Year Ender 2019: Alia Bhatt in Gully Boy, Kangana Ranaut in Judgementall Hai Kya, Priyanka Chopra in The Sky Is Pink and More - 11 Best Performances By An Actress in Bollywood This Year

The year 2019 has been a really cool year for both male and female stars when it comes to Bollywood. Like what has been a very likeable trend in recent times, there have been some really well-written roles for both the actors and actresses this year. 2019 was also a year where an actress got to direct a huge historical film, as Kangana did with Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi; let's ignore the controversies surrounding that decision for a minute. We also got to have a sequel featuring an actress doing well at the box office (Mardaani 2), while two PYT's turning old women in a movie and then winning the critics with their fine acts (Saand Ki Aankh). Year Ender 2019: Ranveer Singh in Gully Boy, Shahid Kapoor in Kabir Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana in Bala & More – 11 Best Male Performances of Bollywood in This Year.

A few days back, we had compiled the 11 great performances by a male actor in 2019. Now, let's look at the same number of terrific performances by a female actor this year. So check out our pick of the finest performances by an actress in 2019, arranged as per the release date of the film.

Geetika Vidhya Ohlyan in Soni

A little issue with the Indian programs and movies that air exclusively on Netflix is that, unless a big name is attached to it, some properties often get overlooked. Such is the case with Netflix's slow-paced but hard-hitting Soni, that's about two female officers tackling sexism within their personal lives and department.

While the two lead actresses are good in their roles, Geetika Vidhya Ohlyan steals the film with a fiery act. She allows us to feel her character's hapless, anguished frustration, and yet wants us to pat her on the back and tell her to 'Let it go!' A performance that deserves more attention and plaudits than it actually got. Soni Movie Review: Netflix's Latest Offering is a Brilliantly Acted, Incredible Tale Of Friendship Set in a Grim Reality.

Alia Bhatt in Gully Boy

From one firebrand performance to another. Many are (unfairly) comparing Ali Bhatt's character Safeena from Zoya Akhtar's immersive Gully Boy to that of Shahid Kapoor's Kabir Singh. Sure, both the characters have their streak of violence, but Safeena isn't as controlling as the obsessive Kabir. And Alia Bhatt's firebrand yet often empathetic performance makes her quite an interesting character.

Even after she has just made the life hell for a girl who mildly flirted with her man, when Safeena refuses to swear on Murad's head to never indulge in more sweet violence. She knows she can't, and Alia Bhatt's puppy-eyed act makes us, along with Murad, forget what she did minutes back. Gully Boy Movie Review: Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt Are Bloody Brilliant in Zoya Akhtar’s Finest Work to Date!

Bhumi Pednekar in Sonchiriya

Bhumi Pedenakar had quite a year in 2019, what with three movies with three varied performances coming out. While her performances in Saand Ki Aankh and Pati, Patni Aur Woh was appreciated, Bhumi was absolutely riveting in Abhishek Chaubey's dacoit drama.

Playing perhaps the most heroic character of them all, she is seen in the role of an upper-caste woman who rebels against her own family to save a servant girl, brutally raped by her father-in-law. It was a very hard-hitting performance, where Bhumi nails both the diction as well as making sure her act is suitably fierce or brittle as the situation demands. Sonchiriya Movie Review: Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey Are Marvellous in Abhishek Chaubey’s Stunning Dacoit Drama.

Rasika Dugal in Hamid

Hamid was a touching film about an unexpected friendship between a young Kashmiri boy and a frustrated CRPF soldier, whom the former think of as God. Rasika Dugal plays the mother of the kid, whose husband has gone missing and she is still waiting for him to return.

It is a brilliant performance from the actress. Without getting overdramatic, Rasika manages to convey the anger and the sadness, both with the state that took her partner away, and even her own kid, fulfilling whose incessant demands made her spouse leave home that fateful night. Hamid Movie Review: Rasika Dugal’s Affecting Performance Enriches This Moving Tale Set in Strife-Torn Kashmir.

Anjali Patil in Mere Pyare Prime Minister

Anjali Patil is one of the most underrated actresses in Bollywood, who hasn't been given a proper due. In Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's social drama, she plays a slum-dweller and a single mother of a mischievous kid, who is quite aware of how her sexuality turns some of the men in her locality.

Anjali manages to sell off the seductive yet caring side of her character with ease. But it is when her character becomes a victim of sexual harassment is when we get to see the more brilliant side of her performance. It was a really moving act, and it is unfortunate that not many were able to get to see it. Mere Pyare Prime Minister Movie Review: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Wraps an Important Social Cause Inside a Lovely Mother-Son Story!

Tabu in De De Pyaar De

In a film that has been accused of being sexist in its tones, you have to appreciate Tabu from bringing a lot of grace in her role. As a mother who single-handedly took care of her family, Tabu manages to portray a figure of poise, grace and respect. It is a role that also allows her to tap some of that underutilised comic skills.

Tabu, however, shines the most in the scenes where she gives her daughter an earful for treating her father badly, and then drains herself off the pending emotions in front of her ex-hubby, leading to an unexpected moment of intimacy. De De Pyaar De Movie Review: Tabu Towers Over Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet in This Unusual Romcom.

Kangana Ranaut in Judgementall Hai Kya

Kangana Ranaut fans might want her to get a National Award for her act in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, a role where she tends to go overboard quite a few times. While I am no fan of what she did in Manikarnika, a movie that she co-directed, I was in awe with what she did in this psychological thriller, Judgementall Hai Kya.

As a woman who suffers from a psychological disorder and thinks her new tenant is upto no good, Kangana is fantastic in the role. Her character's crazy episodes are no laughing matter here, as the actress pitches a first-rate act that doesn't get a single step wrong. Judgementall Hai Kya Movie Review: Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao Liven Up This Trippy Potpourri of Dark Humour and Intriguing Suspense.

Vidya Balan in Mission Mangal

Akshay Kumar may be the face of Mission Mangal, but Vidya Balan is the true hero of the film. Her character is what makes some very strategic ideas that help run the mission, not to mention, balancing both her domestic and professional lives in an immaculate manner.

Vidya Balan is quite likeable in the role and she gets away with some of the best dialogues and scenes in the film. Every actor in Mission Mangal does good work but Vidya Balan towers over the rest with a commanding performance. Mission Mangal Movie Review: Vidya Balan Is the True Hero in Akshay Kumar’s Engaging Ode to ISRO’s Mangalyaan Saga.

Priyanka Chopra in The Sky Is Pink

Maybe it is the fact that it took two years for us to see her in a Hindi movie. Maybe it is because her performance has the backing of some great writing. Whatever the case is, Priyanka Chopra delivers a stupendous performance in Shonali Bose's The Sky is Pink.

Her act exudes so much naturalism that we care for her every emotion, every fear and wish that our parents were as cool as hers, if not so over-protective. Priyanka is, especially, fantastic in the scene where her cool-headedness has a rare misstep leading to a shocking psychotic episode. Brilliant act there! The Sky Is Pink Movie Review: Priyanka Chopra-Farhan Akhtar's Emotionally Charged Film is Pure Gold.

Yami Gautam in Bala

Oh, Yami Gautam! Where did you hide that comic timing of yours all these years? The actress who was just not able to shake off her Fair & Lovely image, not only manages to troll that perception of hers in Bala, but also gives the most scene-stealing performance in the film.

Her Pari Mishra is vain, self-obsessed and may care about skin-deep beauty, but we can hardly blame her for that. And Yami's revelatory performance makes sure that you don't dislike her at all. The scene where she opens up to her husband why she can't be anything beyond being obsessed with physical beauty is a fine piece of work from the actress. Bala Movie Review: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam Are in Rollicking Form in This ‘Hair’-Raising Comedy.

Rani Mukerji in Mardaani 2

In the first Mardaani film, Rani Mukerji delivered a powerful act as the no-nonsense, fearless cop. And without disappointing us, Rani continues to pitch in the same amount of power in the sequel that arrives five years later.

It may be a role that may not allow her to experiment much with nuances. But just for standing tall in what has been a very men's arena till now, that too doing it twice, makes Rani's performance in Mardaani 2 all the more special. Mardaani 2 Movie Review: A Fantastic Rani Mukerji Tackles Perversity and Patriarchy in This Solid Investigative Thriller.

So what are you waiting for? Vote for your favourite best performance by a female actor in the above box and share your thoughts in the comments section below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 26, 2019 02:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).