There are few things more disappointing in cinema than a good performance being wasted because of mediocre writing and filmmaking. This makes one feel for the actor who must have put in a great deal of work that led to personal success but couldn’t help the project. Here are a few examples of the same.
1. Deepika Padukone in Gehraiyaan.
As a movie, Gehraiyaan did not work for a variety of reasons, but as Alisha Khanna, Deepika shines through. She breathes life into a very complicated character and there are scenes in the movie that she makes her own in a way that you can’t imagine anyone recreating them. One feels bad about the fact that the script ultimately could not do justice to her immense talent.
2. Kartik Aaryan in Love Aaj Kal.
Not many people are willing to talk about it but Kartik Aaryan was actually quite good in Love Aaj Kal. While Imtiaz Ali’s depiction of love may have gotten a bit repetitive, one cannot take credit away from Kartik Aaryan for ably carrying out that depiction. The problem was the writing of the movie, not the acting (except for Sara Ali Khan’s, she could have taken it down at least 3 notches).
3. Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Kick.
The less we say about Kick, the better, but Nawaz was good even in that half-baked action movie. In an interview, he said that for him a role is a role, whether it’s in a mainstream film or not. Well, that shows. He played his part with full honesty and it hurts to think what the makers could have made of Kick if they had not become so comfortable after casting Salman.
4. Dhanush in Atrangi Re.
Why does an actor like Dhanush go for flawed films is beyond my understanding. Atrangi Re trivialises mental illnesses and is an overall mess, but Dhanush is good in it, and that is infuriating. Why does he not see the very evident problems in the script? His good performances legitimise these problems and give them credibility they absolutely do not deserve.
5. Irrfan Khan in Karwaan.
A lot of people did not mind Karwaan and that’s fair but it was nowhere near a ‘good movie’. Irrfan Khan did his best to save it though. He was the life, the heartbeat of the film, and the best parts of this road-trip saga are the ones that have him. As van driver Shaukat, he shines in the movie that falls flat despite showing promise early on.
6. Kareena Kapoor in Heroine.
With Heroine, Madhur Bhandarkar tried to repeat what he did in Fashion, but the movie did not work at all. It had too many weak spots to hold anyone’s attention beyond a few minutes. However, Kareena Kapoor’s performance in it can be considered good. She played a very complicated character with complete honesty and deserves credit for doing some really intense scenes which could not have been easy.
Even though the movies didn’t work, we hope these performances are not forgotten.
