Deepika Padukone in Padmaavat, Alia Bhatt in Raazi, Rani Mukerji in Hichki - Celebrating 15 Best Performances By An Actress in a Leading Role in 2018

Oh, what a year it had been to be an actress in a still-evolving male-dominated industry! We had our first Rs 100 crore film, led by a female protagonist in Raazi. We have seen some terrific performances from both popular stars and also from those who prefer to only let their work speak for them. It was a year where the likes of Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor, Anushka Sharma et al ruled the marquee. It was also the year that Katrina Kaif gave her career-best performance. So yeah, 2018 has been a great year for the actresses.

If you have seen our previous yearender lists, you know we have been quite generous enough to expand the roster of the ones we have to celebrate. 'Cos we love to recommend a good movie or a performance to anyone wanting to see the best of Bollywood. So by that tradition, we have chosen these 15 actresses as the best of 2018 when it comes to their performances, picked from the most mainstream to impressive art cinema! Chose your favourite among these in the poll section below the list.

Deepika Padukone in Padmaavat

It was unfair to Deepika as an actress that her character was relegated to the sidelines when Sanjay Leela Bhansali made the movie focus too much on Ranveer's hyperactive performance. However, when the spotlight is on her, Deepika lights up the screen with a bravura act that reminds you why the movie was named after her character, and was to be her film!

Anushka Sharma in Pari

In her third production, Anushka sheds off her glamorous image to take on a role any A-lister would never dare to attempt in Bollywood. Nearly throughout the movie, she appears soiled, bruised and even repulsive. But we can't help but be mesmerised by the child-like qualities she displays when she discovers humanity around her. This chameleonic transition that she brings in her role shows Anushka's true class.

Rani Mukerji in Hichki

In what could be her finest performance in years, Rani Mukerji delivers a class act in her sort-of comeback movie. The hiccups her character has never feel artificial, and it's the strength of her performance that her grunts feel so a part of her body language that we accept her tics without even cracking a smile. We hope we don't have to wait another two years to see Rani back on the big screen.

Gitanjali Rao in October

While Varun Dhawan's sublime performance gets singled out for praises (and rightly so) in this Shoojit Sircar movie, there is another terrific performance in Gitanjali Rao who managed to impress us even with a lesser screen-time. Playing the comatose Shiuli's worried mother, Rao, who is a well-known theatre artiste, manages to convey the pain, angst and the helplessness of the character which rarely seeps through the tough facade that she puts up.

Alia Bhatt in Raazi

Handling some very difficult scenes with amazing dexterity, Alia has proved once again that she is among the best in the business, never mind her young age. In fact, her lovely face works in favour of her casting, pushing her innocence right into the ruthless business of spy games.

Kareena Kapoor Khan in Veere Di Wedding

Kareena Kapoor Khan is a delight to watch in this buddy comedy, with her character being the pivot of the story. At times, she channels Meryl Streep in her expressions, but overall, she is very likeable. The scene where she waits for her beau to come so that she can propose is just too adorable.

Taapsee Pannu in Mulk/Manmarziyaan

Not just Vicky Kaushal, 2018 also belonged to his Manmarziyaan co-star Taapsee Pannu. In both Manmarziyaan and Mulk, she delivered two diverse act with panache. In Mulk, she matched her senior co-star, Rishi Kapoor, at every step and completely owning the powerful climax. As for Manmarziyaan, Taapsee breathes life and soul into the film as the rebellious Rumi, whose yearnings for love and respect is every bit relatable as her misguided decisions.

Mrunal Thakur in Love Sonia

Love Sonia features an ensemble cast, but the show totally belongs to its lead, the young Mrunal Thakur. The former television actress is a revelation, delivering one of the strongest performances by an actor this year. She encapsulates the terrors that her character goes through with enough panache and precision. If Bollywood award were not so obsessed with nepotism, some of the debutant awards would have come her way!

Rasika Dugal in Manto

Rasika Duggal is an underrated actress who has never delivered a bad performance to date. She is just too good as the supportive wife, who later taunts her spouse for not supporting his family and then dismally sees him ebb away into the throes of insanity. She was also terrific in Mirzapur, so watch out for that too!

Sanya Malhotra in Pataakha

Sanya Malhotra was rather subdued in her debut, Dangal, but she gives a Pataakha of a performance in this Vishal Bharadwaj film. She is highly believable as the tomboyish girl with aims of being a teacher. And it also helps that she had an actress as her sibling that challenges her on a performance level. Which gets us to...

Radhika Madan in Pataakha

Television actress Radhika Madan is equally impressive as the other sister, showing sufficient range in her performance. Both the girls complement each other well, even if their characters are often loggerheads with each other. I am also looking forward to seeing her in Vasan Bala's highly acclaimed Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota.

Tabu in AndhaDhun

The National award winner is on a roll, revelling in the various shades of grey in her role in Sriram Raghavan's film. As the sultry, cunning woman who ends up committing more crimes just to cover one, Tabu reminds you that we have only scratched the surface when it comes to her acting abilities.

Neena Gupta in Badhaai Ho

What a delight it was to see the always winsome Neenaji get such a meaty role! She brings in a lot of quiet grace as the mother who takes all the snides remarks on her late pregnancy in her stride and finds the mental strength to deal with them. Even when you expect her character to burst out at one point, she never breaks out of her character and wins you over with a very classy performance.

Sakshi Tanwar in Mohalla Assi

Mohalla Assi is not as bad as you thought it to be and yet it is utterly forgettable. But there is one redeeming factor in the film and that's how good Sakshi Tanwar is as an actress. After Dangal, she delivers another knockout act with a character that is far more feisty than the submissive one she played in the Aamir Khan film.

Katrina Kaif in Zero

Who would have thought that there would come a day when Katrina Kaif would feature in a Best Actress list? That's how surprisingly good she is in Aanand L Rai's Zero. From the first scene itself, she rules the screen as the damaged movie queen seeking love from the one she knows would fail her. Babita Kumari is the most nuanced character she has played in her career and Katrina owns it like a diva!

[Poll ID="563094" title="Vote for the Best Actresss in 2018"]

So did we choose for the performance of your favourite actress on the list? If not, please do enlighten us why we were wrong in missing out that film in the comments section below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2018 12:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).