Long before Covid-19 changed the world as we knew it, a new breed of stars changed Bollywood forever. Presenting the 5 best acting talents of the post Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone era.
Alia Bhatt: Just when we thought that talent in Mahesh Bhatt’s family had run dry after Pooja Bhatt, her kid-sister took us by surprise. And how! Alia’s debut in The Student Of The Year promised us a Poo-reincarnated. An unabashed Kareena Kapoor fan, Alia seemed okay with walking in her role model’s stilettos, until Highway came along. Then Udta Punjab, 2 States, Gully Boy….no one was prepared for this bomb to explode on screen. When Sanjay Leena Bhansali says Alia is the best actress he has worked with, it is saying a lot, coming from a director who has worked with Manisha Koirala, Madhuri Dixit and Rani Mukerjee. Gangubai Kathiawadi is her NEXT BIG THING.
Kartik Aaryan: A year before Alia Bhatt, in 2011 a young actor from Indore blew the audiences’ collective mind with his 12- minute uninterrupted one-take monologue on What Women Want (or, rather, what men think women want) in Pyaar Ka Punchnaama. A star was indeed born. Now after Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Lukka Chuppi and Pati Patni Aur Woh, Kartik Aaryan is considered one of the most box office-friendly actors of the post-Ranbir generation. Bhool Bhulaiya 2 is his NEXT BIG THING.
Ranveer Singh: He came, we saw he conquered. Ranveer was the first of the post-Ranbir superstars to land in the lap of our cinema. In Band Baaja Baarat in 2010, Ranveer ne sabki band baja di. As the imperious Bajirao or the Road Romeo in Ram Leela, Ranveer blows the screen apart. His nervous energy in his first film resonated with fans of Shah Rukh Khan . And now 11 years later he is one of the most reliable star-actors of Bollywood. NEXT BIG THING Kabir Khan’s ’83 where he plays Kapil Dev with as much conviction as Alauddin Khilji in Padmaavat.
Anushka Sharma: In Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in 2008, Anushka played what Sharmila Tagore had played four decades earlier in Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar. A young woman who is married off to a stranger under very strange circumstances. Anushka never stopped growing since her debut. Wildly experimental in the selection of her roles, be it the one as Farah Ali in Dil Dhadakne Do, Aarfa Hussain in Sultan, Alizeh Khan in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil or Rukhsana in Pari, Anushka can’t be pinned down to any one definition of excellence. She is a true freelancer.
Ayushmann Khurrana: The most daring actor of the post Ranbir Kapoor generation, Ayushmann’s dazzling oeuvre, from Vicky Donor in 2012 to Gulabo Sitabo in 2020 is unmatched by any actor in recent times. He has played everything, from a guy who can’t get up to someone who just can’t get it down. NEXT BIG THING is Anubhav Sinha’s Anek.
Image Source: Instagram/aliaabhatt/ranveersingh/kartikaaryan/anushkasharma/ayushmannk, spotboye archives
Image Source: Instagram/aliaabhatt/ranveersingh/kartikaaryan/anushkasharma/ayushmannk, spotboye archives