, make my own money. My parents support me in everything I do.

But I am responsible for my home and the life that I have chosen for myself. At my age, my mother was married and she had me.

" Financially Independent Owning property is the ultimate symbol of independence and economic freedom for a woman, especially in patriarchal India. Deepika's father — famous badminton player Prakash Padukone — takes care of her finances, but they decide on the investments together.

Anushka and Deepika aren't the only ones. In fact, they are representatives of the young, modern Indian woman, who is empowered, emancipated and not afraid to flaunt it.

"I'm extremely ambitious; I have this fire in my belly to do bigger and better things. I want to be at a point in my life where the best films, with the best directors and banners, are being offered to me," Anushka was quoted as saying.

They epitomise Independent Women, the modern anthem that propelled female musical trio Destiny's Child to fame. The lyrics go: "The shoe on my feet, I've bought it, The clothes I'm wearing, I've bought it, The rock I'm rockin', I've bought it, 'Cause I depend on me.

If I wanted the watch you're wearin', I'll buy it, The house I live in, I've bought it, The car I'm driving, I've bought it, I depend on me." Relationship no bar Young Bollywood is redefining independence and freedom — it's not just about holding down a job, being well-paid or well-educated anymore.

In fact, these women don't feel the need to be defined by their relationship status — single, dating, married, or otherwise. "Girls are seen not in terms of their relationship status but as individuals, confident in their own skin," Deepika was quoted as saying.

Marriage isn't top priority on Kareena Kapoor's list of things to do this year. Recently, the Heroine actress postponed her wedding to Saif Ali Khan for the second time, to an unscheduled date that won't come any time in 2012.

And why not? The actress is at her career's peak right now. She has signed multiple big banner films and isn't ready to make way for her rivals yet.

Rumour has it that director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's biting remark that "no married heroine" can be his Juliet, had Kareena concerned that marriage would affect the quality of her film offers. Even if there is presently no man in the picture, these are women who aren't afraid to shine, women who make it their mission to sparkle.

After nine years of being in a very public relationship and an even more publicised break-up with John Abraham , Bipasha Basu doesn't have much to complain about. She's looking younger and better than ever, working hard, and making friends in the industry who were previously out of bounds.

"I believe that if one relationship doesn't work out then that is not the end of the world. You have to move on.

Like how I am celebrating being single this season. If you find your eternal love or soul mate, then you are happily in love.

Else you celebrate being yourself," she said in an interview. In fact, the actress confessed she's not even looking for a relationship.

"My focus now is only work and the people I've ignored for the last nine years — my friends and family. If a man has to enter my life, he has to come in quietly and fit into my life.

I will not go out of my way to accommodate him. I am not going to change.

" Making it on their own Bipasha also leads the pack in an increasing number of A-listers who've made it on their own terms in the nepotism-ridden Hindi film industry — without a godfather or insider friends. Anushka, Deepika, Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut are only a few who come to mind.

Kangana hails from a small town in Himachal Pradesh where "there is no art, no theatre or music, not even a traditional dance that we can call our own". She was blissfully unaware of culture and glamour until the first time she went to Chandigarh.

Not only did she choose her own career — something unheard of for a girl in her community — she asked her parents for a year's time to figure things out. She left home with a mere ` 10,000 in her pocket, thanks to her supportive grandfather, and came to Mumbai.

"I lived in a girls' hostel as it was the cheapest option. Then it was typically like how it happens in movies," she said in an interview, leaving us to read between the lines.

Since her debut in Gangster (2006), she has transformed herself into a style icon to reckon with. Alternate Careers Not content to bask in the glory of the red carpet, Kangana is keen to venture into fashion design and start her own clothing line.

When she's not shooting, she is hard at work researching her passion. She even flew to London for a two-month course at a big-name fashion school.

Diversifying into fields beyond films is another characteristic of young Bollywood, and of today's young women who don't want to put all their eggs in one basket. They've seen the folly of depending on an acting career that the generation of actresses before them have made.

Unfair though it is, an actress has a short shelf life. Within a decade of her peak, she is either relegated to playing the hero's mother or a television reality show judge.

Young Bollywood knows this. So, three women famed for their enviable bodies — Bipasha Basu, Shilpa Shetty and Lara Dutta — are raking in the moolah with fitness and yoga videos.

And Priyanka Chopra is on the brink of launching her second career as a singer. The trained western classical singer was signed by a major music label last year.

Piggy Chops has written and recorded 10 songs for an international pop album that is rumoured to feature a duet with popstar Katy Perry . "A long-cherished dream is now taking flight and I am so very excited!" she had tweeted when the deal was signed.

Priyanka also gently introduced her cousin Parineeti Chopra into Bollywood. Parineeti got her break with Ladies vs Ricky Bahl and Ishaqzaade, and went on to bag practically every Best Female Debut award this year.

Priyanka's support and encouragement speak volumes of her confidence and self-assurance. Another fabulous A-lister, Katrina Kaif , is set to pave the way for her younger sister Isabelle.

The 23-year-old younger Kaif has just finished an acting course at New York's Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, and is planning to come to Mumbai. Katrina has even sought her Hindi pronunciation trainer, Vidur Chaturvedi, to train Isabelle.

All we can say to this breed of women is —onward ho! (less)