Top 5-6 Acting Performances of All Time in Bollywood - Page 6

Originally posted by: rickyproctor27

Yes, very well put. Quite hope re-instating.

Are you happy with the nominations now that they are out? I think we forecasted BA to the tilt where we hadn't picked up enough chatter about Vikrant online to make it to the nominations and it turned out that way. You were right about Deepika for Pathaan.

Gong for 12th Fail and Vinod Chopra for Film and Director but since they are both nominated in Critics as well, Jawan and KJo could win this too.

I want SRK to win for Jawan but have an actual feeling 50% Ranbir might win it considering he's performing at the event. Won't be too disappointed if he or Ranveer or Vicky win too. The Actress and Music category will define Filmfare this year I think. They can play safe with Alia winning Popular and Rani for Critics or go bold/authentic and give Rani popular with Shefali critics or Kiara popular and Rani critics. I want Rani to win popular and Shefali/Saiyami for critics. I know you don't like Alia and I'd like to ask why? but I am never disappointed when she wins as I love her as an actress.

Vicky/Vikrant/Pankaj/Manoj any one will do for BA critics. Vicky was my vote for BSA and he should win. Surprising that Dimple didnt make it (I voted for he in Tu Jhooti) to the nominations so going for Ratna/Jaya there given I was thinking of Jaya in the Negative category. I feel Deepika has lost out on a chance for an award this year as her best shot was BSA for Jawaan. She was great in that role. I think her role in Jawaan was equal in duration to that of Vicky in Dunki so given Vicky got the nomination, I would not have been surprised if she had been nominated as well.

Music I genuinely believe Animal had the best with the background score as well. But have a feeling Pritam might win for RARKPK. Going for Animal for Music, Bhupinder for Arjan Vailly and Shilpa for Chaleya in playback singer categories. Karan Johar's omnipresence around these awards and campaigning is not a good sign for me especially knowing he cares more than anyone else for the validation from these awards. Even today Alia has put her traditional story on Instagram on 12th Fail with glowing praise for the film and the entire team of 12th Fail.

I'm glad you feel that way now.

I'm mostly happy with the nominations. I wish Dunki had scored more nominations besides the acting ones and I feel bad that Vikrant had gotten a BA nod but as we discussed on here, it seemed likely he would be snubbed and only get recognition in the critics category. Deepika for Pathaan I took for granted because of the film's success and her own stardom. Her real nomination should have been for Jawan.

If 12th Fail doesn't win the popular awards then I can see KJo winning Best Director but I don't think he'll win Best Film. I believe Jawan will likely win then. Atlee I feel does not have enough support in Bollywood to win Best Director otherwise I would say he could win too.

I think it'll be SRK between 2023 being his year, Filmfare being his homeground, the double nominations, plus Filmfare not having honored him for over a decade now. I'd be fine with Ranveer or Vicky winning though if the rumors about the Prime sponsorship getting Ranveer a win are true. I think Vicky or Vikrant will win the Critics Award but with Vikrant not having enough of a push as I expected, it seems that Vicky might be the victor for the Critics Award. I can see him walking out of Filmfare with the Critics BA and BSA for Dunki. I think BA will go to either Rani, Deepika, or Taapsee. Mrs. Chatterjee was a sizeable enough hit that she could win the popular award and leave the critics award for someone else. Kiara was good too but I don't think there's enough momentum behind her as an actress or her film for her to win. In a weak year she could have had a chance but this year, the nomination alone is her award. When I watched the film, it felt like one of her first serious roles where she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress so I had it pegged even then that she would get a nomination.

Alia has never excited me as an actress. I had a bad first impression of her in SOTY where she was the weakest link and it's scientifically proven that it takes multiple positive encounters afterwards to change your bad first impression into a good one. She's good in some roles but I've never been moved by her as an actress except in Gangubai but even there I felt she was miscast. She was good in Rocky Aur Rani and I liked the movie but I don't think her performance is an award-winning one. I wouldn't have a problem with her if she wasn't pushed so much by the industry (meaning KJo) when all the veteran actresses, and even some of her contemporaries like Parineeti, are far more talented and exciting. Wanting to become Mrs. Kapoor does not endear her to me either and shows her to be a very shallow individual who will regret this decision one day like Neetu Singh seems to (or Deepika and Katrina before her). I also feel she lacks starpower or that IT factor that every great star needs to have. This is especially apparent with her because of her lack of looks. It's very hard to go from Aishwarya, Deepika, Katrina, Madhuri, Sridevi, Urmila, etc. to her. Even Rani and Kajol, who sometimes get derided for being more plain than beautiful and lacking in looks, I always felt were both stunning onscreen. Priyanka I always thought was stunning onscreen as well back in the 2000s but I've noticed on here that while people recognize her as a talented actress, people don't consider her a stunner.

I forgot that Dimple was snubbed. I was rooting for her for Pathaan. But I'm expecting Jaya to win this because Filmfare loves her. Maybe Shabana but I think Jaya's role was the more flashy one. Deepika not getting a Jawan nod was shocking especially when she was getting Best Actress recognition for that previously. She could easily have won that award this year had she been nominated but I actually think the lack of nomination was from her part. My guess is that Deepika felt she is too big of a star to be recognized for a supporting role. To get a supporting nomination would have been an insult to her so she didn't even want her name in that category and only wanted the recognition for Pathaan. It's not a common mentality in this day and age but in classic Hollywood, this was the norm where if you were a lead actor or actress, getting a nomination in the supporting category would have been a grave insult and a complete no-no. Rosalind Russell famously could have won an Oscar for Picnic for her supporting role but she refused because she said she was a lead actress. All her nominations prior had been as a Lead Actress. If that's not the reason, the only other thing I can think of is that it seemed bad if Deepika got a nomination for Best Supporting Actress but Nayanthara didn't get a nomination for Best Actress so it was decided not to nominate either. But I do think the real reason was that Deepika didn't want to be recognized in a supporting category.

I have no idea about who might win for music though. I'd like to be pleasantly surprised for that.

Originally posted by: rickyproctor27

Yes, very well put. Quite hope re-instating.

Are you happy with the nominations now that they are out? I think we forecasted BA to the tilt where we hadn't picked up enough chatter about Vikrant online to make it to the nominations and it turned out that way. You were right about Deepika for Pathaan.

Gong for 12th Fail and Vinod Chopra for Film and Director but since they are both nominated in Critics as well, Jawan and KJo could win this too.

I want SRK to win for Jawan but have an actual feeling 50% Ranbir might win it considering he's performing at the event. Won't be too disappointed if he or Ranveer or Vicky win too. The Actress and Music category will define Filmfare this year I think. They can play safe with Alia winning Popular and Rani for Critics or go bold/authentic and give Rani popular with Shefali critics or Kiara popular and Rani critics. I want Rani to win popular and Shefali/Saiyami for critics. I know you don't like Alia and I'd like to ask why? but I am never disappointed when she wins as I love her as an actress.

Vicky/Vikrant/Pankaj/Manoj any one will do for BA critics. Vicky was my vote for BSA and he should win. Surprising that Dimple didnt make it (I voted for he in Tu Jhooti) to the nominations so going for Ratna/Jaya there given I was thinking of Jaya in the Negative category. I feel Deepika has lost out on a chance for an award this year as her best shot was BSA for Jawaan. She was great in that role. I think her role in Jawaan was equal in duration to that of Vicky in Dunki so given Vicky got the nomination, I would not have been surprised if she had been nominated as well.

Music I genuinely believe Animal had the best with the background score as well. But have a feeling Pritam might win for RARKPK. Going for Animal for Music, Bhupinder for Arjan Vailly and Shilpa for Chaleya in playback singer categories. Karan Johar's omnipresence around these awards and campaigning is not a good sign for me especially knowing he cares more than anyone else for the validation from these awards. Even today Alia has put her traditional story on Instagram on 12th Fail with glowing praise for the film and the entire team of 12th Fail.

I'm glad you feel that way now.

I'm mostly happy with the nominations. I wish Dunki had scored more nominations besides the acting ones and I feel bad that Vikrant had gotten a BA nod but as we discussed on here, it seemed likely he would be snubbed and only get recognition in the critics category. Deepika for Pathaan I took for granted because of the film's success and her own stardom. Her real nomination should have been for Jawan.

If 12th Fail doesn't win the popular awards then I can see KJo winning Best Director but I don't think he'll win Best Film. I believe Jawan will likely win then. Atlee I feel does not have enough support in Bollywood to win Best Director otherwise I would say he could win too.

I think it'll be SRK between 2023 being his year, Filmfare being his homeground, the double nominations, plus Filmfare not having honored him for over a decade now. I'd be fine with Ranveer or Vicky winning though if the rumors about the Prime sponsorship getting Ranveer a win are true. I think Vicky or Vikrant will win the Critics Award but with Vikrant not having enough of a push as I expected, it seems that Vicky might be the victor for the Critics Award. I can see him walking out of Filmfare with the Critics BA and BSA for Dunki. I think BA will go to either Rani, Deepika, or Taapsee. Mrs. Chatterjee was a sizeable enough hit that she could win the popular award and leave the critics award for someone else. Kiara was good too but I don't think there's enough momentum behind her as an actress or her film for her to win. In a weak year she could have had a chance but this year, the nomination alone is her award. When I watched the film, it felt like one of her first serious roles where she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress so I had it pegged even then that she would get a nomination.

Alia has never excited me as an actress. I had a bad first impression of her in SOTY where she was the weakest link and it's scientifically proven that it takes multiple positive encounters afterwards to change your bad first impression into a good one. She's good in some roles but I've never been moved by her as an actress except in Gangubai but even there I felt she was miscast. She was good in Rocky Aur Rani and I liked the movie but I don't think her performance is an award-winning one. I wouldn't have a problem with her if she wasn't pushed so much by the industry (meaning KJo) when all the veteran actresses, and even some of her contemporaries like Parineeti, are far more talented and exciting. Wanting to become Mrs. Kapoor does not endear her to me either and shows her to be a very shallow individual who will regret this decision one day like Neetu Singh seems to (or Deepika and Katrina before her). I also feel she lacks starpower or that IT factor that every great star needs to have. This is especially apparent with her because of her lack of looks. It's very hard to go from Aishwarya, Deepika, Katrina, Madhuri, Sridevi, Urmila, etc. to her. Even Rani and Kajol, who sometimes get derided for being more plain than beautiful and lacking in looks, I always felt were both stunning onscreen. Priyanka I always thought was stunning onscreen as well back in the 2000s but I've noticed on here that while people recognize her as a talented actress, people don't consider her a stunner.

I forgot that Dimple was snubbed. I was rooting for her for Pathaan. But I'm expecting Jaya to win this because Filmfare loves her. Maybe Shabana but I think Jaya's role was the more flashy one. Deepika not getting a Jawan nod was shocking especially when she was getting Best Actress recognition for that previously. She could easily have won that award this year had she been nominated but I actually think the lack of nomination was from her part. My guess is that Deepika felt she is too big of a star to be recognized for a supporting role. To get a supporting nomination would have been an insult to her so she didn't even want her name in that category and only wanted the recognition for Pathaan. It's not a common mentality in this day and age but in classic Hollywood, this was the norm where if you were a lead actor or actress, getting a nomination in the supporting category would have been a grave insult and a complete no-no. Rosalind Russell famously could have won an Oscar for Picnic for her supporting role but she refused because she said she was a lead actress. All her nominations prior had been as a Lead Actress. If that's not the reason, the only other thing I can think of is that it seemed bad if Deepika got a nomination for Best Supporting Actress but Nayanthara didn't get a nomination for Best Actress so it was decided not to nominate either. But I do think the real reason was that Deepika didn't want to be recognized in a supporting category.

I have no idea about who might win for music though. I'd like to be pleasantly surprised for that.

Originally posted by: RaniPreityAish

I'm glad you feel that way now.

I'm mostly happy with the nominations. I wish Dunki had scored more nominations besides the acting ones and I feel bad that Vikrant had gotten a BA nod but as we discussed on here, it seemed likely he would be snubbed and only get recognition in the critics category. Deepika for Pathaan I took for granted because of the film's success and her own stardom. Her real nomination should have been for Jawan.

If 12th Fail doesn't win the popular awards then I can see KJo winning Best Director but I don't think he'll win Best Film. I believe Jawan will likely win then. Atlee I feel does not have enough support in Bollywood to win Best Director otherwise I would say he could win too.

I think it'll be SRK between 2023 being his year, Filmfare being his homeground, the double nominations, plus Filmfare not having honored him for over a decade now. I'd be fine with Ranveer or Vicky winning though if the rumors about the Prime sponsorship getting Ranveer a win are true. I think Vicky or Vikrant will win the Critics Award but with Vikrant not having enough of a push as I expected, it seems that Vicky might be the victor for the Critics Award. I can see him walking out of Filmfare with the Critics BA and BSA for Dunki. I think BA will go to either Rani, Deepika, or Taapsee. Mrs. Chatterjee was a sizeable enough hit that she could win the popular award and leave the critics award for someone else. Kiara was good too but I don't think there's enough momentum behind her as an actress or her film for her to win. In a weak year she could have had a chance but this year, the nomination alone is her award. When I watched the film, it felt like one of her first serious roles where she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress so I had it pegged even then that she would get a nomination.

Alia has never excited me as an actress. I had a bad first impression of her in SOTY where she was the weakest link and it's scientifically proven that it takes multiple positive encounters afterwards to change your bad first impression into a good one. She's good in some roles but I've never been moved by her as an actress except in Gangubai but even there I felt she was miscast. She was good in Rocky Aur Rani and I liked the movie but I don't think her performance is an award-winning one. I wouldn't have a problem with her if she wasn't pushed so much by the industry (meaning KJo) when all the veteran actresses, and even some of her contemporaries like Parineeti, are far more talented and exciting. Wanting to become Mrs. Kapoor does not endear her to me either and shows her to be a very shallow individual who will regret this decision one day like Neetu Singh seems to (or Deepika and Katrina before her). I also feel she lacks starpower or that IT factor that every great star needs to have. This is especially apparent with her because of her lack of looks. It's very hard to go from Aishwarya, Deepika, Katrina, Madhuri, Sridevi, Urmila, etc. to her. Even Rani and Kajol, who sometimes get derided for being more plain than beautiful and lacking in looks, I always felt were both stunning onscreen. Priyanka I always thought was stunning onscreen as well back in the 2000s but I've noticed on here that while people recognize her as a talented actress, people don't consider her a stunner.

I forgot that Dimple was snubbed. I was rooting for her for Pathaan. But I'm expecting Jaya to win this because Filmfare loves her. Maybe Shabana but I think Jaya's role was the more flashy one. Deepika not getting a Jawan nod was shocking especially when she was getting Best Actress recognition for that previously. She could easily have won that award this year had she been nominated but I actually think the lack of nomination was from her part. My guess is that Deepika felt she is too big of a star to be recognized for a supporting role. To get a supporting nomination would have been an insult to her so she didn't even want her name in that category and only wanted the recognition for Pathaan. It's not a common mentality in this day and age but in classic Hollywood, this was the norm where if you were a lead actor or actress, getting a nomination in the supporting category would have been a grave insult and a complete no-no. Rosalind Russell famously could have won an Oscar for Picnic for her supporting role but she refused because she said she was a lead actress. All her nominations prior had been as a Lead Actress. If that's not the reason, the only other thing I can think of is that it seemed bad if Deepika got a nomination for Best Supporting Actress but Nayanthara didn't get a nomination for Best Actress so it was decided not to nominate either. But I do think the real reason was that Deepika didn't want to be recognized in a supporting category.

I have no idea about who might win for music though. I'd like to be pleasantly surprised for that.

Yeah, that thought crossed my mind too. Will she want to be in the BSA category considering her stardom? But I wasn't aware that she had that choice as I thought these nominations were decided on the votes we cast based on the Filmfare website especially when the others align more or less with our votes. I still think not many people saw her as an SA in Jawan. It was extremes. Some felt she was integral enough to the movie to be nominated for BA or it was just a cameo like Salman in Pathaan. Hence, my thinking is she just fell short on the voting front. But could very well be the case that she might have refused.

So your chronology makes sense. I actually watched her first in Highway. I hadn't watched SOTY. I was a huge Imtiaz Ali fan since Socha Na Tha and absolutely love all his movies till Highway (Jab We Met, Love aaj Kal, Rockstar) and Tamasha after. So I watched it for him and more so for AR Rahman coz I am a worshipper and watch all the movies where he composes the soundtrack. I was pleasantly taken aback by her acting because I felt it was too good for a newcomer and at that age of 18-19. I think that's why Rani is my all time favorite because of the points you mentioned - not Miss world looks or features but can move you with their acting. I felt her presence when she held up against a megastar like SRK on screen in Dear Zindagi. So then I watched Student of the Year and the thought I had was - Imtiaz Ali saved her because a horrible debut movie like that, she would have been lucky to get a second movie let alone get such a meaty role in an Imtiaz Ali movie. Imtiaz Ali goes very deep into layering his main protagonists so it gives a lot of scope for actors to shine. This is past tense though because he's not the same for me after Jab Harry..and more so Love Aaj Kal 2. Same with Kjo, I lost so much respect for him for making a trash movie like SOTY immediately after a classic like MNIK.

From what I read she was 1 of 100+ girls who auditioned for the role of SOTY. Now, I agree its difficult to think her name didn't play a part in her getting selected but it's not the way Esha Deol, Ananya, Jahnvi or Suhana etc. made their debut I think. So, I guess first impressions last. I agree she has received a lot of backing from KJo. I think he overdoes the 'she's like my daughter' thing. But the way I think is for me her best performances are Gangubai, Highway, Gully Boy, Uddta Punjab, Dear Zindagi and Raazi. (Before RARKPK) I think only Raazi and Dear Zindagi are Dharma produced and I feel Kjo produced those movies because Gauri Shinde and Meghana Gulzar wanted Alia and not the other way round. So her best work has always been away from Dharma, and Sadak 2 and Kalank the bad movies of hers are Dharma and her father's movies.

I haven't given much cadence to the nepotism debate because I equate it to children joining their family businesses like the big companies. There will always be daring start-up founders like Anurag Kashyap who will give the occasional chances to outsiders. It's never going to change so I don't see a point thinking about it. Accepting that and having spent money on watching people like Uday Chopra, Tanisha, Fardeen Khan being backed by parents/family, I find Alia a welcome relief as at least her movies are good to watch and she acts great. I hold SLB very highly and when he says 'that last sequence of Dholida in Gangubai' is the best he has ever seen an actor perform, it would mean something, especially given the kind of performances he has seen live. So connecting to your opinions, probably thats her appeal to me that she's so different from all the names you mentioned above.

Personal life, I always try to empathise except when an actor is running over people on the road and killing rare animals for entertainment/show-off. She had a difficult childhood as her father is a royally distorted person so again that need for validation and security comes in. Choosing puppy love for Ranbir and the so called glory of 'Kapoor' I agree could hurt her very badly if not already. But I respect her that she is financially much more well-off than her husband, even more so now with her company being acquired by Reliance Retail, so she can live life on her own terms and not succumb to the stereotype Kapoor bahu. At least I hope she does.

However, this year she doesn't deserve to win over Rani or Kiara. Nobody will ever deserve to win over Rani :) That's a fan comment. Priyanka was a fabulous actor for me.

All in all a great list of nominees. Big names, good successful movies after a long time! Last I remember is 2006 - with RDB, Lage Raho, Omkara, KANK, Dhoom-2, Krrish. Big actors and big performances all nominated, with lots of box-office success.

Originally posted by: rickyproctor27

It was more intended to particular performances, but I get your point. It's always a grey area because most of us watch a lot of commercial and mainstream cinema so the crossover comparisons become difficult.

Of all the years of watching movies and mostly from the 90s onwards, if I think of offbeat actors, my favorites are 1) Irrfan Khan 2) Naseeruddin Shah and 3) Pankaj Kapur.

I also find it very hard to compare actors from 90s onwards to the great actors of the 50s 60s 70s because of the difference in roles, technology, kinds of movies etc. Its a great conversation to have though.

If you ignore the technology and foreign locations and great dressing after 90s onwards you should compare just the acting ability emoting can today actor cry laugh show emotions on face like a 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s actor

You can just watch a movie of 50s or 60s there was less beauty foreign lands simple dress no colod co ordinated dancers etc but the acting was way better than 90s or afterwards.

For simple stuff watch dilip kumar devdas and SRK devdas you will know what i mean

OR dilip kumar as salim a prince or someone like porus movie as king acting (do not know actor name) versus Hrithik as king or ranveer as king vast diff in acting ability is there

Or a madhubala as lover to prnce versus deepika as love to bajirao you can make out who is better at acting

I would not like to jump into comparing hollywood as this is more about bollywood heroes but even there clarke gable, james dean etc were much superior to Leonardo de caprio or other actors of last 40 years in acting emoting ability

Originally posted by: myviewprem

If you ignore the technology and foreign locations and great dressing after 90s onwards you should compare just the acting ability emoting can today actor cry laugh show emotions on face like a 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s actor

You can just watch a movie of 50s or 60s there was less beauty foreign lands simple dress no colod co ordinated dancers etc but the acting was way better than 90s or afterwards.

For simple stuff watch dilip kumar devdas and SRK devdas you will know what i mean

OR dilip kumar as salim a prince or someone like porus movie as king acting (do not know actor name) versus Hrithik as king or ranveer as king vast diff in acting ability is there

Or a madhubala as lover to prnce versus deepika as love to bajirao you can make out who is better at acting

I would not like to jump into comparing hollywood as this is more about bollywood heroes but even there clarke gable, james dean etc were much superior to Leonardo de caprio or other actors of last 40 years in acting emoting ability

Thats actually a brilliant suggestion. Best way to make it a like for like comparison and get some idea. I'll try that with the Devdas movies and Mughal/History based common movies. Thanks!

More than the technology, its also about the kind of movies, scripts etc. So your suggestion is great to compare a historic figure enactment.

Its also very interesting you brought the Hollywood comparison. I have always felt Brando, Dean, Connery, Daniel d Lewis, Eastwood, Nicholson are miles ahead of the actors of our generation. Comparing between generations there isn't a problem because I'm just comparing the impact of the performances on me.

So I'll try to think why that's the case and why is it difficult to do that with Bollywood.

Great post! thanks again

Originally posted by: myviewprem

If you ignore the technology and foreign locations and great dressing after 90s onwards you should compare just the acting ability emoting can today actor cry laugh show emotions on face like a 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s actor

You can just watch a movie of 50s or 60s there was less beauty foreign lands simple dress no colod co ordinated dancers etc but the acting was way better than 90s or afterwards.

For simple stuff watch dilip kumar devdas and SRK devdas you will know what i mean

OR dilip kumar as salim a prince or someone like porus movie as king acting (do not know actor name) versus Hrithik as king or ranveer as king vast diff in acting ability is there

Or a madhubala as lover to prnce versus deepika as love to bajirao you can make out who is better at acting

I would not like to jump into comparing hollywood as this is more about bollywood heroes but even there clarke gable, james dean etc were much superior to Leonardo de caprio or other actors of last 40 years in acting emoting ability

I agree with you. I can't compare as much with Bollywood because I haven't seen many BW films before the 80s (only a handful with Dilip Kumar) but I've definitely noticed with Hollywood that you look at the classic actors and the new ones simply do not compare. But everything is respective to its own generation and era. If you asked Clark Gable and Cary Grant, they despised James Dean. James Dean was never grouped with them but the era that came after (with Brando and Montgomery Clift) and the old guard of Hollywood (Gable, Grant, James Stewart, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper) hated these new actors. Cary Grant said he almost quit acting because he was so disgusted that people thought Brando and Dean were considered real actors in comparison, more gritty and real.

Madhubala had such strong screen presence that I can see why she was hailed as the world's biggest star. There really aren't any actresses today who have that same aura. Remakes are the best way to see the differences between the different eras, Devdas as you said. Parineeta would be another good example (never seen the original so don't know how it compares to the new one).

Javed Akhtar said something similar that if you look at actresses like Sridevi or Madhuri Dixit, they never got those big roles that women got in the past like Mother India.

Originally posted by: rickyproctor27

Yeah, that thought crossed my mind too. Will she want to be in the BSA category considering her stardom? But I wasn't aware that she had that choice as I thought these nominations were decided on the votes we cast based on the Filmfare website especially when the others align more or less with our votes. I still think not many people saw her as an SA in Jawan. It was extremes. Some felt she was integral enough to the movie to be nominated for BA or it was just a cameo like Salman in Pathaan. Hence, my thinking is she just fell short on the voting front. But could very well be the case that she might have refused.

So your chronology makes sense. I actually watched her first in Highway. I hadn't watched SOTY. I was a huge Imtiaz Ali fan since Socha Na Tha and absolutely love all his movies till Highway (Jab We Met, Love aaj Kal, Rockstar) and Tamasha after. So I watched it for him and more so for AR Rahman coz I am a worshipper and watch all the movies where he composes the soundtrack. I was pleasantly taken aback by her acting because I felt it was too good for a newcomer and at that age of 18-19. I think that's why Rani is my all time favorite because of the points you mentioned - not Miss world looks or features but can move you with their acting. I felt her presence when she held up against a megastar like SRK on screen in Dear Zindagi. So then I watched Student of the Year and the thought I had was - Imtiaz Ali saved her because a horrible debut movie like that, she would have been lucky to get a second movie let alone get such a meaty role in an Imtiaz Ali movie. Imtiaz Ali goes very deep into layering his main protagonists so it gives a lot of scope for actors to shine. This is past tense though because he's not the same for me after Jab Harry..and more so Love Aaj Kal 2. Same with Kjo, I lost so much respect for him for making a trash movie like SOTY immediately after a classic like MNIK.

From what I read she was 1 of 100+ girls who auditioned for the role of SOTY. Now, I agree its difficult to think her name didn't play a part in her getting selected but it's not the way Esha Deol, Ananya, Jahnvi or Suhana etc. made their debut I think. So, I guess first impressions last. I agree she has received a lot of backing from KJo. I think he overdoes the 'she's like my daughter' thing. But the way I think is for me her best performances are Gangubai, Highway, Gully Boy, Uddta Punjab, Dear Zindagi and Raazi. (Before RARKPK) I think only Raazi and Dear Zindagi are Dharma produced and I feel Kjo produced those movies because Gauri Shinde and Meghana Gulzar wanted Alia and not the other way round. So her best work has always been away from Dharma, and Sadak 2 and Kalank the bad movies of hers are Dharma and her father's movies.

I haven't given much cadence to the nepotism debate because I equate it to children joining their family businesses like the big companies. There will always be daring start-up founders like Anurag Kashyap who will give the occasional chances to outsiders. It's never going to change so I don't see a point thinking about it. Accepting that and having spent money on watching people like Uday Chopra, Tanisha, Fardeen Khan being backed by parents/family, I find Alia a welcome relief as at least her movies are good to watch and she acts great. I hold SLB very highly and when he says 'that last sequence of Dholida in Gangubai' is the best he has ever seen an actor perform, it would mean something, especially given the kind of performances he has seen live. So connecting to your opinions, probably thats her appeal to me that she's so different from all the names you mentioned above.

Personal life, I always try to empathise except when an actor is running over people on the road and killing rare animals for entertainment/show-off. She had a difficult childhood as her father is a royally distorted person so again that need for validation and security comes in. Choosing puppy love for Ranbir and the so called glory of 'Kapoor' I agree could hurt her very badly if not already. But I respect her that she is financially much more well-off than her husband, even more so now with her company being acquired by Reliance Retail, so she can live life on her own terms and not succumb to the stereotype Kapoor bahu. At least I hope she does.

However, this year she doesn't deserve to win over Rani or Kiara. Nobody will ever deserve to win over Rani :) That's a fan comment. Priyanka was a fabulous actor for me.

All in all a great list of nominees. Big names, good successful movies after a long time! Last I remember is 2006 - with RDB, Lage Raho, Omkara, KANK, Dhoom-2, Krrish. Big actors and big performances all nominated, with lots of box-office success.

I also think your point is correct that the votes may have been split on Deepika which also caused her not to be nominated, between people voting for her as BSA and BA as well. Vote splitting can hurt nominations or final wins so maybe the lack of a nomination was simply because there wasn't enough in either category as people were unsure of how to vote for her. I saw that same confusion on this forum with people being decided on both ends that she could be a BA or a BSA. I don't know for sure if actors have the ability to refuse a nomination if the votes are there, but I imagine that if an actor had an issue with a category, they could let Filmfare know and Filmfare could essentially throw those votes out like Deepika for BSA. Salman's role in KKHH was also just a guest appearance but he did win for that. I've also heard that he was very upset about that win and didn't want to go up on stage to accept the award but Karishma, who was sitting next to him, convinced him not to be a bad sport. Salman was rooting to win for BA that year so I think winning BSA confirmed to him he wouldn't win the main prize.

That explains why you are such a fan if you started with Highway. I have seen Highway but it was only in the last few years and because of all the critical acclaim that movie I got. I enjoyed it but I wouldn't characterize it as a favorite and she's so young in that film that she doesn't seem that far off from her SOTY looks. SOTY was just an okay movie which I've only seen once but I left that film thinking the most of Varun and Sidharth who both had starpower. Alia to me seemed like just the love interest and I would never have guessed her career was going anyplace after that. I've always thought Rani was beautiful but I know I'm in the minority and people often say she's not all that good-looking which she herself says. It's pretty telling that Alia didn't even win Best Female Debut for SOTY. Sid won Best Male Debut for SOTY. Jab Harry Met Sejal was okay to me. Not a bad film but not a favorite either so I don't think it deserved to be considered such a flop. Love Aaj Kal 2 I never bothered with because that looked garbage. Something to note about MNIK is that while KJo directed it, he didn't write the movie. That's why it feels so different from his usual style of films, whereas SOTY is definitely more his brand. In comparison, Kal Ho Naa Ho was not directed by KJo (although people say he more or less ghost-directed it) but that film is exactly the type of movie he makes with his usual style and signature so MNIK is the outlier.

I don't believe much in the audition stories. They said the same thing about the Archies cast. In Khushi Kapoor's KWK appearance, she even accidentally admits that the role was offered to her before I think KJo corrects her and she changes her words saying when she auditioned. Between both SOTY movies and Archies, it's safe to say these casts were never auditioned. Varun Dhawan is another example who I doubt had to audition at all for the movie. Ananya and Jahnvi were also launched in Dharma productions so I doubt their situations are any different from Alia's. They make up the pretense about auditions when there's very little truth. In Hollywood, there are also similar lies about auditions but in very different circumstances where the race of a character is changed. The Little Mermaid remake is a good example where they claimed that the reason they changed her to be black is because the best actress who auditioned was black, however it's also been confirmed that they only auditioned black actresses in the first place for the role and didn't look at any white actresses or Asian, Hispanic, etc. ones. So that's why I never put much weight in what the media says about auditions. I've seen all the Alia movies you listed except for Udta Punjab. Dear Zindagi I watched for SRK and while she was good in it, it's also not a very hard role and more or less the type of role any young actress could easily play. I did like her in Gully Boy but her role isn't super big in that and that's more or less Ranveer's film. Raazi was fine but not a film I could rewatch. Never watched Sadak 2 thankfully. Kalank was a horrible movie but I do think that was the movie she looked best in. It's the only time I found her pretty in a film.

I don't really have a problem with nepotism either because like you said, it's like a family business and acting can run in families like Kate Hudson from Hollywood had to defend this as well and said that acting was her family's profession. But the big thing is that Bollywood used to be better about launching outsiders, like in the 90s with SRK, Madhuri, Akshay, Urmila, etc. or even earlier with Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi. Nowadays the only talent that is allowed to be seen onscreens are nepo babies and not even good ones. The system used to screen out the Esha Deols and Fardeen Khans because there was also someone else to take their place, but now the system is full of Esha Deols and Fardeen Khans. If they had been launched today, there'd be no getting rid of them (and both are coming back as well). For some people, Alia isn't far off from Esha Deol. If she was in her 20s today, I guarantee that KJo would be priming her as the next big star. Not a worry because any children of hers will probably be launched by him. The biggest shock to me is when KJo is obsessed with launching star kids for failed actors. It's one thing to launch SRK or Sridevi's kids but to launch Sanjay Kapoor's daughter or Chunky Panday's lol.

I don't know much about her father but the story seems very similar to other BW families where the father remarried and had a second family so I never have much respect for those stories, Esha Deol being another one. I have more sympathy and support for the outsiders who had to come in and fight the system to get even acknowledged. I think back to Amrita Rao who even said in an interview that her stardom was not manufactured by the PR but the public generally liked her and wanted to see her. Esha Deol used her film background to take advantage of her and abuse her physically on-sets. Even if you compare Esha Deol and Priyanka Chopra when both were presenting an award for the Zee Cine Awards, one can see that Priyanka looks very natural and poised for the camera whereas Esha looks grumpy and sullen.

I agree that this is the first Filmfare I've been excited for in years. The last decade, if not longer, has been very stale imo.

Originally posted by: RaniPreityAish

I agree with you. I can't compare as much with Bollywood because I haven't seen many BW films before the 80s (only a handful with Dilip Kumar) but I've definitely noticed with Hollywood that you look at the classic actors and the new ones simply do not compare. But everything is respective to its own generation and era. If you asked Clark Gable and Cary Grant, they despised James Dean. James Dean was never grouped with them but the era that came after (with Brando and Montgomery Clift) and the old guard of Hollywood (Gable, Grant, James Stewart, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper) hated these new actors. Cary Grant said he almost quit acting because he was so disgusted that people thought Brando and Dean were considered real actors in comparison, more gritty and real.

Madhubala had such strong screen presence that I can see why she was hailed as the world's biggest star. There really aren't any actresses today who have that same aura. Remakes are the best way to see the differences between the different eras, Devdas as you said. Parineeta would be another good example (never seen the original so don't know how it compares to the new one).

Javed Akhtar said something similar that if you look at actresses like Sridevi or Madhuri Dixit, they never got those big roles that women got in the past like Mother India.

I do not want to get into hollywood discussion. But some times i watch 40s or 50s or 60s hollywood. Technically they may not be as good as after 90s. But the acting is definitely better than 80s or 90s and later acting. Just watch Al Pacino as a young underworld don son(similar roles as recent ranbir kapoors) and than compare it to Ranbir Kapoor in animal, ranbir is not a patch.

Originally posted by: RaniPreityAish

I don't believe much in the audition stories. They said the same thing about the Archies cast. In Khushi Kapoor's KWK appearance, she even accidentally admits that the role was offered to her before I think KJo corrects her and she changes her words saying when she auditioned. Between both SOTY movies and Archies, it's safe to say these casts were never auditioned. Varun Dhawan is another example who I doubt had to audition at all for the movie. Ananya and Jahnvi were also launched in Dharma productions so I doubt their situations are any different from Alia's. They make up the pretense about auditions when there's very little truth. In Hollywood, there are also similar lies about auditions but in very different circumstances where the race of a character is changed. The Little Mermaid remake is a good example where they claimed that the reason they changed her to be black is because the best actress who auditioned was black, however it's also been confirmed that they only auditioned black actresses in the first place for the role and didn't look at any white actresses or Asian, Hispanic, etc. ones. So that's why I never put much weight in what the media says about auditions. I've seen all the Alia movies you listed except for Udta Punjab. Dear Zindagi I watched for SRK and while she was good in it, it's also not a very hard role and more or less the type of role any young actress could easily play. I did like her in Gully Boy but her role isn't super big in that and that's more or less Ranveer's film. Raazi was fine but not a film I could rewatch. Never watched Sadak 2 thankfully. Kalank was a horrible movie but I do think that was the movie she looked best in. It's the only time I found her pretty in a film.

I agree that this is the first Filmfare I've been excited for in years. The last decade, if not longer, has been very stale imo.

Yes, I get all the points you've mentioned. When you think of Sridevi, Madhuri, SRK, AB Sr, as outsiders who got a chance, that's the Gold of Bollywood we are talking about. Looking back for examples in the recent past, I think it was only SSR that really stood out as an Actor with pedigree but we were not meant to have him for long.

Wow, have to give it to Salman. If my memory serves me right, that is the only Filmfare award he's ever got and even then he was acting pricey. I hope he doesn't do the same for the LTA award which should be his next and last one.

I had no clue Esha Deol abused Amrita Rao physically. Mahesh Bhatt was different compared to Dharmendra and others I think. Of examples, one was there was a pic on magazines of him kissing his daughter Pooja and the article quoted him "If Pooja wasn't my daughter, I would have married her", stuff like that. Zakhm is his life story so maybe that can give you an idea if you're really interested. His affair with Parveen Barbi, what that did to her etc. its too much dark stuff and thus I always felt he's not right. But anyway, I think when we like or dislike something or someone, we find reasons to justify that and there is always so much good and bad conjecture about celebrities, that we can easily find both kinds of stuff to justify how we feel. It's human nature. I guess if I didn't like Alia as an actor, I would have found a lot of stuff to justify that too. You could be right about the auditions story as there is no proof of that happening. Kjo correcting Khushi really just throws the premise to the dumps anyway. I understand now the difference between MNIK and SOTY. I had really hoped MNIK was an evolution/growth because KANK was also a surprisingly mature and different movie. SOTY script was so shoddy. I think he said somewhere that he wrote it in 15-20 days, "Aise hi bana dia" or something like that and Siddharth said "No no. its a good movie. dont say that" :) (think it was KWK with Siddharth and Varun)

Funny you mentioned launching Sanjay Kapoor and Chunky Pandey's daughters and even I thought the same whether they are worth launching but I wrote it off as he doing it for SRK-Gauri. The parents are all best friends right? I read an interesting article last year which said, the online outrage after SSR and the political scrutiny thereafter has in fact caused people in the industry to band together like siege mentality and become even less open to outsiders when it should have had the opposite effect. I don't understand a lot of what KJo and what he does today. I liked and understood a bit when Shweta Bachchan actually called him out for wanting to be around young people to feel young. Do you think if he shoves enough of Ananya Pandey down our eyes with movies, we will start liking her like it happened for some with Alia ?

I am very sorry if it came out that way, but I never meant to say Rani wasn't pretty. She absolutely was. I still watch the Saathiya title track very often just for her.(when I am listening to the song on my cell) I just think she didn't have the super model looks like Aish, Sushmita, Katrina, Deepika etc. I don't know how to explain it any other way. Maybe that's not the first thing people will speak about when speaking about Rani is the best I can do.

I think with Kalank, the bar was set so low with all the reviews that when I watched a year later with that expectation, I didn't dislike it that much. One of Varun's very few good performances (October and Badlapur being others). Its still horrible box office wise and in comparison to other movies of 2019. And yes, she looked pretty and also now in RARKPK I feel. I actually feel this is now the time it can go downhill for her because she has been able to play roles with a childish/innocent flavor to them that endeared her to a lot of people and differentiated her too mostly because of her mannerisms and frame on screen. Now, she will go into the proper mainstream actress category so we will see if she makes it there.

Originally posted by: myviewprem

I do not want to get into hollywood discussion. But some times i watch 40s or 50s or 60s hollywood. Technically they may not be as good as after 90s. But the acting is definitely better than 80s or 90s and later acting. Just watch Al Pacino as a young underworld don son(similar roles as recent ranbir kapoors) and than compare it to Ranbir Kapoor in animal, ranbir is not a patch.