Kangana Ranaut in Manikarnika, Alia Bhatt in Gully Boy – 8 Best Performances by an Actress in the First Half of 2019

With six months already gone, it is time to appraise how 2019 has been for Bollywood. Or rather, how Bollywood has performed in 2019. Truth to be told, it has been a really good year till now, albeit with a few blips in between. Like 2018, 2019 once again proves that you really don't need a Salman Khan or Aamir Khan to dominate the Rs 200 crore club, with Vicky Kaushal's Uri: The Surgical Strike and Shahid Kapoor's Kabir Singh proving their detractors wrong. Box Office: Kabir Singh, Uri, Bharat – 5 Bollywood Movies That Earned the Most in the First Half of 2019.

Leaving the box office aside, 2019 has also given us some very fine performances from the actor and the actresses, some of them could be labelled as their career-best. We have already covered what we think are the best performances by an actor in the first half of 2019. Now it is time for the actresses. Shahid Kapoor in Kabir Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana in Article 15, Ranveer Singh in Gully Boy – 8 Best Performances by an Actor in the First Half of 2019.

So here are our pick of the top eight performances by a Bollywood actress in 2019.

Geetika Vidya Ohlyan in Soni

Soni on Netflix is a fine drama, a tale of friendship between a police officer and her subordinate, forged by the patriarchal circumstances surrounding them. As the fiery-headed titular character, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan's performance is a revelation letting us permeate through her anger to see pain and dismay hidden within herself.

Kangana Ranaut in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi

Manikarnika may not be Kangana Ranaut's finest performance, but it is definitely her most commanding one. There are times she goes OTT (especially in the climax), but apart from that, Kangana is a solid presence throughout. She is incredible to watch during battle scenes and also when she has to deliver fiery speeches. Manikarnika also marks Kangana's debut as a director.

Alia Bhatt in Gully Boy

Gully Boy may be about Ranveer Singh's character, but credit needs to be given to Alia Bhatt who overshadows everyone when she appears on the screen. As Murad's over-possessive, jealous girlfriend, Alia Bhatt is a raging ball of fire whose idea of 'marking her territory' could go to any limits. Including breaking a bottle on someone's head. This could be Alia's most aggressive role to date, and Alia nails it with gusto.

Bhumi Pednekar in Sonchiriya

Sonchiriya, the dacoit drama made by the talented Abhishek Chaubey, had been critically acclaimed for its narrative, direction and performances. In a primarily male-dominated cast, Bhumi Pednekar makes a fierce impression as the runaway woman determined to save the lower-caste help who has been brutally raped by one of her family members. Bhumi has proved herself to be a credible performer, right from her debut movie, and Sonchiriya's Indumati is just another feather in her cap.

Rasika Dugal in Hamid

It's a sheer crime that mainstream cinema has not come calling much often to Rasika Dugal's doorstep. Or is that Rasika herself is happy giving incredible performances in indie films and web-series? Just watch her heartbreaking performance as a Kashmiri half-widow in the touching Hamid, and you will know what I am talking about. She nails the local accent brilliantly, as well as deftly portraying the grief of a woman waiting exasperatedly for her husband, who may or may not return.

Radhika Madan in Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota

There are times in the movie, where Radhika Madan makes the 'Mard' in the movie's title feel like the letter 'k' in the word 'knee'. Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota is as much her character Supriya's film, as Abhimanyu Dassani's Surya. While she is highly convincing in all the action scenes, Radhika is particularly impressive in the scene where she enjoys her first moment of rebellion and freedom.

Tabu in De De Pyaar De

Put Tabu in any bad movie and she makes it look at least decent. Save for Hawa, maybe - not even Rajinikanth can make that terrible ghost film un-cringey. De De Pyaar De is quite a decent one-time watch that gets elevated once Tabu arrives as the former wife of Ajay Devgn's character. Tabu displays her less-exploited comic skills in her scenes with Rakul Preet, but it is in the emotional third act where she proves why she is the best talent around.

Sayani Gupta in Article 15

Sayani Gupta may not be paired opposite Ayushmann Khurrana in Anubhav Sinha's hard-hitting social drama. But with the screentime and the impact her character has on the narrative, Sayani Gupta is as good as one. As the 'ninth-standard educated Dalit woman, Sayani displays enough spunk mired with certain frailty in her portrayal, which makes her Gaura one of the most incredible characters in the movie. While usually putting up a strong exterior, it is when we get to see the more emotional side of Gaura, that Sayani shines the best.

So vote for your favourite performance by an actress in 2019, and do share your thoughts about it in the comments section below. Also, let us know if we had missed out on any mind-blowing performance below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2019 04:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).