The first quarter of 2017 has gone past us, and it has been quite an okay period for the industry with no wow performances from any of the movies. Sure we have movies like Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees, Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil, Akshay Kumar’s Jolly LLB 2 and Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt’s Badrinath Ki Dulhania scoring over Rs 100 crore, but with the budgets of the movies being made getting higher and higher every year, getting into the 100 crore club is not becoming a huge deal anymore.
However box office performance is not a yardstick when it comes to delivering fine performances in your movies. So while reviewing back all the movies we have seen in the past three months, here’re what we feel the seven best performances from the male actors in the first quarter of 2017.
Shah Rukh Khan in Raees
Ammijaan kehti thi… Remember the time when you first heard this line in 2015 when the first teaser had come out? From that moment, we knew that Raees will have one of SRK’s most powerful roles. Though the movie didn’t impress me enough, I had little to find fault with the superstar and the charisma he exudes on screen. I wouldn’t say this was his best performance, but Shah Rukh Khan owned Raees Alam with a swagger only he can claim.
Hrithik Roshan in Kaabil
Kaabil is a decent thriller that is amplified triple times in its impact thanks to an exemplary performance from its lead star, Hrithik Roshan. After the dismal failure of Mohenjo Daro, Kaabil was a much-required movie for Hrithik Roshan to show his detractors that there has been no decline in the quality of his acting. As the blind man on the vendetta spree, he gives one of the best performances by a male actor in Bollywood this decade.
Akshay Kumar in Jolly LLB 2
I had certain reservations when I learned that Akshay Kumar will be reserving Arshad Warsi in the sequel to the 2013 hit Jolly LLB. But Akshay Kumar’s engaging performance was one of the better parts of the slightly disappointing sequel (Of course, it made money, but then what’s new about that!). Be it the comic scenes or the hard-hitting speeches that he had to deliver in the court, Akshay Kumar nailed every scene with smooth confidence, earning himself a spot in this list.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Raees/Haraamkhor
If Nawazuddin Siddiqui had a movie release any part of the year, his place in any acting list is a cinch. Nawaz had two releases this year – the indie flick, Haraamkhor and the biggie, Raees, and he was excellent in both. As the headmaster in love with his underage student in Haraamkhor, Nawazuddin showed that being creepy (to the point that we got the shivers in a couple of scenes) was just a cakewalk for him. As for Raees, he nearly stole the movie from King Khan, something that Shah Rukh Khan also allowed him to do.
Varun Dhawan in Badrinath Ki Dulhania
It’s not easy to upstage your co-star, who is coming into this movie with two exemplary performances, but Varun Dhawan managed to do that to Alia Bhatt in this breezy romcom. Sure, the movie had flaws, but Varun’s delightful performance made Badrinath Ki Dulhania such a joyful watch. Alia Bhatt was fine, but Badri… belonged to Varun Dhawan, as he was the one to own a proper character arc that he justifiably portrayed.
Kay Kay Menon in The Ghazi Attack
It’s a shame that one of the best movies of the year never got the love it deserved at the box office. And hence, Kay Kay Menon’s fine performance as the hard-as-nails Naval captain went under the radar for many of the viewers. He had the best lines and he was terrific in scenes where he had to show his authority, and also in those where he had to show his softer side. Though his character dies mid-way through the movie, the impact it built stays with us long after the movie ended.
Rajkummar Rao in Trapped
When you are the only character that the camera has to focus on about 90% of the movie’s runtime, it’s your performance that is the foundation around which the whole movie stands. In a performance on par with that of Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Rajkummar Rao plays the young man trapped in his own apartment to perfection. He brings his trademark manic energy to the role, that helps us root for him as a character. While the premise, on the whole, stands on weak legs thanks to the various loopholes, we hardly regard that as a shortcoming when the actor in Rajkummar Rao takes over.
So who among these would you regard as the best actor in the first quarter of 2017?
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