Who were Bollywood's best actor and best actress in 2018 and for what movies?

Best actor and actresses in 2018 :-

• Ayushmann Khurrana for Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho.

It might not be wrong to say that 2018 has been the most grand for Ayushmann Khurrana. It has been his best year till date.

Both the movies have done lucrative return on investment at the box office. Don’t get me wrong, but good profits motivate actors a lot.

Talking about the acting part, both the movies have very different demands.

On one hand, there’s Andhadhun, for which,method acting was a must.

Practicing piano and learning the nuances, diction, mannerisms, etc. of the visually impaired people was definitely helpful to get into the skin of the character for Ayushmann Khurrana.

On the other hand, there’s Badhaai Ho, for which, spontaneous acting was a must.

Prep work for such a movie will be a recipe for disaster.

The only thing needed in such a movie, is a strong screen presence, comic timing and ability to deliver the performance instantaneously. This is an essence of theater acting, where, unlike movies, many a times, changes in script can take place in front of audience.

• Vicky Kaushal for Sanju and Manmarziyaan.

Manmarziyaan can be considered as one of the most underrated movies of 2018.

People will watch logic-less love triangle movies like Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003), but will refrain from watching sensible movies like this, right?

Sanju was, honestly, not as good as other masterpieces by filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani. It was an event movie[1] and hence it was bound to be a blockbuster.

But, Vicky Kaushal’s performance was not only acting as a comic relief in a relatively dark-themed outline, but also providing moral compass to Ranbir Kapoor’s character.

• Rajkummar Rao in Stree and Omertà.

Balancing romance and comedy is a cakewalk.

Balancing horror and comedy is like walking on a pipe, like that scene from the movie Ishq (1997).

But Rajkummar Rao did a fabulous job. Nowhere in the movie, the funny lines delivered by him look like forced humor.

The viewer gets absorbed in the movie, and the points where Rajkummar Rao gets scared or afraid seem believable rather than pretentious.

Then, there’s another grossly underrated movie, Omertà.

Rajkummar Rao’s performance in the movie is convincing, disturbing (which means good acting in this context) and hard-hitting.

• Pankaj Tripathi for Stree.

I don’t think it is possible to imagine the movie Stree without Pankaj Tripathi in it.

Words are not enough to describe this incredibly talented yet down-to-earth personality.

But, let’s take help of Barney Stinson for that.

Me: How is Pankaj Tripathi as an actor?

Barney: Trust me, he’s gonna be legendary!

Me: Thank you.

• Ranveer Singh for Padmaavat and Simmba.

I don’t want flying chappals from elitists, like the awesome Quoran Namit Bathla gets flying chappals from his loving mom! :)

So, please let me make this clear, that masala potboilers are in itself a genre, too.

If made correctly, these movies also turn out to be superb popcorn flicks.

Andaz Apna Apna (1994) is a cult classic today, when reviewed retrospectively. But, in earlier times, critics thought that it was some low-budget movie, made with a bunch of rising stars and loaded with weird humor.

I enjoyed Simmba and it was paisa-vasool, too. Ranveer Singh did great. At least, the movie delivered what it promised to the target audience: good entertainment with a strong message.

I wish, we have a cop-universe, if not a superhero-universe!

Padmaavat?

Let me provide assumptions first, like a 5-mark question on Law of Demand:

1. Yeah, not historically accurate at all.
2. Yeah, not as good visually as Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. Not even at the level of Baahubali: The Beginning, forget about its follow-up.
3. Yeah, Ranveer Singh’s character was totally negative.

Okay, now the main thing is: He portrayed it perfectly, in context of cinematic reality.

• Sohum Shah for Tumbbad.

The character of Vinayak Rao that he has portrayed in this period horror film, will definitely blow anyone’s mind.

For this movie, Sohum Shah had to stay in the character for about 6 years!

Again, this movie is also fantastic yet supremely underrated.

• Tabu for Andhadhun and Missing.

Tabu has always been marvelous since Maachis (1996).

Her portrayal as the cold-blooded, unreliable, opportunist woman, who can do anything for her personal gain and/or survival in Andhadhun was beyond imagination.

And, Missing might not be that good in terms of screenplay. But, her performance in the movie was splendid.

• Alia Bhatt for Raazi.

I know it sounds cliché, but she’s undoubtedly the best female actor of our generation.

• Radhika Apte for Pad Man, Andhadhun and Baazaar.

The “omnipresent” actor of 2018. Well, because, she is great in the craft of acting.

• Taapsee Pannu for Manmarziyaan and Mulk.

I liked her performance in these two movies.

For Manmarziyaan, I have covered enough while writing of Vicky Kaushal.

For Mulk, I liked her acting. But, other than that, no comments. I don’t like politics/political affiliation. I don’t like Conservative vs. Liberal agenda.

• Anushka Sharma for Sui Dhaaga.

First she became a friendly ghost for Phillauri (2017). Hardly anybody liked the movie.

Then, she returned as daughter of death spirit (Ifrit) in Pari (2018). Few people liked the movie.

She makes brave attempts in making better cinema through her production house, but experiments have side-effects, right?

NH10 (2015) was really nice, though.

Her work in Sui Dhaaga is brilliant.

One particular scene became a viral meme. Some people think she did overacting.

I think it was necessary to overact.

In the below scene, her character got success after loads of hardships and struggle.

• Noticed anything?

I did not mention Deepika Padukone. May she do more projects in 2019!

Footnotes

[1] Event movie - Wikipedia