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Performances that gave us sleepless nights and dreamy days in 2015
The year saw some amazing performances from actors of different hues. While stars like Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan pushed their boundaries to get a hang of the character, actors like Irrfan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui walked into the mainstream space nonchalantly. It was also a year when the space for female actors grew further. No wonder that they acquired four spots in our list of 10 memorable performances of the year. The list is in alphabetical order.
Akshay Kumar as Ajay in Baby
Akshay Kumar once again showed when it comes to cold-blooded action, nobody can touch him. As the leader of the counter-intelligence unit, he kicked his way into our hearts and minds.
Actor's take: "I didn't want to come in the way of the realism of the film. The character is almost cold blooded and we haven't delved into his emotional side because then the romantic track comes in the way and it interrupts the gripping story. As for the moral angle, the film stands against freelance radicals who have no nationality or understanding of the religion."
Amitabh Bachchan as Bhaskor Chatterjee in Piku
Who would have thought the angry young man will play a constipated old man one day? Four decades after Babu Moshai , Amitabh Bachchan returned to play a Bengali with such conviction that young found a reflection of their parents in him and the old drew lessons from the mirror image. We didn't find any tentative notes in the performance but director Shoojit Sircar says he had to enact a couple of scenes himself to convince the megastar. "My theatre background helped," he chuckles.
Actor's take: "All the cues were there in the script but my worry was what will I do in front of Deepika or Irrfan? We forced Shoojit to make sure we spend some days on the sets, just rehearsing. So we used to come, rehearse our scenes and pack up. So later, we could finish the scene in no time."
Bhumi Pednekar as Sandhya in Dum Laga Ke Haisha
It was a well-rounded performance in more ways than one as debutante Bhumi Pednekar brought grace and poise to a plus-size woman, who is seldom considered fit for a plum role in a Hindi film. Her weight was one of the obstacles in the narrative but Bhumi's performance ensured that we tide over the surface and embrace the inner beauty. And the biggest compliment came from her co-star, Ayushmann Khurana. "After watching the film my father said your character comes out nicely because Bhumi plays her part well."
Actor's take: "I started as an assistant to casting director Shanoo Sharma. When I was helping an aspirant for the role to rehearse, Shanoo saw something in me and asked me to audition for the role of Sandhya. After going through many rounds of audition, I was chosen. I had to put on 15 kilos."
Irrfan Khan as Umber Singh in Qissa
Irrfan Khan has had an almost perfect year with captivating performances in Talvar , Piku and emerged unscathed from the over the top Jazbaa as well but the character that he carved without props and throwaway lines was Umber Singh. His pain as the brooding patriarch carrying the poison of Partition, his desperation to shape a son out of his daughter will rankle for a long time to come.
Actor's take: " There are certain roles where when you connect with them it is not a very pleasant space. As a person you would want to go away from them but then you are an actor so even if you don't enjoy that space still you want to do it. You want to explore that character for yourself and share it with the audience. Sometimes there are characters which you want to be forever. Umber Singh was not one of them definitely because I didn't want to be in that space for such a long time. That's why I took one and a half years to say yes."
Kalki Koechlin as Laila in Margarita With A Straw
Kalki humanised a differently-abled character like never before. She showed us that Laila is as normal as you and me when it comes to emotions like insecurity, jealousy and sexual urge.
Actor's take: Describing Laila as c halu, Kalki says, she practised every day for one or two hours so that the tongue movements seep into her muscle memory.
Kangana Ranaut as Kusum in Tanu Weds Manu Returns
Kangana Ranaut made us swoon over the swagger of a straight talking Haryanvi girl in one of the best portrayals of double role in Hindi cinema. From the dialect to the body language, Kangana got it pitch perfect. It was no Sita aur Gita as there was very little that separates Tanu and Kusum. Both don't like to sit on the backseat but each sees life from a different perspective. Director Aanand Rai says Kangana fluctuates between being childish and rebellious and she brought this quality to the characters.
Actor's take: "I have a spiritual relationship with my characters. That's how I was able to delineate Tanu from Datto."
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Dashrath Manjhi in Manjhi
Nawazuddin Siddiqui had an eventful year. From the chameleonic Laiq in Badlapur to the endearing Chand Nawab in Bajrangi Bhaijaan , he underlined his range. But it was as Dashrath Manjhi that he hammered his way into our conscience. He turned a rather one dimensional character into a charismatic one through his artistic rigour.
Actor's take: " I changed the characterisation once I reached Gehlour. I thought the place will be populated by poor, subdued people. But there everybody's tone was like ka hai re bhaiya' . From that tone emerged: J ab tak todega nahin, chhodega nahin . I realised I have to raise the pitch to make it sound authentic."
Ranveer Singh as Peshwa Bajirao in Bajirao Mastani
For a modern day actor, it is always a challenge to justify a historical character but Ranveer Singh came up with a sparkling performance as Peshwa Bajirao-I, blending the warrior and romantic side of the Maratha icon. Inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Ranveer didn't let the set and costumes overshadow the core of the character.
Actor's take: "During the first narration itself, I could hear the baritone and the Marathi lilt in Hindi dialogues. I knew the kind of work out I am going to do to achieve the physicality of the character. Images keep popping in my head. To me Bajirao is more of an alpha warrior than a romantic."
Ranvir Shorey as Vikram in Titli
As the face of patriarchy, Ranvir Shorey left us dumfounded with a performance that makes you hate and empathise with the character at the same time. Director Kanu Behl says, "Ranvir is an intelligent man but Vikram is a kind of person who survives on a daily basis. He doesn't see the bigger picture. Ranvir is not that kind of person. So what we did was we never told him how he is faring. He wanted to know and this curiosity of grappling with the unknown reflects in his performance."
Actor's take: "I told myself that Vikram has inherited traits from his father and the quiet Pradeep (played by Amit Sial) has genes from his mother."
Richa Chadda as Devi in Masaan
Richa Chadda rendered one of the most internalised performances of the recent times as the modern-day Banaras girl who is on the verge on of losing the value of her name in the neighbourhood because of her corporeal curiosity. Does she care? Not quite.
Actor's take: "Devi is troubled, she is sad but there is no guilt in her about what she has done. Sex is an integral part of life and is as normal as defecation. There is nothing wrong in having a sexual urge after a certain age. If our mainstream cinema hasn't been dealing with it for so many years it doesn't mean that is doesn't exist."
Almost there:
Deepika Padukone in Piku
Sanjay Mishra in Masaan
Shabana Azmi in Jazbaa
Shefali Shah in Dil Dhadkne Do
Vinay Pathak in Gour Hari Dastaan
The year saw some amazing performances from actors of different hues. While stars like Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan pushed their boundaries to get a hang of the character, actors like Irrfan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui walked into the mainstream space nonchalantly. It was also a year when the space for female actors grew further. No wonder that they acquired four spots in our list of 10 memorable performances of the year. The list is in alphabetical order.
Akshay Kumar as Ajay in Baby
Akshay Kumar once again showed when it comes to cold-blooded action, nobody can touch him. As the leader of the counter-intelligence unit, he kicked his way into our hearts and minds.
Actor's take: "I didn't want to come in the way of the realism of the film. The character is almost cold blooded and we haven't delved into his emotional side because then the romantic track comes in the way and it interrupts the gripping story. As for the moral angle, the film stands against freelance radicals who have no nationality or understanding of the religion."
Amitabh Bachchan as Bhaskor Chatterjee in Piku
Who would have thought the angry young man will play a constipated old man one day? Four decades after Babu Moshai , Amitabh Bachchan returned to play a Bengali with such conviction that young found a reflection of their parents in him and the old drew lessons from the mirror image. We didn't find any tentative notes in the performance but director Shoojit Sircar says he had to enact a couple of scenes himself to convince the megastar. "My theatre background helped," he chuckles.
Actor's take: "All the cues were there in the script but my worry was what will I do in front of Deepika or Irrfan? We forced Shoojit to make sure we spend some days on the sets, just rehearsing. So we used to come, rehearse our scenes and pack up. So later, we could finish the scene in no time."
Bhumi Pednekar as Sandhya in Dum Laga Ke Haisha
It was a well-rounded performance in more ways than one as debutante Bhumi Pednekar brought grace and poise to a plus-size woman, who is seldom considered fit for a plum role in a Hindi film. Her weight was one of the obstacles in the narrative but Bhumi's performance ensured that we tide over the surface and embrace the inner beauty. And the biggest compliment came from her co-star, Ayushmann Khurana. "After watching the film my father said your character comes out nicely because Bhumi plays her part well."
Actor's take: "I started as an assistant to casting director Shanoo Sharma. When I was helping an aspirant for the role to rehearse, Shanoo saw something in me and asked me to audition for the role of Sandhya. After going through many rounds of audition, I was chosen. I had to put on 15 kilos."
Irrfan Khan as Umber Singh in Qissa
Irrfan Khan has had an almost perfect year with captivating performances in Talvar , Piku and emerged unscathed from the over the top Jazbaa as well but the character that he carved without props and throwaway lines was Umber Singh. His pain as the brooding patriarch carrying the poison of Partition, his desperation to shape a son out of his daughter will rankle for a long time to come.
Actor's take: " There are certain roles where when you connect with them it is not a very pleasant space. As a person you would want to go away from them but then you are an actor so even if you don't enjoy that space still you want to do it. You want to explore that character for yourself and share it with the audience. Sometimes there are characters which you want to be forever. Umber Singh was not one of them definitely because I didn't want to be in that space for such a long time. That's why I took one and a half years to say yes."
Kalki Koechlin as Laila in Margarita With A Straw
Kalki humanised a differently-abled character like never before. She showed us that Laila is as normal as you and me when it comes to emotions like insecurity, jealousy and sexual urge.
Actor's take: Describing Laila as c halu, Kalki says, she practised every day for one or two hours so that the tongue movements seep into her muscle memory.
Kangana Ranaut as Kusum in Tanu Weds Manu Returns
Kangana Ranaut made us swoon over the swagger of a straight talking Haryanvi girl in one of the best portrayals of double role in Hindi cinema. From the dialect to the body language, Kangana got it pitch perfect. It was no Sita aur Gita as there was very little that separates Tanu and Kusum. Both don't like to sit on the backseat but each sees life from a different perspective. Director Aanand Rai says Kangana fluctuates between being childish and rebellious and she brought this quality to the characters.
Actor's take: "I have a spiritual relationship with my characters. That's how I was able to delineate Tanu from Datto."
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Dashrath Manjhi in Manjhi
Nawazuddin Siddiqui had an eventful year. From the chameleonic Laiq in Badlapur to the endearing Chand Nawab in Bajrangi Bhaijaan , he underlined his range. But it was as Dashrath Manjhi that he hammered his way into our conscience. He turned a rather one dimensional character into a charismatic one through his artistic rigour.
Actor's take: " I changed the characterisation once I reached Gehlour. I thought the place will be populated by poor, subdued people. But there everybody's tone was like ka hai re bhaiya' . From that tone emerged: J ab tak todega nahin, chhodega nahin . I realised I have to raise the pitch to make it sound authentic."
Ranveer Singh as Peshwa Bajirao in Bajirao Mastani
For a modern day actor, it is always a challenge to justify a historical character but Ranveer Singh came up with a sparkling performance as Peshwa Bajirao-I, blending the warrior and romantic side of the Maratha icon. Inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Ranveer didn't let the set and costumes overshadow the core of the character.
Actor's take: "During the first narration itself, I could hear the baritone and the Marathi lilt in Hindi dialogues. I knew the kind of work out I am going to do to achieve the physicality of the character. Images keep popping in my head. To me Bajirao is more of an alpha warrior than a romantic."
Ranvir Shorey as Vikram in Titli
As the face of patriarchy, Ranvir Shorey left us dumfounded with a performance that makes you hate and empathise with the character at the same time. Director Kanu Behl says, "Ranvir is an intelligent man but Vikram is a kind of person who survives on a daily basis. He doesn't see the bigger picture. Ranvir is not that kind of person. So what we did was we never told him how he is faring. He wanted to know and this curiosity of grappling with the unknown reflects in his performance."
Actor's take: "I told myself that Vikram has inherited traits from his father and the quiet Pradeep (played by Amit Sial) has genes from his mother."
Richa Chadda as Devi in Masaan
Richa Chadda rendered one of the most internalised performances of the recent times as the modern-day Banaras girl who is on the verge on of losing the value of her name in the neighbourhood because of her corporeal curiosity. Does she care? Not quite.
Actor's take: "Devi is troubled, she is sad but there is no guilt in her about what she has done. Sex is an integral part of life and is as normal as defecation. There is nothing wrong in having a sexual urge after a certain age. If our mainstream cinema hasn't been dealing with it for so many years it doesn't mean that is doesn't exist."
Almost there:
Deepika Padukone in Piku
Sanjay Mishra in Masaan
Shabana Azmi in Jazbaa
Shefali Shah in Dil Dhadkne Do
Vinay Pathak in Gour Hari Dastaan
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