Having read, rated and commented on other’s reviews on the same topic, I have decided to embark on a similar adventure myself. To quote a cliché, its tough to choose five people from the wide galaxy of actors is a tough job to do. Anyways here goes, (not in any particular order of rating)
Amitabh Bachchan :- Ahh the Big B the man who started the image of a angry young man. And this ’’angry young man’’ had one of the best timing sense for comic roles. And then who can forget the intense roles played in movies like Silsila and Kabhie Kabhie. Any kind of role, you name it he has done it. What’s the best about this man is that most of his movies have been multi her projects and yet he shone through each of them, at times dazzling enough to put the others in his shade.
Sanjeev Kumar :- I would label him the ’’God’’ of versatility. Just one example would be enough to prove this point, Naya Din Nayee Raat, a movie in which he played nine different characters. Other characters that come to my mind at this moment are Thakur Saab of Sholay and the Deaf and Dumb guy in Koshish. He had the passion in his portrayal to make the viewers live through his characters
Aamir Khan :- Another person in the mould of Sanjeev Kumar though I wouldn’t rate him equal to Sanjeev Kumar as yet. But then he has the same passion in each of his characters. The people who doubted his ability to act a tough guy (especially after the debacle of Baazi) were proved wrong with Sarfarosh. Thinking of Andaaz Apna Apna (more like a college skit than a movie) he does seem to have carried off his character with passion. Am really pinning my hopes on Dil Chahta Hai for a gem of an innings.
Shahrukh Khan :- More of a personal (read as sentimental) favorite than anything else but then he has been reigning this industry for the past 10 years. A versatile actor in his own right but I wouldn’t rate him as equal to a Sanjeev Kumar or an Aamir Khan. He is really good at playing the senti, mushy kind of roles and he has exploited his potential to the hilt.
Naseeruddin Shah :- One of the most underrated actors in this industry I feel. If he were to be judged by his acting talent and skill he would surely rate to be one of the best ever. Again he has played a number of different types of roles both in the main stream cinema and parallel or ’’art’’ cinema as people prefer to call it.
Actually I would have liked to include people like Dilip Kumar (who was a very good actor of his time), Govinda (who I would consider the king of comedy in this day), Sanjay Dutt (one of the best actors in the present day), Manoj Bajpai (who I do rate quite highly), Amrish Puri (evil personified, though he has proved to be a damn good character actor as well), Anupam Kher (on of the most versatile non-hero actors in the industry), Paresh Rawal, etc. etc. but then these are my five favorites