Discover Top Posts Tagged with #gitanjali rao

Bombay Rose

directed by Gitanjali Rao, 2019

#Bombay Rose #Gitanjali Rao #movie mosaics

This year has been full of doubt and uncertainty, but through the madness, inspiration prevails. Time magazine started a ‘Kid of the Year’ – a similar recognition to its famous Person of the Year issue. The first Person of the Year was issued in 1927 to aviator Charles Lindbergh. Ever...

Gitanjali Rao, a 15-year-old scientist inventor, becomes Time magazine's first-ever Kid of the Year for her work inventing a mobile device to test for lead in drinking water.

Read her story here - https://time.com/5916772/kid-of-the-year-2020/ ###

#shetales #kidoftheyear #gitanjali rao #gitanjalirao #kid of the year

Top 10 Best Performances in Hindi Films in 2018

January 13, 2019

by Inakshi Chandra-Mohanty

1. Avinash Tiwary - Laila Majnu

The best performance this year is the heart-wrenching portrayal of Qais (Majnu) by Avinash Tiwary. The descent of Majnu into craziness is one of the most essential and unique elements of the classic Laila-Majnu tale. Making it believable is the difficulty since people becoming mentally ill in love is not a common phenomenon. But thanks to Avinash Tiwary’s desparate eyes, and his weak smile after Majnu undergoes a spout of depression, Majnu’s sadness and his search for pure happiness through his visions of Laila seem believable. If not for his performance in the crucial second half, the film would have remained clichéd and never have been considered one of the best films of the year.

2. Zoya Hussain - Mukkabaaz

Zoya Hussain doesn’t say a word throughout the film. Yet, her performance as Shravan’s (Vineet Kumar Singh) mute lover, is the thread that holds the film together. Her character is the most important in the film as she is the motivation for Shravan’s initial rebellion against Bhagwan Das (Jimmy Shergill), which ultimately leads him to pursue boxing as a serious passion. The climax is also motivated by his love for her. She expresses so well with purely her eyes, whether it is the scene where she glares at her uncle (Bhagwan Das) with confident hatred in her eyes after he slaps her, or the scene where her eyes are wide open and bright in happiness after she meets a friendly man who can speak to her in sign language. Though Vineet Kumar Singh is equally as brilliant in the film, she dominated every scene they shared together which made him less noticeable in those scenes. She has potential to do much greater work in the future and hopefully her voice will have the same emotive impact as her eyes and face.

3. Alia Bhatt - Raazi

One of the most difficult things to master as an actor is the art of crying. If done wrong, an otherwise emotional scene can look contrived and caricaturish. Alia Bhatt in the character of Sehmat has proven herself once again with one of the strongest, most memorable performances of her career. The complex character was one of a sly spy unable to balance her patriotism for her country with her growing love for the family and people who have continuously treated her as their own. In multiple scenes, Alia Bhatt has been able to make the seamless transition from an emotionally distraught woman in one moment to a smart calculative spy in the next. Every frame of the film is the standard for perfection thanks to her fantastic performance.

4. Gitanjali Rao - October

A mother is torn apart by the deteriorating condition of her daughter, Shiuli, yet still has hope that maybe her daughter will recover one day. Despite pressure from her brother-in-law to take Shiuli off the ventilator, she refuses to lose faith, also due to huge support from Dan. Gitanjali Rao has completely immersed herself in this complex character. Her subdued tears and subtle emotions draw the audience to empathize with her. Despite the film’s focus being the relationship between Dan and Shiuli, in all the scenes that she is in, Gitanjali Rao shines above all the others.

5. Tabu - Andhadhun

Andhadhun is one of the best films of the year because of the intelligent script and crisp direction. The performances were only a supplement to the brilliant writing. However, one performance stood out above the script and that was that of Tabu as the shrewd, manipulative Simi. Tabu delivers such an efficient performance that in one scene she is able to make the audience despise her, such as when she instigates Radhika Apte against Ayushmann Khurrana, while in the next she is able to make us sympathize with her, such as when she tries to convince Ayushmann Khurrana that everything was an accident. Her perfect poker face does not allow the audience to ever understand what she is thinking and that is the most essential factor in a role like this where the audience in never supposed to be able to guess Simi’s next move.

6. Vineet Kumar Singh - Mukkabaaz

After 16 years of struggle, while doing small roles in film, with his only noticeable roles being in Gangs of Wasseypur and Bombay Talkies, Vineet Kumar Singh, finally got a chance to shine as the lead character in Mukkabaaz. To prep for the role, he went through extensive training to actually become a boxer so that the action in the film seemed realistic. He even excelled in the emotional scenes. Never has man crying on screen been so moving and heartbreaking, as when Vineet Kumar Singh is frantic while searching for his missing wife. He can also portray multiple different emotions so effortlessly, whether it is jealousy when he sees the woman he loves with another man, or innocent happiness, when she finally begins responding to his desperate flirting. Vineet Kumar Singh is definitely an excellent actor and it is a shame that he has had to wait so many years to finally get a chance to prove his mettle.

7. Sohum Shah - Tumbbad

Even though Tumbbad is in my opinion one of the best film of the year, I still felt that most of the actors were average and the film worked mostly because of an amazing script, beautiful visuals, music that fit the tone of the film, and strong direction. However, if the lead actor didn’t embody the character and deliver a great performance, the film would not have worked despite all these positives. His character goes through so many phases, beginning as a young fit man, fresh with greed in his mind, and ending as an older weak man, who is far more mature but even more greedy, so much so that he doesn’t realize when the greed begins to take over his life leading to his downfall. Sohum Shah has portrayed every emotion with perfection, from greedy happiness at finding the treasure, to anger at his son’s foolishness, to revenge at the man who tried to teach him, to finally fear for his son’s life.

8. Vicky Kaushal - Love Per Square Foot, Lust Stories, Raazi, Sanju, Manmarziyan

This has truly been a breakthrough year for Vicky Kaushal. After Masaan, which shot him to fame, he had done a few films but none that received commercial recognition. However, with five commercially viable films, this year, he has definitely made an impact on the audience. Hence, it is difficult to pick just one of his performances as the best of the year. Whether it is the flirtatious lover boy, Sanjay, in Love Per Square Foot, or the easily satisfied Paras in Lust Stories, or the husband to a spy, Iqbal, in Raazi, to the faithful friend, Kamli, in Sanju, to finally, the eccentric, commitment phobic DJ Vicky in Manmarziyan, every single role of his has been remarkable.

9. Rasika Duggal - Manto

Manto, though a very well made film, is not, in my opinion, one of the best films of the year, mainly because of a weak script with largely underdeveloped characters. However, it was filled with phenomenal performances by all the actors, including the supporting actors who only had a few scenes in the film. Yet, one performance stood out above the rest, and that was of Rasika Duggal as Safia, Manto’s wife. She was the only character apart from Manto that got a significant amount of screen time. She was able to portray the sweet, simple side of Safia, as well as her growing irritation at Manto’s drinking problem, which ultimately leads to strain on his mental health. With her unique voice and subtle facial expressions, Rasika Duggal makes a solid impact on the audience.

10. Anushka Sharma - Pari

Anushka Sharma’s character, Rukhsana, in Pari, was one that had to incite two completely different feelings in the audience, that too at the same time. For one, the audience had to be able to empathize with Rukhsana’s vulnerabilities. And on the other hand, they also had to feel fear due to her peculiar behaviors, and her ragged experience. This contrast on screen creates a confusion in the audience so that they continue guessing who is truly the villain in this story and where is the line drawn between right and wrong. We do not know till the end whether Rukhsana is the one we should be scared of or whether she is the one we should be scared for, and Anushka Sharma’s split performance allows for this question to remain in our minds.