From Kartik Aaryan To Lakshya Actors Who Have Dazzled Us This Year

Is it a coincidence or  something more vital? This year our  leading men are being  showcased in roles that  do them full justice.

Whatever the outcome at the boxoffice , the films released  so far in 2024  have  spawned some remarkably  intense  performers. Both Ajay Devgan and Kartik Aaryan have given their whole  and  soul to portraying real-life heroes in  Maidaan and Chandu Champion.

Devgan as a  football coach battling  cancer and bigotry shunned  any kind of maudlinism and excessive melodrama to give his most retrained  performance since  Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum….Dil De Chuke Sanam.

Kartik  Aaryan  pulled out all stops to  play a sports  champ who just won’t give up. From looking convincing in a  wrestling akhaada to giving his all  in the boxing ring, to imbuing the passion of  a physically disabled swimmer…Kartik ,  like Devgan , deserves  the  National award  for his  skilful portrayal.

Madhavan was red hot evil in  Shaitaan and what a wicked  performance!  This is  one of the  most compelling portrayals  of  villainy seen in  recent times.

On the  opposite end of the moral compass was  Rajkumar Rao’s portrayal of  the visually impaired stubborn  entrepreneur  in Srikanth. A  breezy  genial take on the underdog’s victory, the  film proved Rao to be one of our most dependable actors.

Diljit Dosanjh as  Amar Singh Chamkila was somewhat problematic in the early parts of  the  film.He  seemed to be  struggling to understand why Chamkila  sang the way he did. But eventually he  got a  grip over  the  character  and emerged with a persuasive   if somewhat  muddled character study.

And finally , Lakshya  in  Kill. Whatever  the fate of  the  film, we cannot fault  the   actor  for his precision, skill and intensity  in doing his  skills.Kill may have underperformed  . But Lakshya is here to stay.

So many   actors giving off their  best  in the  first  six months of 2024, can only mean one thing: we are never  short of  talent.