Bollywood has seen the rise and fall of many superstars and is privileged enough to seen some spellbounding portrayals from lead protaignists which have taken acting to another level and served
as a yardstick for many new aspirants to look up to for inspiration as well as motivation! What makes these performances a cut above rest is the sheer brilliance and charismatic persona adopted by the performer giving the role an altogether a new dimension. Such performances come once in a blue moon and needs to be preserved for future refrences as their life is not limited to only those 3 hours spent in the theatre but linger in our memories even till today and cannot be monotized since they are far from the clutches of money minded box-office collections. Lets once again take a journey through these jewels of bollywood which has given it wings to compete with international standards
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Amitaabh Bacchan in Black
Though, Rani Mukherjee being the main protaignist expected to take the limelight, was completely overpowerd by Mr Bacchan’s antics as a teacher who while connecting with his disciple also struck a chord with the audiences who were left speechless after the movie ended. This performance of Amitabh Bacchan has all the merits of being compared at the international level and can be termed as a milestone in his already legendry bollywood innings. The respect for Mr Bacchan as an actor increased manifolds with this act thus giving the generation x the glimpses of his sheer brilliance.Aamir Khan in Lagaan
Aamir Khan’s portrayal of Bhuvan in Lagaan was not only the hallmark of authenticity and realism but also go down as the most versatile performance in Aamir’s repository. The plight of a farmer and the hatred against britishers was effortlessly portrayed by Aamir. The costumes, dialects and the mannerisms indicate that he had gone under the skin of the character to bring such perfection. It would be an understatement to say that Aamir was the soul of Lagaan and forced the audience to forget the length of the movie and join his triumph against britishers. So kudos to Aamir for that!Hrithik Roshan in Koi Mil Gaya
If there is one performance of a mentally challenged person that can give other such performances a run for their money ,then its definatley Hrithik as Rohit Mehra in Koi Mil Gaya! The manner in which he transformed himself not only physically i.e the style of walking, hand movements, voice modulations but mentally as well can put any other senior actor to shame. The fact that he bounced back after being written off through this performance makes it even more endearing. The way he emoted showing joy when appreciated and pain when bullied cannot be matched by any other actor of his generation. The audience smiled when he smiled and cried when he cried which is a biggest reward for any performance. This performance of Hrithik has raised the bar of acting in bollywood and forced the trade pundits to think twice before writing him off again!Shahrukh Khan in Swades
Remember the last time Shahrukh was not Shahrukh but the character he portrayed! Well for that you have to jog down your memories to Mohan Bhargav of Swades which showcased the real talent of SRK which somehow he has lost amidst his ever-growing stardom. This is one performance where the harshest of critic will not be able find any flows in the portrayal as such was the precision with which it was enacted. This would be remembered as one of the most restrained performance of Shahrukh’s star-studded career.Sanjay Dutt in Vaastav
If you get your first bollywood award after 17 rigorous years then it must be a performance to rave about. Sanjay Dutt’s act in Vaastav was the testimony of that. His complete transformation from a innocent middle class man to a ruthless gangster was simply applaoudworthy. He has played such roles after that but none could match the rawness and realisticness that he portrayed as Raghu. The finale where he asks his mother to free him from this world was enacted with a rare sincerity from Sanju Baba!Ajay Devgan in Legend of Bhagat Singh
We have experienced various portrayals of freedom fighters from bollywood but the one that was a class apart was Ajay Devgan in Legend of Bhagat Singh which unlike other portrayals of similar nature was not preachy and never went overboard. The passion and aggression was all convyed through Ajay’s expressive eyes which is trademark of any competent actor. This performance made the world notice that there is a more to Ajay Devgan in terms of acting than doing only action oriented roles. There were as many as four films on Bhagat Singh but its only due to Ajay’s histrionics that this one is remembered even today!Dilip Kumaar in Mughl-e-Azam
Who can forget Mr Dilip Kumar’s revolutionary act of mughal prince Saleem who against his father’s will fell in love with Anar Kali portrayed by Madhubala. The romance and passion that he exudes through his eyes is yet be seen on the silver screen after his departure. THE gen-x are privelled enough to see his legendry act through the colured version of the movie. His act was the perfect amalgamation of softness of a lover and the toughness of a warrior. Truly a performance to treasure for generations to follow!I would consider myself fortunate enough to encounter such gems in my lifetime. These would remain in my memories and surely in the memories of millions who recognize talent and prefer quality over quantity as these performances are the 7 wonders of bollywood akin to 7 wonders of the world!
