THE ART OF POLITICS.: 20 Personalities Who Have Changed The Face Of Bollywood In The Past Decade

20 Personalities Who Have Changed The Face Of Bollywood In The Past Decade

There was a time when Bollywood, in the eyes of people not completely familiar with it, stood for convoluted plots, synchronized dancing and a lot of drama. Not anymore – at least, not all of it. With every new generation, Bollywood has slowly changed itself to adapt to newer audiences. And while the superstar and item number syndrome will always make for 100-crore-movies, these 20 personalities (in no particular order) have brought in a fresh breath into the very idea of the Hindi film industry.

1. Yo Yo Honey Singh

Personalities Who Have Changed The Face Of Bollywood In The Past Decade

His songs might be offensive, but he is a phenomenon that would have pervaded Bollywood sooner or later. Remember those days when Bollywood music always required a token black rapper to make the peppy numbers more upbeat? Well hey, now we have our own ‘desi kalakar’ who infuses the soundtracks with that very pep – and keeps it real for the desis. However, when we speak of Honey Singh, we are absolutely not taking into account his acting skills, or the lack thereof.

2. Kangna Ranaut

Ever since she started out in the industry, her talent was never in question. However, except for her first couple of films – nothing she did provided her with a platform that equaled her skills. And then came 2013 with ‘Queen’ and ‘Revolver Rani’ – and if not change the way men viewed women-oriented movies, she definitely sealed the deal on that one.

3. Nawazuddin Siddiqui

This man proved that being respected as an actor has absolutely nothing to do with fair and handsome looks or six-pack abs. After making his presence felt in ‘Peepli Live’, there was no looking back for this talented man. Since then, most of his movies have been screened at international film festivals – because he is one of the few actors who can truly act, and not just perform.

4. Sunny Leone

Another personality who can be credited with changing the face of Bollywood is Sunny Leone. While it is true that her reputation precedes her, this is also the first time that a porn star has become a part of the Hindi film industry – and if she can prove her detractors wrong by choosing to do some performance-oriented roles instead of the item numbers, she will definitely have paved the way for more Indian porn stars to go mainstream.

5. Anurag Kashyap

At a time when the rest of Bollywood was making run-of-the-mill romcoms like and ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’ and action flicks like ‘Wanted’, Anurag Kashyap gave a whole new spin to the love triangle story by directing a modern-day version of Devdas. With his eye for detail and a gritty take on all of his films’ subjects, Anurag Kashyap has definitely been a breath of fresh air in the industry.

6. Imtiaz Ali

Imtiaz Ali’s fresh take on romance was a change from the typical YRF fare when he burst into the scene with ‘Socha Na Tha’. A decade later he still mesmerizes with his aesthetic shots and his ability to bring out the raw and genuine performance in his actors.

7. Vikramaditya Motwane

Some directors make you wish they would make more movies more often. And such is the case with Vikramaditya Motwane – who delighted us with brilliant movies like ‘Udaan’ and ‘Lootera’. One of the reasons to include Motwane in this list was the way he took the most mainstream actress of current times like Sonakshi Sinha and brought out such a poignant performance from her – upping her acting skills by leaps and bounces.

8. Vidya Balan

While our yesteryear actresses were none too skinny, there came the zero-figure fascination in Bollywood where your popularity depended on how thin you were. Among figures like Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, along came Vidya Balan with her unapologetic big frame and exceptional acting prowess. She has been instrumental in bringing back curves – and paving a path for future actresses like Sonakshi Sinha.

9. Priyanka Chopra

Some stars balance being an A-lister and constantly experimenting with their talent, pushing the boundaries with aplomb. With every role – save for those masala entertainers where she is easily overshadowed by the male leads – she has done something new, whether it’s playing multiple characters, an autistic girl or played real-life personalities.

10. Irrfan Khan

A seasoned actor, a favorite in Hollywood as much as in Bollywood and a personality whose work speaks louder than his words – Irrfan Khan is a complete professional. He shines in offbeat movies like ‘The Lunchbox’ and he without fail maintains his own in multi-starrers like ‘Gunday’. The day Bollywood tipped the scales in favor of sensible movies over masala entertainers will be the day actors like Irrfan Khan will be the biggest names in the industry.

11. Anaita Shroff Adajania

Another important personality who has slowly been changing the face of Bollywood is Anaita Shroff Adajania. This stylist has revolutionized the look of the characters in movies. From Deepika and Saif’s fresh looks in ‘Love Aaj Kal’ to Kareena’s hot saree look in ‘Ra.One’, she has definitely created better aesthetics in the industry.

12. Farhan Akhtar

If every actor were like Farhan Akhtar, we would only need a handful of them in Bollywood. Director, singer, actor and producer – this man has left no stones unturned. It is no mean task to make some absolute super-hits and yet not be assimilated into the superstar clique. And his dedication is there for all to see – the amazing transformation he went through for ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ is a testimony to his talent.

13. Sanjay Leela Bhansali

The man who should be credited with revolutionizing the look and feel of Bollywood movies is Sanjay Leela Bhansali. His films always have great music and an epic plot – but what overshadows everything else is the pure aesthetics of the sets he uses in the movies. From ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ to ‘Devdas’ to ‘Goliyon Ka Raasleela – Ram-Leela’, every one of them is a pure pleasure to watch.

14. Manoj Bajpai

If Bollywood had one Manoj Bajpai for every five vacuous star, the industry would have gone even further than it has today. He proved his mettle with ‘Satya’ in 1998 – and his performances in later movies like ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ and ‘Special 26’ reinforces the fact that there is no substitute for talent.

15. A.R. Rahman

There are music directors, and then there is A.R. Rahman. Every time Rahman works for a movie, you can just tell it is him. Not because he is predictable, but because his melodies are something that you have never heard before. Take his latest movies – ‘Raanjhanaa’ and ‘Highway’ for examples. And because of his musical genius, he is in demand even in Hollywood.

16. Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor might not have made any significant movie in the recent past – but this leading lady brought about a revolution in the way actresses were paid. Traditionally, actors have always been paid more than the actresses. However, when Kareena was paid close to 8 crores for ‘Heroine’, she opened up avenues for other actresses like Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif to demand payment as per their potential.

17. Aamir Khan

The only ‘famous Khan’ to make this list is Aamir Khan – who, thanks to his perfectionism, opts for movies that actually make sense than go for mass appeal, weeding out dozens and hundreds of bad scripts in the process. Except for his recent dud in the form of ‘Dhoom 3’, the man has brought about a certain class to Bollywood with movies like ‘Dhobi Ghat’ and ‘3 Idiots’.

18. Vishal Bharadwaj

Vishal Bharadwaj can easily be ranked among the best directors of Bollywood. There are an awful lot of things that could go wrong when adapting Shakespearean plays into Hindi films – but Bharadwaj skirts those problems with ease.

19. Anand Gandhi

Although he is just a couple of films old – and best known for ‘Ship of Theseus’, he is the kind of director there needs to be more of in Bollywood to make intelligent cinema for every Rohit Shetty or Sajid Khan entertainer. There is a long way to go before Bollywood can cut the umbilical cord of filmi music and convoluted dramas – but the entry of directors like Anand Gandhi might just be the wind of change that changes the status quo.

20. Emraan Hashmi

The last person we credit with the changing face of Bollywood is Emraan Hashmi. Bollywood was still hemming and hawing about regular portrayals of kissing and other intimate scenes when Hashmi waltzed in and changed the industry forever. His uninhibited performances in such scenes rightfully earned him the moniker of ‘Serial Kisser’.

THE ART OF POLITICS.

Saturday, 30 August 2014