Alright guys, half the year is over. So, I wanted to know your picks for the five best performances of 2004 up to this point in time. Please discuss why you think these performances are the best of 2004 and try not to pick an actor just because they’re your personal favorite. Anyway, here are my picks – keeping in mind I didn’t see “Maqbool”.


1) Amitabh Bachchan – “Khakee”/ “Dev” – Take your pick. Anyone one of these two performances stand tall as one of the best, if not the best, of 2004. Bachchan had two similar roles to work with (that of a police officer) and he was wonderful and unique in both. I assumed that Bachchan would just crossover his brilliant act in “Khakee” over to “Dev”. In other words – a repeat act. Boy, was I wrong. Bachchan is even better in “Dev”. A hard-hitting, masterful performance given by the Big B. Whereas I didn’t think much of “Khakee” (a mediocre film at best) and “Dev” (a good film but nowhere near Nihalani’s best), Bachchan left me with no doubt. He is simply superb in both films.

2) Om Puri – “Dev” – If you need any more reasons to know why Om Puri is labelled as one of the greats in Indian cinema, his act in “Dev” will provide you with the answers. It is a knockout, praiseworthy act by the long-time veteran. Definitely one of the year’s best. Some scenes had Puri leaving Bachchan in the dust. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Puri always delivers his best with Nihalani. One of Hindi cinema’s greatest performances of all-time was delivered by Puri in Nihalani’s classic, “Ardh Satya”.

3) Saif Ali Khan – “Ek Hasina Thi” – Surprise, surprise. Who would have thought after dwelling as a bottom-feeder for so long that Saif Ali Khan would be in the position that he is in today? Certainly, not me. Though I didn’t care much for his acclaimed performances in LOC, KHNH, etc., (DCH is the obvious exception), his performance in Sriram Raghavan’s “Ek Hasina Thi” left me in complete awe. I never thought Saif had it in him to take such an offbeat role in the first place and subsequently deliver the intense, natural, pitch-perfect performance he gave in the film. Full marks should be given to Saif for truly giving one of the year’s best performances.

4) Urmila Matondkar – “Ek Hasina Thi” – Here’s another surprise. I have always thought that Urmila was one of the most overrated actresses in Bollywood. Her mannered performance in “Bhoot” was average at best. A better actress could have easily surpassed her decent act in “Pinjar” and don’t even bother to get me started on her pitiful work in the terrible “Tehzeeb”. But, I have to give credit where credit is due. With “Ek Hasina Thi”, Urmila gives her career-best and left a great impression on me. It’s quite rare when a lead actor and actress give two exceptional performances in a Bollywood film but that’s what “Ek Hasina Thi” clearly has. “Ek Hasina Thi” is not only one of the year’s best films, but it also has two of the year's best performances by Saif and Urmila.

5) Abhishek Bachchan – “Yuva” – I’ve lost count of the forgettable films and performances that Abhishek has been in and delivered. He’s nowhere near his father in terms of talent….at least not yet. But with his work in “Yuva”, he takes a step closer. An unexpected, great performance by the youngster. Mani’s characterization of “Lallan” felt apart in the second half, but Abhishek was brilliant throughout. Hopefully, he’ll get better with each passing film.


Honorable mentions:


Hrithik Roshan in “Lakshya” – Would have been in the top five list but tried too hard in the first half of the film. The effort was clearly on his face. The biggest flaw Hrithik has and is yet to overcome as an actor is his complete lack of naturalness in each one of his performances so far.

Tabu in “Meenaxi” – A beautiful Tabuesque performance in an otherwise confusing, muddled picture by our one and only M.F. Hussain.

Rani Mukherjee in “Yuva” – Easily her career best but she still hasn’t delivered that one GREAT performance.

Nana Patekar in “Ab Tak Chappan” – Nana is always reliable but I’ve seen better work from him in films like “Parinda”. He really hasn’t done anything truly different in “Ab Tak Chappan” that we haven’t already witnessed in a number of his past films. Still, it’s a noteworthy performance.

Seema Biswas in “Ek Hasina Thi” – One of the best actresses working today and her act in EHT just confirms why she is among the best. A very limited role in terms of scope but Seema still manages to make a strong impact.


WHEW!!!! So, there’s my loooooong list….lol!! Anyway, please respond on your choices for the best of 2004.

here's mine....

1 Amitabh Bachchan – “Khakee”/ “Dev"
2 Saif Ali Khan – “Ek Hasina Thi
3 Irrfan Khan - "Maqbool"
4 Abhishek Bachchan – “Yuva”
5 Nana Patekar - “Ab Tak Chappan”

Wish someone would compile a list of films released on or after 01/01/2004 to choose from, as otherwise, people may end up including films released on 31/12/2003 or before!

Pankhaj kapoor..MAQBOOL

TABU...MAQBOOL

Good Performances for 2004

Irfan Khan..Maqbool
Nana Patekar..Ab Tak Chappan
Mahdevan..Aaiytha Ezhuthu
Om Puri..Dev
Tulip Joshi..Matrubhoomi

---------------------------------------------
Other noted performance

Seema Biswas..Ek Hasina Thi
Sushant Singh..Matrubhoomi
Saif Ali Khan..Ek Hasina Thi
Vijay Raaz..Raghu Romeo
Amitabh Bachchan..Khakee
Abhirami..Virumandi
Ajay Devgan..Khakee
Surya..Perazghan
Aishwarya Rai..Choker Bali (released in India 2003...saw in 2004)
Manoj Bajpai..Jaggo

Seema Biswas!! i always enjoying seeing here!! IMHO, her role in EHT was very brief and sketchy!! I would have love to see her more in that film!! She was good NO DOUBT! as She was for less than 5 minutes role in BHOOT too!!

Huh? He's very natural in Lakshya
except for some of the college
material (but not all!). He's
very natural in Fiza. He's quite
natural in NTJNH and K3G. He's
very unnatural in the first half
of MPKDH (thanks Suraj!). He's
quite natural in Mission Kashmir.
Your picture is too one sided.

1. Raghuvir Yadav - Meenaxi (the ONLY & TRUE great act I've seen so far this year in Bollywood)
2. Amitabh Bachchan - Dev
3. Amitabh Bachchan - Khakee
4. Tabu - Meenaxi
5. Rahul Bose - Chameli

Others: Kareena Kapoor - Chameli/ Hrithik Roshan - Lakshya/ Saif Ali Khan - Hum Tum/ Rani Mukherjee - Hum Tum.

"hal:
Hrithik Roshan in “Lakshya” – Would have been in the top five list but tried too hard in the first half of the film. The effort was clearly on his face. The biggest flaw Hrithik has and is yet to overcome as an actor is his complete lack of naturalness in each one of his performances so far. "

hmm!!!
i always considered HR's to be very natural
his movies that i have seen are: KNPH, MK, KMG, KKKG, FIZA
his performance, i thought, was very very good
granted there were some silly scenes in the movies, but he has been a very good, paisa vasool kind of an actor
he is a very good actor overall

Abhishek Bachan -YUVA

Saif Ali Khan - EK HASINA THI

Cheran- AUTOGRAPH

Nana Patekar- AB TAK 56

Kamal Hassan- VIRUMANDI


+Also liked the performances of:

Rani Mukerji - YUVA/ HUM TUM

Atul Kulkarni- KHAKEE

Ajay Devgan- KHAKEE

Abhirami- VIRUMANDI

Gopika- AUTOGRAPH

Sneha- AUTOGRAPH

Mallika- AUTOGRAPH

Tabu- Meenaxi

I think Pasupathy was the stand-out in Virumaandi.

Madhavan was very good in Ayudha Ezhudhu, going against his usual upbeat image.

Really? I thought he was rather miscast.

Mine:

Tabu - Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities
Tabu - Maqbool
Irfaan Khan - Maqbool
Pankaj Kapoor - Maqbool
Amitabh Bachchan - Khakee

Other than the leads in EK HASINA THI, I can't say that any other perfs have impressed me so far this year.

Yadav carries the film largely through creating a rather unremarkable yet instantly relatable character trapped evoking Hussain's own vision in a isolated situation attempting against all odds for artistic fulfillment. Often, I found Yadav to be profoundly heartbreaking & was afflictively expressive during the end self-destructive moments.