Bollywood 2014: Five actors who will grab the big awards

Every year, it’s one of the three Khans – Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir, or all of them, who walk away with the top honours, but this year is the exception. The Khans have been sidelined, and the scales are tipping in favour of Bollywood’s new ‘Queen’ – Kangana Ranaut. She races to the top with her endearing take on the newly-single Rani in ‘Queen’.

Here’s our look at the top 5 performers for 2014.

Kangana Ranaut for ‘Queen’

Kangana is pitch-perfect as the naïve Rani, who outgrows her insecurities and abandons her fears when she embarks on her honeymoon solo. It’s incredible to watch Kangana captures Rani’s evolution from a simpleton, who struggles to drown out the sounds of a trippy rendezvous next door in a Parisian hotel, to a confident woman, who doesn’t shy away from (hurriedly) kissing a pushy Italian hunk to prove “India is the best”. There’s not a moment or expression she miscalculates, turning Rani into a hero unlike no other in Bollywood.

Sharib Hashmi for ‘Filmistaan’

Actor Sharib Hashmi surrenders himself to Sunny, capturing his vulnerability, his obsession and undying resolve to survive with aplomb. There’s not a frame, not an emotion that he misjudges, displaying his immense grip over his craft.

You watch him delightfully slip into Salman for an impromptu act in ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ or scripts his own hostage video unemotionally but flawlessly. You can’t help but laugh at his misery, because even Sunny seems cheerfully oblivious to his inevitable doom, and keeps his fears fairly concealed. It’s not just his performance in front of the camera, Sharib’s even credited with penning the dialogues, lending genuineness  and warmth to our hero.

Tabu for ‘Haider’

Tabu steps in with another evocative performance, and the moments of discord and resolution she shares with Shahid are some of the finest, and most unsettling. She’s remarkable as the demanding Ghazala, who naively “triggers” a bloody domestic scuffle because of her fluctuating heart. It’s when she is unable to contain what she set fire to, you feel her heart breaking.

Naseeruddin Shah for ‘Finding Fanny’ and ‘Dedh Ishqiya’

Absurd yet strangely poetic, Naseeruddin tackles romance like a genius. From playing the squeaky, docile Freddy, who collects his bunch of oddball pals to search for his “only love” Fanny, to the

In Homi’s ‘Finding Fanny’, Naseer outshines as the timid, yet hopelessly romantic Freddy. He’s poetry in motion, and that’s no exaggeration. You watch him articulate so luminously with his eyes, that you can’t help but fall in love with him.

In ‘Dedh Ishqiya’, Naseer is impeccable as the aged conman, who unabashedly wears his heart on his sleeve. His rich baritone voice and expressive eyes lends incredible charisma to Kalujaan’s undying obsession to find true love and go through the seven stages of love. As he tries to revive his old love story by wiping the dust off the old picture frames, you feel for his noble heart.

Finding Fanny 

Dedh Ishqiya

Rajkummar Rao in ‘City Lights’

After teaming up and stunning the audience with a spectacular story in ‘Shahid’, Hansal Mehta and Rajkummar Rao create magic yet again in ‘CityLights’. Rajkummar lends charm and soul to a migrant worker, who uproots his family from Rajasthan and transfers them to the big bustling city of Mumbai, with the hope to wipe away their poverty. He earnestly adopts the young man’s thirst for stability and happiness with aplomb. Whether it’s his diction, mannerisms or dressing, Rajkummar embraces Deepak Singh’s life sincerely.

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