A personal list of the greatest performances
Name: Shashank Sahai
Email: shashanksahai [at] gmail [dot] com
City/Country: Tallahassee, FL, US
A personal list of the greatest performances
What better way to jump on the PFC bandwagon than by unleashing yet another list of favorites! Ah, creating a list – that holiest and laziest of the film fanatic’s occupations! Of course it can be anything from listing bad hair days of actors to nominating the worst screen mothers of all time. The topic of my list is fairly uncomplicated though – performances that made my day (, month and year). Hope (am sure actually) everyone has something to say on it. After all, as Ranvijay Singh from Haasil would say, ” Kaahe na karein comment be? Cinema kisi ke baap ki jageer hai kya?” N-joy!
10. Om Puri as Sub-Inspector Anant Velankar
Ardh Satya (1983) Dir: Govind Nihalani
Though several of Om Puri’s breakthrough roles came courtesy of Shyam Benegal, it was Govind Nihalani who gave him his most definitive one – of the cop who would not sell. Sub-inspector Velankar was not averse per se to letting the system absorb him into its web of sycophancy and corruption – after all he was just a common man with common aspirations. It was just that his temper would not let him give in, serving in a way as an outlet to his inner conscience. Om imbibed his performance with a searing intensity that’s all his, setting the benchmark to which all actors playing variations on this role have since been, and will continue to be, measured.
9. Kamal Haasan as Somu
Sadma (1983) Dir: Balu Mahendra
Picture the last scene of the movie: The girl is cured of her amnesia and no longer remembers any of the moments she spent with the guy. She has boarded the train and is seated at the window, prepared to go away from his life forever. The guy, trying desperately to rekindle her memory, starts to run with the moving train and pulls off a chain of desperate antics to help remind her of the memorable times they had once shared. In that one sweeping sequence Kamal Haasan rewrote the accepted norms of hindi film acting, lifting it to a level untouched, and indeed, even unattempted, previously. Hopelessness, despair, Chaplinesque sentimentality and pathos, all expressed in one swoop of raw physical acting, before he slams into the pole. That one scene is enough to earn Kamal a place in this list.
8. Dilip Kumar as Ganga
Ganga Jumna (1961) Dir: Nitin Bose
The most famous role of Dilip Kumar’s career was also his most unusual one – a simple villager forced to become an outlaw after being wrongly framed by the zamindar. Kumar turned his tragic hero persona upside down to play the flamboyant Ganga who encourages his little brother to study to become a police officer, only to have to face him as a dacoit later, in a struggle only one can survive. Kumar perfected the Avadhi dialect for the part, and pitched in a masterful performance that became the reference point for such later day classics as Deewar and Shakti. Dilip Kumar shockingly lost the Filmfare Best Actor award that year to Raj Kapoor for Jis Des Mein Ganga Behti Hai, where oddly enough, Kapoor played a man who convinces dacoits to surrender.
7. Dev Anand as Raju
Guide (1965) Dir: Vijay Anand
Dev Anand’s is a curious case. Never one of the supremely talented actors, he normally stuck to his charismatic boy-next-door turn, often throwing in a hint of the rougish, but never, with the possible exception of Kala Pani, really caring to try and explore depth in his characters. That is, until he chose to play Raju guide. Raju loved Rosy, he couldn’t help it if he also loved money, and he certainly didn’t mind using one to get the other. Dev played him magnificently, daubing the character with just the right shades of grey. But what made the role and the movie one of the period-defining masterpieces of hindi cinema was the enormous depth with which Dev portrayed Raju in later parts of the movie – his eventual disenchantment with wealth, subsequently even with Rosy, and his final spiritual transformation after sainthood is mistakenly thrust upon him.
6. Amitabh Bachchan as Debraj Sahai
Black (2005) Dir: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
At the twilight of a career made out of repeatedly passing off the image as the character and letting Salim-Javed do the rest ( Saudagar and Main Azaad Hoon being notable exceptions), Amitabh Bachchan finally dared to explore the very limits of his abilities and showed us all why he is who he is. Bachchan seems to be having such a blast playing the determined but obnoxious alcoholic teacher, that at times he almost forgets it’s just a movie. Almost every scene he is part of is played out like an opera, with deafening crescendos of unbridled joy giving way in a split second to moments of insurmountable sadness. And like a man possessed, Bachchan runs the entire gamut of emotions to create an unforgettable character.
5. Pankaj Kapoor as Dr. Dipankar Roy
Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1991) Dir: Tapan Sinha
In a situation not unlike one faced by Pyaasa’s Vijay, albeit in a different milieu, Pankaj Kapoor portrays a young doctor facing social ostracization and professional jealousy after he discovers a vaccine for leprosy after years of hard work that almost cost him his personal life. The humiliation and the growing sense of despair Dr. Roy is subjected to while battling one level of strangling bereaucracy after another builds up to a heart-wrenching climax where two American doctors are given all the credit for his achievements. After years of inconsequential parts that failed to channel even a fraction of his immense talent, Kapoor finally gave the performance of his career in a harrowing role.
4. Sanjeev Kumar as Hari Charan Mathur
Koshish (1972) Dir: Gulzar
In a decade of movies they did together, Sanjeev Kumar has played in turn Jaya Bhaduri’s friend, lover, husband, father, father-in-law, uncle. With such shared enthusiasm for constant experimentation in role playing, it is not at all surprising then that their individual finest performances came in the same movie. Sanjeev and Jaya play a deaf-mute couple in this touching tale of everyday heroism. Sanjeev captures the essence of his role the way no one else can, playing Hari (incidently his real name) as a gentle everyman who knows that he must never lose hope of a better life for his family in spite of his disability. Sanjeev uses just the depths of his eyes to convey every possible emotion, and brings to life a man who symbolises survival against all odds.
3. Ashok Kumar as Shivnath
Aashirwad (1968) Dir: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
In this poignant tale of a wrongfully accused prisoner who harbours one last wish of blessing his daughter on her wedding day, and who is susequently forced into dilemma on finding about her innate contempt for criminals, Ashok Kumar delivers a master class in dramatic acting. Whether it’s the scene where Shivnath sees his grown up daughter for the first time, or where he overhears his daughter’s dislike for wrongdoers that he fears will extend to him too if she finds out his identity, or the epic finale where he undertakes the journey home, physically and metaphysically – Kumar shows the full range of his thespian skills in creating a character almost as enormously tragic as King Lear.
2. Naseeruddin Shah as Anirudh Parmar
Sparsh (1980) Dir: Sai Paranjpe
Long before Al Pacino made the dignified blind man’s role his own, Naseer had already mastered the part in this gem of a movie from Sai Paranjpe. Every aspect of the blind school principal’s personality, as Naseer played him, was astonishingly real, from eye movements right down to the gait. And after he had perfected the physical details, Naseer went on to impart a quite dignity to the stubbornly idealistic and socially inept Anirudh that, much to the chagrin of those around him, also frequently resulted in rendering him emotionally opaque. The resulting performance is perhaps the finest example ever of method acting in hindi cinema.
1. Dilip Kumar as Devdas Mukherjee
Devdas (1955) Dir: Bimal Roy
To watch Devdas is to read a textbook on acting. Period. Over and above Sarat Chandra’s fascinating characterization and Bimal Roy’s expert direction, it was Dilip Kumar who added a new dimension to Devdas’ personality – he brought thehrav to it. So much so that his Devdas actually reflects and muses on his tragedies long after incurring them, bringing an almost unbearable sense of existential angst to the character. And it’s not only his character’s inner struggles that Kumar introduced his unique brand of serenity to. The way he delivers dialogues, with such quaint tranquility, the way he gazes wistfully at Paro when she visits him, it’s almost as if he is deriving some strange pleasure from sadness. Which is what the character was all about – masochistic romanticism. The notion of actors becoming characters may be an old cliché, but for once, here, Dilip Kumar is Devdas.
Tags: Acting
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
great list!!!
:-?
Quite a refined list but i would like to add some more performances to it (not exactly in order) :
- Naseeruddin Shah in Masoom (Dir : Shekhar Kapur)
- Nana Patekar in Parinda (Dir : Vinod Chopra)
- Pankaj Kapur in Maqbool (Dir : Vishal Bharadwaj)
and what abt Manoj Bajpai in Satya?
Quite a varied list put out there. Though I would disagree with the inclusion of Debraj Sahai in this list. And comparisons with Saudagar & Mai Azaad Hoon? Way off the mark. These were two of his most underplayed performances and among his best. The one in Black was ham. Not that I’m against over the top performances. I loved him in Namak Halaal, Sharaabi and many other over the top performances. But Black?
Some other notables that deserved to be here as much as the ones that are here…
Balraj Sahni in Garam Hawa
Om Puri in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron
Naseeruddin Shah in Junoon
Amitabh Bachchan in Lawaaris (I’m ready for all brickbats on this one but I consider this his best performance. The character was so complex and so were his relationships with the other characters. And he switched from one hue to another without losing the basic flavour of the character.)
Amjad Khan in Sholay
Dilipsaab in Shakti
And why only male performances? Why not bring out a similar top 10 list of female performances? Some givens would be
Nargis in Mother India
Jaya Bachchan in Khamoshi
Smita Patil in Arth/Bhumika/Ankur
Suchitra Sen in Aandhi
Rekha in Umrao Jaan
Excellent list.An interesting selection of characters.My top 10 would be
1)Hrithik Roshan in Lakshya
2)Ajay Devgan in Zakhm
3)Saif Ali Khan in Omkara,Being Cyrus
4)Amitabh Bachchan in Trishul,Zanjeer and Parwana
5)Dharmendra in Satyakam
6)Amjad Khan in Sholay
7)Abhishek Bachchan in Yuva,Guru
8)Nasseruddin Shah in Masoom,Katha and Monsoon Wedding
9)Farooque Sheikh in Katha,Bazaar
10)Nana Patekar in Prahaar,Parinda and Khamoshi.
Among the women,The best performance i’ve seen by any actress is Seema Biswas in Bandit Queen.A close second would be Shabana Azmi in Arth and Masoom.
for me
amitabh bachchan in deewar has to be the best…
other notable ones
amjad khan in sholay
naseer in masoom
rajesh khanna in anand
aamir khan in rangeela
dharmendra in naya zamana
ajay devgan in company
amitabh in kala paththar
the female ones
jaya bhaduri in koshish, mili, guddi, abhimaan
tabu in maqbool, chandni bar
aishwarya in raincoat
konkana in 15,park avenue, Mr and Mrs Iyer
and many more…………….
Shashank, awesome compilation and welcome to PFC.
Agree with all your choices except the one that you placed first. As the most popular saying in cinema goes, something does not appeal great cos you have seen better.
Devdas is a character that has been perceived differently by almost all who have attempted it. Problem is how far you stretch the character. The range and scope to perform there is immense and Mr. Dilip Kumar is nowhere to the character.
I am not an expert in cinema beyond my time. My time of watching Hindi cinema starts from around 98-99. Except for Devdas, I haven’t watched a single DK film but in the character of Devdas, i have seen better. And what singularly breaks that performance are what you pointed out – the long muses. Devdas as i read it or understand is beyond the muses, beyond the histrionics. Devdas is a multitude of emotion that is in the present, not in the past. His understanding of the situation comes from beyond the time of the present moment, reflecting as a long understanding of the current happening, not as a mere muse of the past long gone.
Its that emotion that I have failed to see in that performance. I have read somewhere that he himself acknowledged it. Is that acceptance pointed out as the greatness of the man? Not in my world of cinema but that one performance particularly was faulty.
Again, personal opinion.
My favorites but the one ones not covered in the above post and comments (the ones I can thin of right now)
-Balraj Sahni in Do Beegha Zameen (Simply one of the finest) and Garam Hawa
-Guru dutt in Pyasa
-Kishore Kumar in Half Ticket, DGKCM
-Sanjeev Kumar in Sholay
-Anupam Kher in Saaraansh
-Heeraman Raj Kapoor in Teesari Kasam
-Amitabh Bachchan in Abhiman
Mohit, thanks!
Rahul, good suggestions. Some which I couldn’t accommodate but which deserve a special mention – Naseer in Paar (feel really bad not to have found a place for it), Rajit Kapoor in Making of the Mahatma (one of those ‘destined’ roles), Utpal Dutt in Bhuvan Shome (great actor, great role, great movie), and of course, Balraj Sahni in Garam Hawa.
Mohit, yes, Manoj in Satya. Brilliant. Anurag would agree :-)
Narcisist, I wasn’t comparing either Saudagar or Main Azaad Hun with Black. All three are just different landmark performances from Mr. Bachchan, nothing else in common. Cheers!
And a general clarification – my article was titled “A personal list of the greatest male performances”. I don’t know how I missed “male” while posting the article. To me Meryll Streep is an equal to Robert de Niro, as is Nutan to Dilip Kumar. Another time, another list maybe! Whenever that comes, Fareeda Jalal in Mammo is sure to be there.
Vikram, nice list! Hrithik at the top..well, I don’t know..and even if he is there, isn’t Koi Mil Gaya a much better representative? Seema Biswas, yes, absolutely.
Ashwin, good one! Though I feel you drew up the list a little too hastily :-)
Ravptor, Thanks! And well, I’ll have to really think before addressing your concern. You’re deep man!!
Nasseer for “Masoom”, Kamal for “Pushpak”, Irrfan khan in “The warrior”, Amitabh in “Deewar”.
Dude I can go on forever on this topic… here are just a few of my favorite performances
Dharmendra in Satyakam
Jeetendra in Parichay (great balance of thoughtfulness and playfulness)
Amitabh in Mili (and a dozen other films ranging from Anand to Amar Akbar Anthony, from Silsila to Khakee, from…)
Vinod Khanna in Mera Gaon Mera Desh
Rajesh Khanna in Anand (and Bawarchi, and Amar Prem, and…)
Shatrugan Sinha in Kaala Pathar (and Dost)
Shashi Kapoor in Trishul (& Deewar & Kaala Pathar)
Anil Kapoor in Parinda (and a dozen other films ranging from Saheb to My Wife’s Murder)
ShahRukh in Dilwale Dulhania Lejayenge (& Swades, and of course Chak De India)
Aamir Khan in Rangeela (and most everything else)
Akshaye Khanna in Humraaz
From the ladies I simply loved:
Jaya Bachchan in Abhiman
Sharmila Tagore in Amar Prem
Hema Malini in Khushboo
Tabu in Maachis
Urmilla in Pinjar (and Rangeela)
Sushmita Sen in Samay
Welcome to PFC Shashank
:):),by the way What a post and what amazing writing!! Almost perfect list.
^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^
Some of the my favorite performances are
1-Guru Dutt in Pyaasa.
2-Raj kapoor in Tesari kasam.
3-Naseer in Sprash.
4-Pankaj Kapoor in Ek Ruka hua faisala.
5-Ompuri in Aakrosh.
6-Balraj sahni in Garam hawa.
7-Manoj bajpai in Pinjar.
8-Pavan Malhotra in Black Firday
9-Amithabh in Anand
10-Dharmender in Chupke chupke
keep ‘em coming.
Pavan – how did you forget Kishore Kumar in the roles of “Mannu” and “Vidyapati” ??? Bahot badi galti kii tumne :-w:d
In my opinion
Manoj Bajpai’s character in Satya was much more easier to play than chakravarthy’s character in Satya..Unfortunately no one paid heed to his character which was required to be underplayed.
chakravarthy was not even nominated for anything coz the character of Bhiku was developed better, was loud enough to be heard in the movie than Satya’s character.. Not denying that Bajpai acted well and justified BM.
But i personally feel Chakravarthy played it nicely.. Bole to tera family kidhar hai.. Pata Nahi.. Pause .. Shayad mar gayee honge.. In other scene’s his Silence says a lot..
Brilliant write up..well wriiten
@Ravaptor (7),
Brother you have taken rather revolutionary take on Bimol Roy’s Devdas played by Dilip saab.:-?
There are many cinematic versions of Devdas in different languages. PC Barua made it twice and in earlier Bengali version he played Devdas himself. and in Hindi he took KL Saigal as Devdas.
Even if we go on Sharat Chandra Chaterji’s book Devdas, then also in Hindi, Bimol Roy’s version is best cinematic version.
Book is a sort of fleeting account of life of Devdas and with minimum or no psychological account of Devdas except few words like, he had headache or he was disturbed or he was unable to concentrate on anything or his mind of vacilating.
Dilip Saab’s portrayal give a proper shape to this character Devdas. Book was written at very early age when Sharat Babu was not a writer so all kind of immaturities are present in the book, whatever can be present in the early attampts in the book of any writer.
Character had potential to be shown on screen and director and actor took quantum leap after lifting character from the book and developed further and made it immortal.
This Devdas does not go away from the present shades of the character mentioned in the book, only its deeply explored in the film.
[Film-Book-film] or [Book-film-Book] bring interesting analysis before us.
Films are often accused for not living up to the standard given in the book and often its said that actors could not portray the characters up to that level which is mentioned in the book but Dilip saab’s Devdas goes beyond the capacity of book.
In Hollywood such example can be seen in Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Willy Loman, in “Death of a Salesman”, where he goes beyond the features written in a small book.
RK sirjee… knew you would come back for what I said.
The performance I was taking about as Devdas was Akkineni Nageshwar Rao in Telugu. I am a fan of Devdas. I am in love with the character. Did not know the history about Devdas being an early work of Sharat Babu but I thought the character was etched out to where it needed to be to convey what he felt.
Dilip Kumar took it a way which was beyond the character in a vertical that i could not understand but ANR gave it a shade that you cannot but sit up and feel the punch. And for once regionalism is not shrouding my judgment.
Sirjee, will write more. Devdas certainly cannot be digressed in small verses. And I am just out of my league here to play with you!!!
@Ravaptor,
will wait for this duet to progress further:)
Actually that was the point, when something goes higher or deeper than the available material then what kind of objection?
We have to see difference between the age and maturity level of Sharat Babu and Bimol Roy when both provided their creative input to the character. Sharat Babu might have written Devdas but he had done that at very early age and naturally Bimol Roy at a matured age would understand more such character. If Sharat Babu was going to re-write same character again sometimes later when he became more matured as a person and as a writer certainly he would have given more depth to the character.
Moreafter your latest version:)
i dont understand the concept..can somebody explain.. why is ………..(commercial average actor)+(arthouse offbeat film) = great performance??????
Pawan, Thanks for your additions. Raj Kapoor in Teesri Kasam. Hmm. Fanishwar Nath Renu actually wept on seeing the film – he couldn’t believe his work could be adapted so beautifully. Kishore Kumar in Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein. Interesting.
t, Kamal in Pushpak. Great! Actually it was his closest impression of the man he so closely resembles – Charlie Chaplin. And the silences only enhanced the effect. I’ve always wanted Mr. Bachchan to pay a similar tribute to Buster Keaton. His brand of comedy is so like Keaton’s – their smiles somehow never reach their eyes, lending that extra melancholic touch which makes the persona of a clown so tragic.
Tony, nice lists. Although I think Mr. Sinha always used to veer dangerously on self-parody in his later day roles like Kala Patthar.
Shatrughan, Thanks maddy! Pawan Malhotra. Hmm. Great actor. Check him out in Saeed Mirza’s Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro and in Dasgupta’s Bagh Bahadur. Especially the latter. Incidently both won National awards in the same year. One best hindi film, the other best film.
Alone, yes, of course Chakravarthy was brilliant. Well, it happens sometimes… You have a terrific Liam Neeson playing the central role, but what you really remember for years after is Ralph Fiennes as Amon G
People tend to ignore Kishore Kumar as a great actor for he had been part of many not so classics or great films and mostly done mediocre comedies.. But I feel his work in Half Ticket is as brilliant as any one of the best ever list.. The timing, the body language, the expressions, the chemistry with madhubala and pran ofc.. you question any one aspect, and the answer will be same all the time “brilliance”…
people tend to take him (as actor) and his films too lightly (as he wanted too eventually, it was a projected madness) but only a genius could do a half ticket…
My list (not in any order)
1. Naseer in Sparsh
2. Om Puri in Ardh Satya
3. Farooq Sheikh in Gaman
4. Jennifer Kapoor in 36 Chowringhee Lane
5. Chitrangada Singh in Hazaron Khwahishein aisi
6. Anupam Kher in Saraansh
7. Madhabi Mukherjee in Charulata
8. Raghuveer Yadav in Salam Bombay
9. Ranvir Shorey in Traffic Signal
10. Sanjeev Kumar in Anubhav
11. Smita Patil in Bhumika
My list( no ranking, just off the cuff)
,i am taking it actors wise
Dilip Kumar- Daag, Gunga Jumna, Mashaal, Devdas, Madhumati
Ashok Kumar- Aashirwaad, Khatta Meetha, Kanoon
Raj Kapoor-Teesri Kasam, Anari
Dev Anand- Kala Bazaar, Kala Pani, Guide
Sunil Dutt- Gumraah, Sujata
Dharmendra- Satyakam, Anupama, Khamoshi
Balraj Sahni- Do Bigha Zameen, Haqeeqat, Seema, Anuradha
Sanjeev Kumar- All movies directed by Gulzar, can’t single out any one.
Amitabh Bachan-Deewar, Trishul, Kala Patthar( most underrated performance), Shakti, Sholay, Saudagar
Kamal Hassan- Nayakan, Pushpak, Anbe Sivam, Raja Parvai, Moonram Pirai, Guna
Rajesh Khanna- Anand, Khamoshi, Safar, Aavishkar, Amar Prem, Avtaar, Thodi Si Bewafai, Aakhir Kyon
Naseeruddin Shah- Masoom, Sparsh, Teen Deewarein, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Aakrosh, Bazaar, Mirch Masala.
Om Puri-Ardh Satya, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Aakrosh, New Delhi Times, Drohkaal( though i want to know whats happened to him nowadays, is he so short of money, that he appears in movies like Buddha Mar Gaya).
Anupam Kher-Saaransh, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara, Daddy, Janam.
Paresh Rawal- Sardar, Hera Pheri, Naam
List still continues
Mithun Chakraborty- Mrigaya, Gudiya
Sanjay Dutt- Naam, Vaastav
Sunny Deol-Arjun, Ghayal, Damini
Rishi Kapoor- Mera Naam Joker, Doosra Aadmi, Karz, Damini
Jackie Shroff-Parinda, 3 Deewarein, Kaash
Shashi Kapoor- Junoon, Kalyug, Aa Gale Lag Ja
Anil Kapoor- Saaheb, Woh 7 Din, Tezaab, Taal, Meri Jung, Awargi
Aamir Khan- Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, Sarfarosh, 1947-Earth, Dil Chahta Hai.
Shahrukh Khan- Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Yes Boss, Swades, CDI,Darr.
Saif Ali Khan- Ek Hasina Thi, Dil Chahta Hai, Omkara
Akshay Khanna- Border, Dil Chahtha Hai, Humraaz.
Ajay Devgan- Zakhm, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Gangajal, Apharan, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Company, Deewange
Manoj Bajpayee- Satya, Shool, Kaun, Pinjar
Hrithik Roshan-Koi Mil Gaya, Lakshya
Ok this is only a personal list of mine,and may not tally with every one’ choice.
Since everybody has a list to contribute…heres mine..
1) amitabh bachchan in Kala Patthar
2) Jackie Shroff in gardish
3) Anil Kapoor in eashwar
4) Sunny deol in arjun
5) shahrukh khan in swades
6) hritik roshan in lakshya
7) abhishek bachchan in Yuva
8) Amitabh bachchan in alaap
9) Amitabh bachchan in mili
10) mithun chakraborty in tahader katha
11) manoj bajpai in shool
12) kamal hassan in saagar
13) om puri in bollywood calling
14) om puri in ardh satya
15) pankaj kapoor in ek ruka hua faisla
My List (not in order, also not an all time great list, including performances from recent past)
1. Irrfan in Haasil
2. K K Menon in Sarkar
3. Saif in Omkara
4. Amir Khan in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
5. Arshad Warsi in Munnabhai
6. Anupam Kher in Khosla ka Ghosla
7. Vinay Pathak in Bheja Fry
8. Pankaj Kapoor in Maqbool
9. Ashutosh Rana in Dushman
10. Nana Patekar in Ab Tak Chhappan
me too :-)
Some memorable male performances that could i jog through;
Hindi:
.Balraj Sahni Do Bheega Zameen(1953)
.Guru Dutt Mr.&Mrs.’55(1955)/Kaagaz Ke Phool(1959)/Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam(1962)
.Dev Anand Guide(1965)
.Raj Kapoor Teesri Kasam(1966)
.Lakshminarayan Shastri Om-Dar-Ba-Dar(1988)
.Piyush Mishra Gulal(2008)
.Aditya srivastav Black Friday(2007)
.KK Menon Black Friday(2007)
.Pavan Malhotra Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro(1989)/Black Friday(2007)
.Naseeruddin Shah Bazaar(1982)/Mane(1991, Kannada)
.Om Puri Ardh Satya(1983)/ Droh Kaal(1994)/ Maachis(1996)
.Irfan Khan The Namesake (2006)
.Pankaj Kapur Maqbool (2003)
.Raghuvir Yadav Raman Raghav(1992)
.Amitabh Bachchan Don(1978)/Darna Zaroori Hain(2006)/Nishabd(2007)
.Saif Ali Khan Omkara(2006)
Non-Hindi:
PC Barua Devdas(1935, Bengali)
Soumitra Chatterjee Apur Sansar(1959)/ Charulata (1964)
.Kamalhaasan Raaja Paarvai(1981)/ Moondram Pirai(1983)/Guna(1992)
.Raghuvaran puriyada pudhir(1988)/ Anjali (1990)
.Sivaji Ganesan Parasakthi(1952)/ Puthiya Paravai(1964)
.Prathap Pothan Moodupani(1980)
.Kokila Mohan Mouna Ragam(1986)
.Rajnikant Dalapathi(1991)
.Rajkumar Eradu Kanasu(1974)
.Mohan Lal Vaanaprastham(2000)
.Pasupathi Virumandi(2004)
.Karthi paruthiveeran(2007)
i think we are missing out Paresh Rawal here…his roles in Hera Pheri, Hungama etc are mindblowing too….
Amitabh – Darna zaroori hai — within 10 minutes, he proved.. Why he is the baap of all …
Irfaan Khan — Haasil — Watch the scene in he is tied to the chair after ashutosh rana killed his fellow villagers…Such an intensity…
Other scenes…
To jimmy shergil–Kya..Sex vex ho gaya kya ???
to hrishita- Neeche dekh kar chalogi to sadak dekhai degi aur usi tarah ke log !!!
Aamir khan in RDB – “Ajay jaise lakhkho mar jaye naa, to bh kuch fark nah padega…” One of the best on screen CRY…
i thought shabana azmi in mandi was very funny. i liked her in swami too.
I found juliete binoche in blue excellent.
i liked deepa sahi too in maya memsaab.
Thanks everyone for chipping in with lists of their own!
>-
The only name that I find missing on this page is Irfan Khan in Maqbool. It was one of the most scorching (and yet underplayed) and internalised performances I have seen in my life.
Thanks again guys, I’m already onto my next post!
As many of you are talking about Sparsh….a bit of self-promotion…i had written a homage to this movie quite some time back on PFC
http://passionforcinema.com/1980-three-national-awards/
Akineni Nageshwara Rao acted much better in the Telegu/ Tamil version of Devdas than the steel-faced Yousuf Khan. And the list does not include- Kamal’s ‘Rajapaarvai’ (Blind man) Appu-Raja (midget) Guna (Mentally disabled), Avargal (Ventriloquist), MichealMadanaKamarajan (quadruplet), Red Rose (serial killer), Chachi 420 or Punagai-Mannan (Both for comedy roles)
And none of the towering man of indian films as described by hollywood greats -Sivaji Ganesan’s roles have been mentioned: Parasakthi, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, navarathri (9 roles), Veitnam Veedu (doctor).
Generally this seems to be a list of only hindi films ignoring countless Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam classics.
BGKRISH, yes, it was meant to be a list derived from only hindi films. it would be great if you come up with a list of your own with performances in tamil, telugu and malayalam classics. if nothing, it would act as an initial guide to my foray into south indian cinema.