What a year this has been for Bollywood! Like every year, there were some films that did stupendous business, while others failed to ignite any interest from the audience. However, there were enough and more actors who made the most of this year. From comebacks to celebrations, here’s who made 2023 count for themselves:
Shah Rukh Khan – Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki
If there is anyone who deserves to be on this list, it is the superstar who has entertained the audience for more than three decades. The past few years had not been very kind to the Badshah of Bollywood. Now only did his last few films including Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017) and Zero (2018) perform miserably at the Box Office, he went through a crisis in his personal life as well with his son Aryan Khan being arrested (and subsequently released) in 2021 in an alleged drugs case. The year 2023 turned out to be a gamechanger for the Khan who finally tasted success once again with Pathaan and then Jawan later this year, although Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki did not do as well as expected. But for all those who had written the superstar off, 2023 proved that the magic is still working.
Kareena Kapoor Khan – Jaane Jaan and The Buckingham Murders
It is almost sad that Kareena Kapoor Khan is most remembered for her portrayal of the air-headed Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) and the exuberant Geet in Jab We Met (2007). If one looks at her filmography, one can see that the mainstream actress has tried to carve her own niche by playing memorable roles in films such as Chameli, Dev, Omkara, Talaash: The Answer Lies Within and Udta Punjab. However, the actress who made her debut in 2000 with Refugee has often been slotted as a glamorous mainstream heroine. In 2023’s Jaane Jaan directed by Sujoy Ghosh, KKK has made the audience sit up and take notice of her acting chops. Her debut in the OTT space, Khan played a mother who takes extreme measures to protect her daughter from her abusive husband. Although not yet released in India, her portrayal of a grieving British-Indian detective in Hansal Mehta’s The Buckingham Murders has received her rave reviews at the 67th BFI London Film Festival this year.
Dharmendra – Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani
If Ranveer Singh was the pulse of Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, Dharmendra was the beating heart. The octogenarian who surprised everyone with an on-screen kiss with his reel-life counterpart Shabana Azmi in the film, was dignified and charming in his romantic avatar. The veteran actor has only done a handful of films in the last few years owing to his age and health, but 2023 proved to be a special year with much appreciation coming his way for playing the head of the Randhawa family in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. Dharmendra was also seen as Sheikh Salim Chisti in the web series Taj: Divided by Blood.
Wamiqa Gabbi – Jubilee, Modern Love Chennai and Khufiya
There was a time a few years ago when Wamiqa Gabbi had thought of quitting showbiz. Although she had acted in a few Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu movies, creative satisfaction seemed far away. In 2019, after auditioning for Vishal Bhardwaj’s Midnight Children (which ultimately did not get made), she started working on her craft which seems to be paying off brilliantly. Just this year, Gabbi was seen as the aspiring actor Niloufer in the web series Jubilee, a mature woman in love in Modern Love Chennai and a housewife-turned-spy in Khufiya. The 30-year-old has certainly made the most of this year. In the new year, she has an exciting line-up including Jawan director Atlee’s VD18 with Varun Dhawan.
Sharmila Tagore – Gulmohar
Thirteen years ago, Sharmila Tagore starred in the film Break Be Baad after which she took a hiatus from showbiz. When she did come back after an actual break, the accomplished actress made the most of her role in the beautifully-directed tale of a dysfunctional family. As the matriarch of the Batra family in Gulmohar, Tagore who has more than six decades of experience working in Hindi and Bengali films, played a homosexual character for the first time in her career. It was a role that received her much love and appreciation. The actress, as recently revealed in Koffee with Karan, was also the first choice for the role played by Shabana Azmi in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani but could not do so owing to ill-health, else she could have added another feather to her well-feathered cap.
Sunny Deol – Gadar 2
Twenty years after Gadar: Ek Prem Katha broke records at the Box Office and became one of the highest grossing films in Indian cinema’s history, Sunny Deol reprised his role as Tara Singh in this year’s Gadar 2. The Anil Sharma directorial about the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 went on to become the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of all time and Deol, whose career had been on a bit of a downslide in the past few years, delivered his biggest hit till date.
Vijay Varma: Kaalkoot, Dahaad, Lust Stories 2 and Jaane Jaan
Ever since Vijay Varma made a place in audience’s hearts with his sensitive portrayal of the street-smart Moeen in 2019’s Gully Boy, the actor has been consistently delivering memorable performances in films such as Bamfaad (2020) and Darlings (2022), and shows such as Mirzapur (2020) and OK Computer (2021). This year, however, the actor went one step further and played both a notorious serial killer with a penchant for killing women in the web show Dahaad and a sincere cop on the hunt for a killer in the series Kaalkoot. Both performances, with diametrically opposite characters, were performed with a finesse that only a talented actor like Varma could do justice to. In addition, he also had Lust Stories 2 and the film Jaane Jaan where he was appreciated as well.
Bobby Deol – Animal
Bobby Deol might have made people sit up and take notice of his comeback with 2020’s Class of 83 and web series Aashram (2020), but the man has made the comeback of comebacks with his role as a mute psychopath in this year blockbuster Animal. The Sandeep Reddy Vanga-directorial has elicited mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike, but the one thing everyone seems to agree upon is Deol’s brief but menacing performance as the antagonist Abrar Haque, turning him into a pop-cultural phenomenon with memes referring to him as ‘Lord Bobby Deol’.
Manoj Bajpayee – Gulmohar, Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and Joram
What a brilliant year this three-times National Award-winner has had! From his sensitive turn as an adopted son in the dysfunctional family drama Gulmohar to his powerful performance as a lawyer fighting for justice in Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and ending the year with a stellar role of a man on the run in the survival drama Joram, Bajpayee has delivered and how! If ever there was a reason to celebrate Bajpayee as one of the best actors of our times, it is this.
Sushmita Sen – Taali and Aarya 3
There is not one single false note in Sushmita Sen’s portrayal of a fierce and fearless mafia queen in the Ram Madhwani-directed series Aarya 3. Ever since her comeback to the world of acting with Aarya in 2020, the former Miss Universe has only gone from strength to strength in the three seasons of the crime show. However, it was her memorable performance as a transgender activist in the web series Taali that truly made this a special year for the actress. Nuanced and authentic, Sen was a delight to watch in the series based on the life of transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant.
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