2013 had a host of great performances from actors and actresses who surprised us and/ or continued to reinvent themselves.
Here are the 15 best performances of 2013:
15. Varun Sharma in Fukrey
Chucha is the character of the year. Varun Sharma's effortless comic timing and his memorable exchanges with Richa Chaddha made us laugh our hearts out. We would definitely get you a Campa Cola, chucha!
14. Pankaj Kapur in Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola
Pankaj Kapur is an exciting actor to watch on screen. It's hard not to love this eccentric drunkard, pancho pancho!
13. Konkona Sen Sharma in Ek Thi Daayan
Konkona Sen Sharma literally scared the living daylights out of us. Ek Thi Daayan should have been a better film just for Konkona's creepy performance.
12. Rishi Kapoor in D-Day and Aurangzeb
Rishi Kapoor is one of our most diverse actors. After his sinister turn in Agneepath, we had not one but two powerhouse performances from him this year.
11. Supriya Pathak in Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-leela
Supriya Pathak's verbal blows knocked us off our seats.
10. Dhanush in Raanjhanaa
Even those who didn't like this film agree that Dhanush was extremely charming and endlessly likeable.
9. Sushant Singh Rajput in Kai Po Che
Shah Rukh Khan debunked the myth that television actors cannot make it in films. It's been two decades since someone came to prove it. Sushant Singh Rajput made the best debut of the year.
8. Nimrat Kaur in The Lunchbox
Watching Nimrat Kaur's face was one of 2013's most beautiful cinematic pleasures.
7. Shilpa Shukla in B.A. Pass
The most overlooked and underrated performance of 2013.
6. Ranveer Singh in Lootera and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela
Ranveer Singh showed his versatility by playing the silent heart-stealer in Lootera and the exuberant casanova in Ram-leela.
5. Irrfan Khan in The Lunchbox and D-Day
Irrfan Khan is one of India's finest actors. In The Lunchbox, he made us care for a man who didn't want to be cared for. In D-Day, he gave the film its emotional core. Take a bow, Mr. Khan.
4. Deepika Padukone in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela and Chennai Express
Deepika Padukone reigned all over 2013. It was her riveting performance in Ram-leela that captured our attention the most. Stereotyping aside, who deny the fact that Miss Padukone stole the limelight from SRK in Chennai Express with her hilarious turn!
3. Raj Kumar in Shahid and Kai Po Che
If his performance in Kai Po Che did not catch enough eyeballs (since they were busy for Sushant Singh), Raj Kumar (a.k.a Rajkumar Yadav a.k.a. Rajkummar Rao) gave a performance in Shahid that put him on the map.
2. Sonakshi Sinha in Lootera
The golden girl of commercial cinema acted in a film that did not make much money at the box office. No, she actually "acted" and boy, did she silence all the critics with her layered performance! You can see a mature and talented actress here who needs to do more films where she gets to really do what she came here to do.
1. Farhan Akhtar in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Farhan Akhtar gave the best performance of 2013. Rarely do we see actors in Bollywood put in their blood and sweat to emobody real-life characters. Akhtar's performance is visceral and endearing, one for the ages.
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