Sunil Grover in Bharat, Siddhant Chaturvedi in Gully Boy – 10 Standout Performances in First Half of 2019 Who Stole the Show From the Leads

So 2019 has already reached its halfway point, and now it is time to look back and see how the year has been for Bollywood till now. There have been some very interesting surprises this year, like how it is a Hollywood film (Avengers: EndGame) that has ruled the box office in 2019. Also, a Vicky Kaushal film (Uri: The Surgical Strike) manages to top the Bollywood releases, which also includes a Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Varun Dhawan movie. Box Office: Kabir Singh, Uri, Bharat – 5 Bollywood Movies That Earned the Most in the First Half of 2019.

There have been some good movies, some really stinking ones and some highly disappointing ones. The same goes for the performances. We have had actors like Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Ayushmann Khurrana, Taapsee Pannu et al pitch in performances that can be called their career-best. And there have also been performers who manage to steal the show right from these popular stars in their own movies.

In this special half-yearly feature, we laud 10 standout performances from Bollywood films that managed to win our hearts despite the presence of more popular stars in the cast.

Mohit Raina in Uri: The Surgical Strike

Unlike what the makers say, this isn't television star Mohit Raina's first Bollywood film (he had made his acting debut in the forgettable Don Muthuswami). But Uri can be called Mohit's breakout performance, who stunned us with a sturdy act, despite his limited screentime. He totally vibed the feel of a soldier and his commitment to the role is what made the tragic Uri attack scene feel more emotional.

Siddhant Chaturvedi in Gully Boy

He had played a meek cricketer in the web-series, Inside Edge. So it felt nearly difficult to recognise Siddhant as the confident rapper/mentor to Ranveer Singh's Murad. From his intro scene itself, Siddhant dominates the proceedings and honestly speaking, he fitted more naturally in the rapping portions, despite only lip-syncing to the songs, than Ranveer. We do hope that Gully Boy does to Siddhant's career what Sanju did to Vicky Kaushal's.

Ranvir Shorey in Sonchiriya

Ranvir Shorey has always been a fantastic actor, a scene-stealer in his right. So we are hardly surprised when he stole the show as the stubborn dacoit in Abhishek Chaubey's dacoit drama. Every actor in the movie is excellent, but Ranvir had the most dramatic character graph in the film and he totally excels in that.

Amrita Singh in Badla

In Sujoy Ghosh's remake of the Spanish movie The Invisible Guest, both Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu are quite good. But despite the lack of promotions around her role, Amrita Singh stands out as the wronged mother seeking justice for her missing son. Just another role that makes us wish we get to see more of this terrific actress on screen.

Gulshan Devaiah in Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota

Vasan Bala's incredibly enjoyable take on vigilante films has plenty of fun moments, enjoyable Easter eggs and fascinating performances. Leading the show is the absolutely underrated Gulshan Devaiah in a double role. While he is easily convincing as Karate Mani, the one-legged drunken karate master, it is his role of the douchebag villain Jimmy, that we enjoyed watching the most.

Sikander Kher in Romeo Akbar Walter

Romeo Akbar Walter may not be a memorable spy drama, but it is decent nevertheless. The first half of the film is quite average, taking its sweet time to get its footing right. Things change for the better with the entry of Sikander Kher's Pakistani officer, who proves to be a capable antagonist to John Abraham's reluctant spy. Kher, who has been carving a niche for himself as a dependable performer, is quite good in the role and often steals the show.

Kunal Kemmu in Kalank

There is something to be said that, in a movie starring Alia Bhatt, Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt and Varun Dhawan, it is Kunal Kemmu's performance that gets talked about the most. Kunal, always a good actor needing a great role, brings in enough malevolence and cunningness as a vicious youth leader, who creates havoc during the partition riots.

Sunil Grover in Bharat

As the trend goes with Salman Khan movies these days, Bharat is not a memorable movie. But one of the few positives of the film is the very likeable performance of comedian Sunil Grover. As the hero's committed BFF, Sunil Grover manages to pitch an endearing act, who enlivens the dreary comic sequences, while also being quite good in the emotional scenes too.

Soham Majumdar in Kabir Singh

Kabir Singh has quite many problems to have a lot of debates on, but the performances are not an issue here. While it is Shahid Kapoor who dominates the proceedings, everyone in the supporting cast also pitched in good work. Standing out among them is Soham Majumdar as Kabir's dearest friend, who stands by him in his highs and lows.

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in Article 15

Article 15 is filled with terrific actors like Ayushmann Khurrana, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra and Sayani Gupta. But the scene-stealer is definitely Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub. As Nishad, the Robin Hood-like leader for the Dalits, Ayyub only appears post interval. But he dominates the screen whenever he appears, equipped with some of the most powerful lines. However, Ayyub's best scene is when he breaks down in the arms of his beloved, ruing about losing a life he could have if he hadn't thought about his people.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2019 08:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).