Irrfan Khan is a bona fide star now. Similarly Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been hailed as a great talent and something of a thinking woman's crumpet. For years now, Manoj Bajpayee has garnered plaudits for his acting chops. Actors such as Rajkumar Rao and Radhika Apte, with their recent mainstream success have also caught the public imagination. However, there are many actors that languish in obscurity still, some who don’t have the recognition or the roles they deserve and other underrated Bollywood actors whose names we don’t even know!
His first notable performance was his portrayal of Kallu Mama in Satya – remember 'goli maar bheje mein'? However, he has showed his métier in many films in funny and solemn roles, but for me his most memorable roles were in both the Jolly LLB films.
He has never really played the lead and for much of the time he has squandered his formidable talent in brain dead, so called comedies. However, he has shown us the versatility he is capable of numerous times; playing roles of gravitas with as much élan as comedy and even romance. The Munnabhai films, 3 Idiots, Khosla ka Ghosla, Well Done Abba, Ferrari ki Sawari, would have been incomplete without him.
She maybe of royal lineage in real life, but she isn’t part of Bollywood royalty. Having made her debut for Tamil cinema, she started doing Hindi only in 2007. She brings a great deal of vulnerability to her roles; most memorably her roles in Rockstar and recently Padmaavat.
This is another talent that is largely overlooked in the tomfoolery of the roles he usually does. However, the way he stole the show with his roles in Munnabhai and Ishqiya films as well as his role in Jolly LLB spoke of talent and great versatility.
Her roles are usually edgy, her films offbeat, but she always makes an impact. Whether it’s her foulmouthed avatar in Gangs of Wasseypur, frivolous avatar in Fukrey or her brilliant portrayal of Devi Pathak in the path-breaking Masaan.
He can be funny & delightful and serious & full of pathos. We’d like to see more of the kind of roles he did in Vicky Donor and Saat Khoon Maaf.
Whether he played the upright but romantic army officer in Kahaan or does a bromance with Saif Ali Khan in Bullet Raja or most recently plays a vindictive gangster in Mukkebaaz, or does just a cameo, he does full justice to his roles. He is riveting and extremely believable. Those who call him the B film SRK do him a serious injustice.
She is currently known more for her off-screen letter writing and activist roles but she is a very talented actor as well. She has acclaimed films such as Nil Battey Sannata and Anaarkali of Aarah to her credit as well as mainstream film roles.
Though he is popular on the TV screen, he caught the public fancy with his earnest role in Lootera. His best performance by far was his heart-wrenchingly vulnerable portrayal of Shutu in A Death in the Gunj.
He made brief appearances in movies before but I found him arresting as the slick, suave but hateful and terrifying human trafficker in Mardaani. His quiet menace was chilling. I would like to see him and these other underrated Bollywood actors do roles that do justice to their potential.
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