If Bollywood enraptured viewers by its offerings, actors too impressed by donning diverse roles — from ostentatious to serious to comic. They took various roles and enhanced the movie viewing experience. If first-rate actors such as Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan rocked the box office, others too stole the show with their meticulous acting skills.
Here is a list of the top male performers of the year:
1 Shahid Kapoor
His role in Haider can be described as the best performance of his career. Shot in Kashmir, the quintessential Vishal Bhardwaj directorial was an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Aside from doing good business at the box office, the film was well received by critics, who were enamoured by Kapoor’s work.
2 Randeep Hooda
Imtiaz Ali’s Highway featured the off-beat pair of Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda. But, this did not stop the film from making an impact on the audience. Mostly shot in the scenic locales of northern India, Highway presented Hooda as a goon who kidnaps the protagonist, and he breezed through his role. A classic example of Stockholm Syndrome, the film gathered much critical acclaim following its release in February. This year, Hooda also appeared in a pivotal role in Salman Khan-starrer Kick and lived up to the expectation of his fans in the commercial drama.
3 Nawazuddin Siddiqui
After giving many extraordinary performances in the past years, Siddiqui yet again exhibited his talent in Kick. He also wowed audience with his performance in Liar’s Dice, India’s official Oscar entry in the best foreign language film category this year.
4 Rajkummar Rao
He played Vijay in Queen and Deepak Singh in CityLights and proved his versatility through the two completely different characters. The former was a women-centric drama and Rao created the perfect contrast for the protagonist. In CityLights, directed by Hansal Mehta, we saw him in a much serious role. Centered on urban-rural migration, the film, an adaptation of the British film Metro Manila, saw the actor giving one of his most memorable performances.
5 Salman Khan
While the Bollywood superstar did not feature in any film in 2013, he had two releases this year — Jai Ho, which also stars Daisy Shah and Tabu, and Kick with Jacqueline Fernandez. While his performance always allures the audience, his films also do really well at the box office. Kick, which released ahead of Eid, crossed the Rs1 billion mark (Dh57 million) on the fifth day.
6 Hrithik Roshan
Although his action-thriller Bang Bang! didn’t appeal to the critics, the film did exceptionally well at the box-office, crossing Rs1.5 billion in India, and took the worldwide box office collection to close to Rs3 billion. The superficial action sequences and Roshan’s trademark dance catapulted the movie to the top of the charts. Roshan’s chemistry with Katrina Kaif in the Siddharth Anand directorial also impressed the audience.
7 Akshay Kumar
With the comic Entertainment and action-thriller Holiday under his belt, Kumar entertained his fans thoroughly. He plays a soldier in A.R. Murugadoss’s Holiday, which minted Rs1.03 billion in three weeks at the Indian box office, and Entertainment, a typical Kumar comedy, earned over Rs200 million in the first two days after its release.
8 Shah Rukh Khan
A perfect entertainer, Khan’s latest release Happy New Year topped the box-office charts and collected more than Rs3 billion worldwide. Khan’s eight-pack in the rooftop fight scene with Korean dancers made it his show all the way. The star-studded heist drama, which was directed by Farah Khan, also starred Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan and Boman Irani.
9 Ajay Devgn
Both his films this year — Singham Returns and Action Jackson — had super openings. While the former amassed Rs320.9 crore on the opening weekend, the latter collected Rs280 million. With that kind of success, our serious hero has pleased the audience with his action sequences and dialogues.
10 Aamir Khan
Last but not the least — Bollywood’s perfectionist Aamir Khan is the talk of the town, thanks to his alien avatar in PK. Everyone unanimously feels that Khan has surpassed his past performances with the film, which throws light on the ills in society. Once again he has proved that when it comes to choosing films, he knows how to stand out.
