The past 100 plus years of Indian cinema have seen some pretty phenomenal on-screen charmers, who have defined the filmmaking and film-viewing experiences of their respective generations.
As we list down 10 of the finest male actors that we have witnessed on screen, through Hindi cinema, our focus would be to concentrate on the overall body of work and raw talent, notwithstanding the commercial aspects of their films or the mass-appeal of the artists.
So that means, you may not necessarily see some of your mainstream heroes here, as we focus on actual gigantic talents, who defined and recreated the mold of what it means to be a leading protagonist in cinema, for Indian audiences, and relied solely on their ability to pull of different characters.
Starting from the black and white era of Indian cinema, to the parallel wave spearheaded by filmmakers like Shyam Benegal, to the modern-day realism and sophistication – that has put us on the map, here are the 10 best actors of Indian cinema of all time:
10) Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal has acted in hundreds of films in his career, but has often been typecast in comical roles for the most part of his career. But despite those disadvantages, the actor has time and again shown his caliber, creating character and birthing performances that have remained etched in our memory. Be it ‘Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye’, ‘Tamanna’, ‘Hera Pheri’ or ‘Hungama’, Paresh Rawal has always had the ability carry the film on the shoulders of his acting talent
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9) Nana Patekar
There are actors who make the whole movie more impactful or meaningful than it actually is, just by the intensity of their performance – and Nana Patekar is one of them. The 3-time National Award winning actor is a force to be reckoned with. His ability to bring out fiery emotions on-screen, no matter what the character or role, turn him into one of the most intimidating co-actors, when it comes down to sharing screen-space with him. Notable film roles – Taxi No. 9211, Parinda, Krantiveer, Ghulam-E-Mustafa, to name a few.
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8) Anupam Kher
In his illustrious career, Anupam Kher has taken-up several challenging roles – that have always allowed him to break-free from the shackles of being typecast. And although there aren’t enough songs written to praise this performer, as much as we should, his work speaks for itself. His complex and layered performances in films like ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’, ‘Saransh’, ‘A Wednesday’, etc have time and again proven his range and versatility in roles of differing backgrounds. But it is his relatable humanity, depicted through brief nuances, that make him a delight to watch on-screen and one of the finest talents of our time.
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7) Dilip Kumar
One of the most celebrated names in Indian cinema, who has won nearly every award in the books – for his thespian-style performances, which were nearly impossible to be topped by those who’d share screen-space with him. Dilip Kumar has inspired the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra, and his work has been studied by several aspirants who dream to make it big in the mainstream. But his craft and melodrama was beyond what most achieve on the silver-screen. His natural, held-back and easy-breezy approach towards portraying his characters, made him a delight to watch – and defined a style, that has been imitated by several others who came after him.
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6) Balraj Sahni
An iconic face of the ‘black and white’ golden age of Indian cinema – Balraj Sahni was known for his versatility and his willingness to take-up challenging, unorthodox roles – while most mainstream actors of that time, stuck to formula. The realism and grittiness he would bring to his performances in films like ‘Kabuliwala’ and ‘Do Beegha Zameen’, made him a standout performer of his time – and an icon for the generations that followed.
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5) Irrfan Khan
A path-breaker of his time. Irrfan Khan is the man behind several aspirants, who rose in his wake – to take-up acting as serious profession. His groundbreaking performances in films like ‘Maqbool’ and ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ – are worth preserving for the schools of acting. His effervescent charm, and his understated way of emoting through his eyes – leaving the theatrical outbursts for special occasions, can teach a lot of performers – a whole lot about acting. His influence and impact still lingers among younger performers.
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4) Nawazuddin Siddiqui
In the span of last 10-15 years, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has earned the same spot that was once occupied by someone like Naseeruddin Shah in the industry. But his mainstream appeal far encompasses the ‘art-cinema’ performers, that came before him. And that is a great sign of not only the changing times in our cinema, but also his ability to curate characters that resonate with the masses – and infuse a sort of witticism, that makes even a casual movie-goer, study every bit of the work he puts in bringing that character to life. And that is the sign of a great artist.
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3) Manoj Bajpayee
It took years for this great talent to earn the kind of body of work that transformed him into a generation’s icon. His chameleon-like ability to get into the skin of whatever character he plays, has made him a standout performer of our times. Manoj has done it all, in movies ranging from ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur’ and ‘Special 26’ to ‘Aligarh’ and ‘Gali Guleiyan’. But what makes him even more great, is unlike most other actors, he never stops his ability to constantly learn and allow himself to evolve, and become even better – with each film. Indian cinema is blessed to have a talent like this.
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2) Om Puri
There are some performers who are just born to make you feel for their characters, from the word go. Mr. Om Puri was one of them. His craft was so ethereal yet so inspiring, that even when he would step-in the shoes of someone evil – you’d be able to relate to him. The late star was a powerhouse performer, who would somehow always manage to pack such punches in his delivery, that he would eat up everyone else in a scene. It didn’t matter whether he was doing comedy, horror, drama or action – Om Puri pulled everything with top-notch finesse. Especially when you take into account the era he started out in, you realize how far ahead from his time, this great talent was.
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1) Naseeruddin Shah
Shah was one of the leading faces of the iconic Indian Parallel Wave cinema, that gave us films like ‘Paar’ and ‘Mandi’. The actor, with his unconventional approach towards acting – that broke several doors around that time, brought a new facet of rustic realness amalgamated with powerful drama, in his performances. His ability to understand the humane nuances of his characters, allowed him to delve deeper in the search of the ‘human’ in all of them. And that is how, he inspired some of the greatest on-screen artists that we know of today – with a body of work, that reeks of great projects, one after another. Naseeruddin Shah is on a league of his own.
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Honourable mentions:
Amrish Puri
Pankaj Kapoor
Raghuvir Yadav
Ranveer Shoray