Actors Who've Blurred The Line Between Indie And Commercial Cinema

The Hindi film industry is divided into two main verticals one is called commercial cinema and the other is Indiecinema or art films as addressed earlier in the '80s and '90s. Some of the best actors in Bollywood began their acting careers with Indie cinema. Actors such as Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Satish Kaushik, Ashutosh Rana, Sanjay Mishra, Pankaj Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah, amongst many others dabbled their career between Indie cinema and commercial cinema.

Now, let’s have a look at some actors from current breed who had a great start from indie cinema at the beginning of their careers and are now blurring the line between indie and commercial cinema. 

Vicky Kaushal in Takht

 Actor Vicky Kaushal is the new blue-eyed boy for many filmmakers. Being the eldest son of ace action director Shyam Kaushal, Vicky achieved his goals by his own efforts and hardships. After proving his acting chops in indiefilms such as Masaan, Raman Raghav 2.0, Zubaan, Vicky gave 4 back-to-back commercial hits with Sanju, Manmarziyaan, Raazi and the recent hit Uri: The Surgical Strike. This year, he already delivered a mega-hit and the year’s first film first film to cross Rs 200 crores at box office and is being touted as a frontrunner for Saare Jahan Se Achha and will begin shooting for Karan Johar's Takht.

Richa Chadha in Shakeela Biopic and Panga

 Actress Richa Chadha started her acting career with a small role in Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye which went unnoticed. Gangs of Wasseypur I and II carved the path for her in Indian cinema as an actor to look for. Masaan changed her destiny that proved to be a milestone in her career. The film won accolades at the Cannes film festival. Her first full-blown commercial stint came with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Goliyon Ki Rasleela – Ram Leela followed by the sleeper hit Fukrey. Since then, the versatile actress has been dabbling between both the genres of cinema. In 2019, she will be seen playing the titular role in commercial masala film Shakeela which is a biopic on South adult star Shakeela followed by the courtroom drama film Section 375, a political satire Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui and a film on Kabaddi titled Panga.

Radhika Apte in two international projects!

 It wouldn't be wrong calling actress Radhika Apte a jack of all trades. She began her acting career in regional languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali and Hindi. Her films Hunterrr, Parched, Manjhi The Mountain Man proved her versatility as an actress. Her commercial films also did well on the box office Badlapur, Padman, Andhadhun proved she has liking from all genres of cinema. The reigning queen of web series and shorts films Radhika has her set eyes across all medium of entertainment. The year 2019 will see her in some of the best projects across all medium. She this year has two key international projects including The Wedding Guest with Dev Patel and The Ashram with Kal Penn.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Bole Chuddiyan and Photograph

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has explored all the mediums of entertainment successfully and is the true predecessor to carry forward the legacy of actors passed out from acting schools. From playing a small-time crook in Sarfarosh (1999) to playing the titular role in the recently released biopic Thackeray, Nawaz has a clear message for all that he is here to stay. The web series Sacred Games proved to be a milestone in his career and he is shooting for the season 2. In 2019, he will be seen with Sanya Malhotra in Photograph, and with Shraddha Kapoor in Bole Chuddiyan.

Pankaj Tripathi in Luka Chuppi, Shakeela and Panga

 Pankaj Tripathi has come a long way to carve his own path in Bollywood. A small role in the film Run to his latest release Stree, Pankaj has shown many shades of his acting skills on screen. He has dabbled across mediums of entertainment; he has done more than 60 television shows, shorts films, video on demand series, regional cinema,indie cinema and commercial Bollywood films. He was highly applauded for his performances in films like Gangs of Wasseypur I and II, Masaan, Nil Battey Sannata, Fukrey, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Gurgaon, Newton, Stree amongst many others. His performance in Newton earned him a National Film Award – Special Mention. His web shows like Sacred Games and Mirzapur made him a household name. In the year 2019, he has an interesting line-up of films such as Kaagaz, Shakeela, Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai, Panga, Drive, Luka Chhupi, 83, Sacred Games Season 2 and Mirzapur amongst others.

Vikrant Massey in Chhapaak

 Actor Vikrant Massey started his acting career from television. After successfully exploring the TV world, he got his first break in Lootera that starred Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha. It was followed by a brief role in Dil Dhadakne Do and Half Girlfriend. At the same time, Vikrant was seen exploring the indie genre cinema with A Death in the Gunj and Lipstick Under My Burkha. Vikrant was also seen dabbling between web series and shorts films successfully. This year, he will be seen in Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, Chhapaak and Cargo amongst others.