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Bollywood 2018: These weren’t lead actors, but sure stole the show

Hindustan Times | By, New Delhi
Dec 30, 2018 02:50 PM IST

In the Bollywood films of 2018, actors such as Priyanshu Painyuli, Aparshakti Khurana, Pankaj Tripathi, Jim Sarbh, Gajraj Rao, Neena Gupta and Surekha Sikri delivered noteworthy performances.

Jim Sarbh as the cunning, loyal slave-general in Padmaavat, Aparshakti Khurana as the funny wannabe smart friend Bittu in Stree or Gajraj Rao as the loving husband Jeetender Kaushik and Surekha Sikri as the angry yet caring mother-in-law in Badhaai Ho. What do these actors have in common? Well, all of them, among others, this year, no doubt stole the show with their stellar performances. None of them played lead roles, yet ruled all the way.

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“The best thing about them is that these actors definitely know how to make their roles impactful. They know how to create an impression on the audience so that even after they have left the theatres, discussion about their roles does not end. They understand the script better and do a fabulous job whenever they get the right opportunity. There was a time when actors would be scared to work with Mehmood in a film as he would steal the show,” says trade analyst Atul Mohan.

Gajraj shares how since the release of Badhaai Ho, he feels as if he is living a dream. Accolades have been pouring in from all quarters, also overseas. Whenever he steps out, people come up to him to congratulate him. “I still can’t believe what this film has done to me. But I guess I was flying too high and then my wife (Sanjana Rao) decided to pull me back to reality and gave me a time frame to enjoy my new found fame and then forget it,” he laughs.

Vicky Kaushal was in Serbia shooting for his next Bollywood film, when Sanju released in India. In no time, he started getting positive feedback. His social media accounts were flooded with messages and even the critics praised his portrayal of Kamlesh Kanhaiyalal Kapasi. “So much love was coming from everywhere that it somehow made one thing clear that meaty roles that add to the plot always get noticed,” he says.

Talking about casting Gajraj, Neena and Surekha in the respective roles in Badhaai Ho, director Amit Sharma shares he was looking for “relatable actors, a father who wasn’t as fit and the mother older enough to create more chaos and disbelief over her state of unexpected pregnancy”.

Praising them further, he says each of them blew his mind with their brilliant performances. So will he work with them again? “I have been blessed with their performances once and I wouldn’t absolutely mind to be associated with them again,” he adds.

Priyanshu Painyuli, Divyendu Sharma, Aparshakti Khurana and Sunil Grover.

Aparshakti feels that films are to be seen in totality. “I won’t take the credit for Bittu. Stree worked in totality because everyone is good in the film. Also, I am never concerned about the length of my role, the character is important. After watching Parched I had messaged Leena [Yadav] about my keenness of working with her in a film in any capacity. She remembered me and I, my words. The reason why I am happy every time people are praising me for Baljeet in Rajma Chawal,” he says, adding that after having done such characters he has started getting lead roles.

All these bring to the question does the success of their characters guarantee them better remuneration. “They might ask for about 15-20 percent more but not a huge amount. But they do get a lot of film offers and have more scope to grow. The best way ahead is to try variety but not to experiment too much. A Pankaj Tripathi might do a Gurgaon or Mirzapur in between, but not every time, because his fans love him in these other characters,” adds Atul.

These actors also stole the show, and how!

Saurabh Shukla as Tauji in Raid

Priyanshu Painyuli as Bhavesh Joshi in Bhavesh Joshi Superhero

Abhishek Banerjee and Pankaj Tripathi as Jaana and Rudra in Stree

Divyendu Sharma as Sundar Mohan Tripathi in Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub as Shanichar in Thugs Of Hindostan

Shridhar Watsar as Purshottam in Dhadak

Sunil Grover as Dipper in Pataakha

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