The industry is a name game – the bigger the name the bigger the fame. Many people have accepted that this is the way that the world works, but it’s tragic to see that in this game more fall behind. And, what’s more tragic is that these people who fall behind are bursting with talent. Bollyspice calls these artists the “underrated stars” of Indian Cinema. There are many such stars, although we named the top five names that come to everyone’s minds when you say the phrase “underrated stars.”
Akshay Kumar – He has been in the industry for sixteen years and after being in the industry for so long one would expect him to at least have bagged a few Best Actor awards. But, sadly that is not the case with our Akki.
He has showed off that he isn’t just an action hero; post the release of Dharmesh Darshan’s Dhadkan. Waqt and Jaaneman only added to the list of reason to prove what a sensational actor he is. And, his performances in Priyadarshan’s movies display the variety of talents that he has as an actor.
He is a versatile actor who has excelled in all genres. This guy is the complete package! Then why on Earth are makers still not recognising him? It makes you wonder because you really cannot see any flaws in the guy. All in all he is a completely underrated actor.
Aftab Shivdasani – If one had to explain the phrase “from strength to strength” then there wouldn’t be a more perfect example than Aftab Shivdasani. His first movie Mast launched him as just another chocolate hero and he surely got recognised for it. But, it only took for his second movie to prove what a sensation star he was.
Within months the audiences saw him go from the film fanatic college boy in Mast to a mysterious and treacherous husband in Kasoor. If that is not versatility, then wait till we get to his performances in comedy hits like Masti and Hungama. Then, he was back with dramatic roles in Ankahee and recently released Red.
Most intriguing thing about Aftab and his performances is that critics and reviewers seem to love him! He stands out in all the projects he’s done and yet he doesn’t get top projects and it is a rare occasion to see him on celluloid. If that isn’t underrated then what is?!
Urmila Matondkar – Her fans need to forever thank Ram Gopal Verma for this amazing actress. Not only did he launch her, but when the rest of the industry did not find her amazing, there is one maker who is forever willing to sign her. That maker is Ramu.
From her debut movie, everyone knew she was here to stay. Although, we didn’t know was how underrated she would be. Versatility personified is Urmila. Whether it is your typical girl next door
role, such as Hum Tum Pe Marte Hai, or a dramatic role like Tehzeeb or be it a challenging role like Kaun or Bhoot, she does all varieties with ease. All this with a brilliant comic timing whenever required.
The critics love her and so do the audiences but for some odd reason the makers of Indian cinema aren’t a big fan of her (well most of them aren’t). Hence, she has ended up in our list of underrated stars because she truly deserves some recognition.
Isha Koppikar – this girl is facing the biggest challenge ever, and that is to wipe of the “khallas girl” name tag and put on an “actress” name tag on her. Yes, she has made some bad career choices which she admits, but that shouldn’t stop audiences and makers from recognizing her talent.
She debuted quietly in Khalid Mohmad’s Fiza and one thought “this girl will go far” but it didn’t take off entirely well. For a while we saw her in and out of the news with small banner projects. Then the hype creating Girlfriend was released, which didn’t exactly make her overrated or recognized but it has certainly put her back in the headlines.
Kya Kool Hai Hum was definitely the path stopper in her career. What a role! I am sure that everyone would have trouble naming at least three actresses who could have pulled off Urmila Martodkar’s character with such confidence and ease. If one called her a glam doll then they would have to do some serious rethinking.
One would have thought that doing a big banner movie such as Salaam-e-Ishq would gain her acknowledgment and recognition but no such luck. Her role was so limited it barely provided her to show off any talent. It was a total waste of a fine actress.
Farhan Akhtar gave her the much needed recognition in Don. As we all know that once a girl acts with the King Khan, she is definitely on the map of stars in the industry.
Yet, after these sensational performances she doesn’t seem to get the acknowledgment she deserves. Perhaps because our industry regards box office results higher than performance analysis by critics. If that is the case, then Isha Koppikar is definitely suffering from the disease of being an “underrated star.”
Akshaye Khanna – if there was one thing that was common with majority of the film fanatics, it would be that they all consider Akshaye Khanna underrated.
This particular star is clearly bursting with talent. He displayed it in his blockbuster movie Taal opposite Aishwarya Rai. And even after this fantastic portrayal we saw nothing of him.
He has done such a wide variety of roles, from soldier where he acted as a villain, to an average boy next door and no one can forget to mention his unforgettable comedy roles. He is a completely dependable star who is a total charmer, who also displays one of the best comic timings in the industry. Akshaye has traveled from strength to strength throughout his career. Thanks to Nikhil Advani he got a fair bit of recognition through Salaam-e-Ishq.
Although, with all this combined recognition, it still doesn’t give the artist that entire acknowledgment he deserves. Being a star kid is not enough and nor is talent, apparently. The industry needs to be on your side and so does luck. No one can prove this better than Akshaye Khanna.
Special mentioning to other underrated stars: Ajay Devgan, Rahul Bose, Sandhya Mridul, Neha Dhupia, Sonali Bendre, Tabu, Raima Sen, Amrita Rao, Irfan Khan, Sushmita Sen, and Shreyas Talpade are few others from the everlasting list of underrated artists in the industry.
