Best Actor [Male] in a Leading Role
Motion Picture Drama
If anything has been
proven this year, it is this;
Stars might
effectively be insecure about their positions, but Hindi cinemas leading man
are looking to use this so called fear for the good and prove with their acting
capabilities why they are at the top despite of what else people may say of
their abilities or capabilities.
This year alone we
have two big leading men of the past two decades on the nomination list, not to
mention one of them is a double nominee this year [in different categories of
course].
The five nominees
this year also are a mix bag of the proof of where Hindi cinema is headed
barring box office successes and failures.
So where is it
headed?
At least for the
leading men, it is headed in a position where actors experiment with genre
roles, the biopic becomes a place to deliver fine performances and thespians
are still very much in demand for in demand roles.
All in all, nobody
is eating into anybody's work and more importantly everyone shines. Though of
course some don't get to shine bright enough and so here they are as Honourable
mentions;
Amitabh Bachchan in
Te3n-Of the three Angry Old Man roles Bachchan sir has done this year in order
to reinvent his former Angry Young Man persona, this was the best. While he was
a bit gravely in Wazir and could be caught in the act in Pinkl, it was in Te3n
he proved what a masterclass performer he is with a turn that carries the
weight of time with him.
Sushant Singh Rajput
in MS. Dhoni-Though stifled by an absolutely horrendous film and some moments
of ill advised VFX work; Rajput does his best to prove why he is one of the
most versatile talents working today with a measured performance that sells us on
the MS. Dhoni which the film tries to project
Salman Khan in
Sultan-The one role where Salman Khan puts in effort to at least show if he
cannot handle the strength of heavy drama he can at least prove to try and do
so.
Randeep Hooda in
Sarabjit-Completely destroyed by an atrocious film, a film that overhypes
Aishwarya Rai's screechy performance as Sarabjit's sister; it is Hooda who
tries to save the film with a calculated melodramatic turn.
Akshay Kumar in
Airlift-In what is probably his finest performance [maybe], Akshay Kumar proves
once more that he is consistently able to reinvent himself and prove a
resilient performer in whatever genre is given.
Vicky Kaushal in Raman Raghav 2.0-He might fail to match up to his co-star but he comes oh so close with a performance that proves Kaushal is a performer with unbelievable talent and determination to prove versatility with a role. Providing the perfect mirror foil to Siddiqui.
Shahid Kapoor in Udta Punjab-Though as mentioned in the ensemble section, Kapoor goes a bit too bug eyed and he is acting like a druggie more than embodying one. In the smaller moments, the quieter of reflection, Kapoor is a revelation and showcases why he is a former Best Actor Drama winner.
And now for our
nominees, these five are top class performer and undoubtedly stars of their
genres and generations.
Of five of them;
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
has 5 nominations with 0 wins
Aamir Khan has 1
nomination with 0 wins
Naseeruddin Shah has
2 nominations with 0 wins
And the other two
[Shahrukh Khan and Manoj Bajpayee] have not been nominated ever in the past
three official Hindie Awards.
What that means that
one of these nominees will win their first best actor award in any category but
in this case in drama...
Naseeruddin Shah as Shiv Kumar for Waiting
As the hope filled
yet stubborn voice of conscience, Shiv Kumar allows Shah to play the kind of
subdued tender yet skewed characters that he has portrayed with aplomb in
classics such as Sparsh and Masoom.
It's a role that
demands a lot of an actor, but not much of the Naseeruddin Shah; portraying the
role with an affecting subtlety.
His fight against
the systematic operations of the hospital is muted yet strong, there's a
reservoir of strength backed by guilt and hope when it comes to the need for
his wife to survive.
Each measured
movement doesn't seem so because as a thespian of the craft; Shah proves to be
so natural that he slips into Shiv like a comfortable well worn glove.
The kind of glove he
is known to slip into with every role.
Shahrukh Khan as Aryan
Khanna/Gaurav Chandna for Fan
The box office might
say otherwise, but Shahrukh Khan is well and truly back and no better role
could fit him as such.
Rewind to the
fringes of the previous decade and one begins to notice that Khan very much
began to play a gallery of role that provided a meta commentary on the career
of the global Indian superstar. To the point where SRK had become a parody of
himself despite trying to make some innovative films such as the sci-fi
adventure Ra. One or the slick heist thriller Don 2.
So its apt that a
meta commentary on the stardom of Shahrukh Khan and a role that lets him play
both sides of the coin of his own filmography gets him resurrected like a
phoenix from the ashes.
As the titular fan;
Gaurav, Khan hauntingly reminds you of his star making anti-hero roles from
Darr and Baazigar, threatening to steal the show from himself with a blistering
showy performance.
Ye it is as Aryan
Khanna that Khan punctuates this post modern phase of his career with a role
that is basically him but even more so.
Shahrukh Khan does
what most stars would fear to do, exposing his haunting vulnerabilities
specifically in conjunction with his stardom. The scene where Khan witnesses an
empty arena on the day of his show, is an echo of his own fear of losing his
own stardom and Khan absolutely mesmerizes with it.
Fan is the be all
end all of Shahrukh Khan; the man, the star, the actor and even the fan.
Aamir Khan as Mahavir
Singh Phogat for Dangal
Though
the narrative seeks to glorify Phogat's harsh methods that steal a childhood
from his girls just as child marriage does to their friends, unlike another
certain sports film this year; Dangal buoyed by the presence of mind of Aamir
Khan who adds this complex layer to his performance even if the script doesn't
call for it.
As the
sometimes ruthless and sometimes driving Mahavir, Aamir Khan is a delight to
watch specifically in those scenes few and far between that allow him to pause
and reflect on his actions rather than dramatize the narrative beats.
For
example as he tends to his young tired hard working daughters, the pain of a
father seeps into the relentless passion of a coach and Khan's Phogat laments
the duality of his roles sparking a hint of the monster/mentor dichotomy that
made JK Simmons an Oscar winner with Whiplash.
Or the
most powerful scene of the whole film; the fight sequence between father and
daughter in the one spot that made them whom they are. As daughter struggles to
free herself of her father's unconditional somewhat ruthless regime, Khan tries
to wind back the clock and prove that he is the be all end all. As things go
the way he doesn't except, the expression on Khan's face in loss tells a story
that a couple of flashbacks and the whole narrative fails to.
I'm
always going to pick on the Aamir Khan perfectionist persona and maintain that
he isn't an excellent actor but an intuitive one who knows how to pick the best
of roles and scripts suited to his sensibilities. But with Dangal he proves
that he is indeed far more essential to the wheel of cinema, then given credit
for or that labels can do justice to.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Ramanna for Raman Raghav 2.0
Channeling
the action of Pran from underrated Bachchan gem Majboor, Siddiqui portrays
possibly one of the most bone chilling characters in all of Hindi cinema in a
long time.
As one
half of the titular Ramanna of Raman Raghav there is a atmosphere of dread
built every time Siddiqui brings his dainty figure onto screen with glinting
eyes and a smile full of menace.
As usual
it is that snippy laid back delivery of Siddiqui that manages to promote a
figure of sympathy and seduction in contrast to the physical actions he takes
once again in dichotomy to his subdued body language.
When like
a fox cornered, Siddiqui proves to be slimy and smooth in his characterization
and bites with ferocity that never threatens to overpower the scene but rathen
empowers the mood. That is when Ramanna becomes bone chilling.
Manoj Bajpayee as Prof. Ramchandra Siras for Aligarh
Just when
you've all the magic, the magician pulls out a new one from his bag of tricks.
With
Ramchandra Siras, Manoj Bajpayee is far removed from the Bhiku Matre's and
Sardar Khan's of life. Yes those were men afraid of theri wives, romantic and
comedic at times but most importantly they were violent. An angry streak that
exemplified the talent of Manoj Bajpayee.
With
Ramchandra Siras, Manoj Bajpayee presents his versatility we've know in small
spades that he has had.
With
Ramchandra Siras, Bajpayee presents a tenderness, a vulnerability and an
unbelivable capacity to say so much with so little.
In a
performance that is bound to go down as once in a lifetime, Manoj Bajpayee
might never look the part but he becomes it with an easy tilt of the head, a
dull spark of the eyes and a soft poetic voice that is far from his own.
The
poignant manner with which he carried forward the pathos and burdens of this
character and his real life tragedy makes one weep, despite the film never
forcing you to do so.
One thing
he absolutely proves that just when you've forgotten him, the invisible man
become visible once more with a bang.
And the
Winner is...
Manoj Bajpayee as Prof. Ramchandra Siras for Aligarh!!!
And with that we bid adieu to the acting awards, as can be seen with the past four years of HIndie Cinema Awards; 3 out of 4 winners are for roles of characters taken from real life [Rajkumar Rao as Shahid Azmi in 2014, Randeep Hooda as Charles Sobhraj in 2016 and Manoj Bajpayee in 2017]
As such here are the final rankings of winners this year;
1. Manoj
Bajpayee as Prof. Ramchandra Siras for Aligarh
2. Radhika Apte as
Mehak Deo for Phobia
3. Ratna
Patak Shah as Sunita Kapoor for Kapoor and Sons
4. Swara
Bhaskar as Chanda Sahay for Nil Battey Sanata
5. Pankaj
Tripathi as Principal Shrivastava for Nil Battey
Sanata
6. Rajkumar
Rao as Deepu Sebastian for Aligarh
7. Shabana
Azmi as Rama Bhanot for Neerja
8. Fawad
Khan as Rahul Kapoor for Kapoor and Sons
Up Next: My favorite and as Deadpool eloquently put it this year, the real heroes of the film...Best Screenplay
'Nuff Said,
Aneesh Raikundalia
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