Top Stars of the Year 2016

This was the year of experience in Bollywood as most of the young Turks, despite some memorable performances, were found wanting for consistency.

If there was one exception to the rule, it was Alia Bhatt, who amazed us with the sheer range of portrayals that she not only attempted, but also executed with effortless conviction.

This was the year of experience in Bollywood as most of the young Turks, despite some memorable performances, were found wanting for consistency. If there was one exception to the rule, it was Alia Bhatt, who amazed us with the sheer range of portrayals that she not only attempted, but also executed with effortless conviction.

Alia has surprised us with her range as an actor: a migrant labourer in ‘Udta Punjab’, a young cinematographer in ‘Dear Zindagi’ and a small but crucial role in Kapoor and Sons. This young Bhatt is an instinctive actor and is most definitely one of the brightest young stars in Bollywood’s current galaxy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her bag several nominations at awards functions this year.

King Khan continues to surprise us with his willingness to experiment with different kinds of cinema. In and as a superstar’s obsessive ‘Fan’, SRK delivered a class act. In Gauri Shinde’s ‘Dear Zindagi’, his understated Dr. Jehangir Khan was a pure winner. Here’s hoping that Shah Rukh continues to awe us in the future.

PeeCee is charting her path on the global map with another season of ABC’s thrilling series ‘Quantico’ and her Hollywood movie debut ‘Baywatch’. Not only was she awarded the Padma Shri this year, she was also named among Time magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’. This 34-year-old is making all the right moves in her professional life.

Salman Khan’s ‘Sultan’ raked in the moolah with him playing an ageing wrestler. As Sultan Ali Khan, the usually invincible superstar was unafraid to display his paunch and was okay with being humiliated on screen. As an aside, Salman’s relationship status continues to generate huge interest as his fans wait for him to tie the knot.

Though she had not a single Bollywood release this year, Deepika continued to make her present felt. The leggy lass will soon be making her Hollywood debut with Van Diesel in 'xXx: The Return of Xander Cage'. Deepika was also the only Indian actress to make it to the Forbes list of the richest actresses in the world. Closer home, she is busy working on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next, ‘Padmavati’.

Our Khiladi continues to be the most bankable star in the business. His role in ‘Airlift’ was Bollywood’s answer to Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’. ‘Rustom’ was inspired by the Nanavati case (1959), where a decorated Naval officer is charged with murdering his wife’s lover. Akshay played the contradictions of this character to perfection – a conflicted man, who looks so suave, calm and collected that it is almost impossible to believe that he is capable of murder. His films this year won him both riches and accolades.

Sushant Singh Rajput played Dhoni in the biopic, ‘M S Dhoni: The Untold Story’. His portrayal of the Indian captain was commendable: the body language was spot and he managed to rise above the average script to deliver a sincere portrayal.

Aamir Khan’s ‘Dangal’ is scheduled to be released on the Christmas weekend. His film has created just the right amount of buzz with people eagerly awaiting this biographical sports drama. Aamir’s dramatic weight loss from 97 kilos to a six-pack has had his fans marveling over his dedication. We are rooting for the film’s success. And we are not alone.