6 Outstanding Performances That went Completely Unnoticed

At times the velocity and power  of the central performances are so strong that the impact of the marginal  performances  gets diluted. Here are the  6 outstanding performances  of 2020 that  you probably didn’t notice.

1.Aahana  Kumra  in Marzi: A  very tangled take on consensual  versus nonconsensual  sex where the very talented Aahana Kumra gave  a remarkable  performance as a woman who  sleeps with a  man  and wakes up believing he forced  himself on her. Now many actresses get to play in a grey zone in films on the mating game. Aahana was  a every bit  the confused woman  the morning after.

2.    Shubham Saraf  in  A  Suitable Boy: Before I saw him  playing Ishan Khatter’s Muslim friend who becomes as besotted by Tabu as  Ishan,  I had seen  Shubham in  the British  serial Criminal  where  he stood out in a way that was not loud or  calling attention to itself. In A Suitable Boy as  Firoz Ali Khan,  Shubham stole every frame  from Khattar and  Tabu.Whenever he  was there  he held  the  scene together.  If  you didn’t notice how good he is, it was because he  wasn’t showing off. Shubham was unwaveringly in  character.

2.     Maya Saro in Thappad: Of course the film belonged to Taapsee Pannu. But here  was this  neglected but powerful  actress who always leaves  a lingering impact. This time she was  a hotshot lawyer  spouting feminist jargon  and giving the world  the impression of being  the portrait  of  selfmade selfsufficient femininity. But at  home she is   nothing more than an abused wife. Maya nailed the contradictions in her  character  to a tragedy far beyond surface  ‘isms’.

3.     Ishwak Singh in Pataal Lok:  Ishwak has the face  of a very kind man. As  JaideepAhlawat’s  subordinate  Ishwak had to follow  Ahlawat around, observing  and imbibing the  corruption  all around him.It’s  a performance of  immense reactive  and restorative  power  that  you probably missed  gazing at the stupefying  histrionics of Jaideep Ahlawat  and  the bludgeoning  homicidal  hijinks  of Abhishek Bannerjee. 

4.     Kalyanee Muley in  Criminal  Justice 2: I confess I had never seen or known about Kalyanee Muley before this. My loss entirely. As  the  cop Gauri Pradhan battling sexist and gender prejudice at work and at home(where she was  being forced  to have  baby-making sex  by her  sexist husband and  bullying mother-in-law), and  still trying to remain true to her conscience  Kalyanee brought to her character  a wealth of  relevances. The entire series should be seen once again  for her performance  alone.

5.     Khushboo Atre in Criminal  Justice 2: A completely unknown  actress played  PankajTripathi’s  unsophisticated  but clever wife Ratna  who is  determined to break through her husband’s wall of indifference without compromising on her self respect. It’s a  fabulously written  part, played wth  enormous  empathy  by Ms Atre. Least conscious of  her co-star’s  formidable reputation, this  newcomer gave  Pankaj Tripathi tit for tat in every scene.