Bollywood’s top 10 male actors of the year

B-town’s old and new actors made it big in the industry this year round.

With out-of-the-box storylines and remarkable performances, some new and old B-town celebs have made it big in the industry this year. We bring you a list of these good-looking, talented men, who deserve recognition for their work in 2012:

Randeep Hooda

Actor-model Randeep Hooda, who made his debut with Monsoon Wedding, received wide acclaim for his performance but failed to grab the attention of the producers. His role in Heroine — as a cricketer who falls in love with Kareena — stole the show, despite not being a lead character.

Ranbir Kapoor

The versatile Ranbir Kapoor, who has played varying roles from a love-struck young man; a grunge-sexy rock star to a serious politician, has quickly risen to the top in his five years in B-town. This time around, his role in Barfi! as a deaf-mute lover proved his status as Bollywood’s superstar who dares to take risks. Ranbir has overshadowed the tall, dark and handsome men of the industry with his awe-inspiring performances.

Varun Dhawan

Director David Dhawan’s son Varun Dhawan got lucky when Karan Johar offered him Student Of The Year. The 23-year-old impressed the audience critics with his role as the rich spoilt brat in SOTY. His confident performance and dance moves made him an instant hit. As the new year is approaching, Varun is in great demand by organisers of award functions, who want him to set the stage on fire.

Rishi Kapoor

The chocolate hero of his time, Rishi Kapoor was seen in a daring, villainous avatar in Agneepath. However, later this year, KJo turned him into a gay dean for his film Student Of The Year. The polar-opposite roles earned him rave reviews from critics, the audience and fellow actors alike.

Aamir Khan

The perfectionist amongst the Khans, Aamir is known for blockbuster hits on unconventional themes. Aamir always manages to come up with a new topic and new story and executes the entire project in his own perfect way. The same happened with his thriller Talaash, in which he played a cop and grieving father. Although the supernatural element in the film was a little contradictory to Aamir’s rational approach, the film has done extremely well at the box office.

Abhay Deol

Abhay Deol has made a name for himself with off-beat roles in off-beat films. The charming actor, whose dimpled smile has left many hearts fluttering, appeared in Prakash Jha’s political thriller Chakravyuh. Although the film did not do well at the box office, Deol played the role of a gun-toting Maoist rebel Kabir with ease and earned well-deserved recognition.

Irrfan Khan

Award-winning actor Irrfan Khan is known for his heartfelt and convincing performances. In Life Of Pi, Irrfan played the older version of Pi Patel, a boy who survived a ship wreck and got lost at sea with a Bengal tiger. The film got rave reviews for its graphics and intense screenplay. With only dialogue delivery at Irrfan’s hands, he managed to deliver in a manner that added more zest to the overall film.

Sanjay Dutt

The Munna Bhai of Bollywood, Sanjay Dutt gave us goose bumps as the ruthless, cold-blooded Kancha in Agneepath. With excellent dialogue delivery and a chilling performance, Sanjay revived the ‘villain trend’ in the industry. The bald head and scary facial expressions left us in awe.

Ajay Devgn

Ajay Devgn made it to our list of top 10 Bollywood male actors for his production Son Of Sardar. Despite its release date clashing with Yash Chopra’s most anticipated film Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Son of Sardar managed to strike the right notes. Ajay played an endearing sardar in this masala flick and successfully gave us a good laugh along with over-the-top action scenes.

John Abraham

This year, the sexy John Abraham made a debut as a producer with his romcom Vicky Donor. The film, which marked the debut of a TV show host Ayushman Khurrana, received overwhelmingly positive reviews from various top critics.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2012.

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