2017 will not go down as a very memorable year for Bollywood. Many big-budget films like Jab Harry Met Sejal and Tubelight bombed badly at the box-office giving major setbacks to superstars like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. Younger actors like Tiger Shroff and Ranbir Kapoor too had a forgettable year with Munna Michael and Jagga Jasoos failing to impress the audience. However, on the bright side, this year belonged to the unconventional actors who ruled our hearts with their effortless performances. Leading the pack were Rajkummar Rao and Irrfan Khan who delivered some breathtaking performances. As we head towards the end of the year, here is a look at the top 10 Bollywood actors of 2017:
1. Rajkummar Rao
Very rarely we see a calendar having one man’s name written all over it. 2017 was that year for Rajkummar Rao. The 33-year-old actor played lead in 5 movies, did one cameo and also starred in a web series. His best character of 2017 was Pritam Vidrohi in Bareilly Ki Barfi. His Newton was India’s official entry to the Oscars this year, Behen Hogi Teri and Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana were two romantic comedies while Trapped was one power packed performance. Notably, he played the role of a 324-year-old man in Raabta and finished the year with playing Subhash Chandra Bose in Ekta Kapoor’s web-series Bose: Dead/Alive.
2. Varun Dhawan
This was a great a year for Varun Dhawan. He not only did exceptionally well at the box-office but also established himself as a superstar. His two releases this year Badrinath Ki Dulhania and Judwaa 2 earned over Rs 100 crore each. Varun got the characters perfectly right in both the films. He is likely to make even bigger leaps in performances in near future.
3. Irrfan Khan
Irrfan had been busy in Hollywood for a while but his Hindi Medium was a reminder why the 50-year-old actor is by far the best Bollywood has ever produced. Just like wine, Irrfan is getting better with age and starred in two films this year: Hindi Medium and Qarib Qarib Single. Both the movies made the audience laugh and did decent business.
4. Akshay Kumar
Another year of excellence for Akshay Kumar who made people laugh with Jolly LLB2 before asking some serious questions with his Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. While the former was a satire on India’s judiciary, the later was based on PM Modi’s flagship Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Both films earned over Rs 100 crore making Akshay one of the most successful actors of 2017.
5. Prabhas
Even though Prabhas isn’t a Bollywood actor and neither is Baahubali: The Conclusion, his unbelievable performance in North India means that Prabhas cannot be left out of the list. The Telugu actor was loved by the Hindi audience in his Baahubali avatar leading to rumours about his Bollywood debut soon.
6. Salman Khan
What could have been a disastrous year of Salman Khan because of the failure of Tubelight turned out to be another record-smashing one with the massive success of Tiger Zinda Hai. The film earned over Rs 170 crore within first 5 days of its release and was loved by the audience across the country.
7. Ajay Devgn
His first release of the year, Baadshaho turned out to be a dull affair but Ajay Devgn was the only bright point in that movie. It was followed by his favourite comedy franchise Golmaal Again that smashed all box-office records of that time becoming the first movie of 2017 to earn over Rs 200 crore.
8. Ayushmann Khurana
Is there anyone in Bollywood who can play the small town guy better than Ayushmann does? It is all so natural for the actor who proved it twice with Bareilly Ki Barfi and Shubh Mangal Savdhan this year. Even though his Meri Pyari Bindu was a box-office disaster, 2017 was a fruitful year for Ayushmann Khurana.
9. Shah Rukh Khan
This was a very crucial year for Shah Rukh Khan and he started it with a bang too. Raees was a huge hit and King Khan delivered a convincing performance after a long time. Next in line was his much-awaited Jab Harry Met Sejal that failed miserably. But, a few signature moments were enough to earn him a place on the list of top 10 actors.
10. Nawazuddin Siddiqui
By his own admission, 2017 wasn’t a great year for Nawazuddin Siddiqui. But, such is his class of this man that even his worst is better than the best of few others. He was the bright point in an otherwise terrible Munna Michael, pulled off an amazing performance in Haramkhor and was at his best in Raees.
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