Vicky Kaushal, Radhika Apte, Rajkummar Rao – 5 stars that broke the boundaries in 2018

2018 was a good year for Bollywood with some amazing concept and content-based films. The people ruling the big screen were not the superstars but the next-door faces. The stories weren’t nice, of or for the elite, or stories no one could identify with. They were amazingly normal, and the characters were from amongst us. Where big films with big stars failed to interest the audience, it was the small-town stories and the Pankaj Tripathi in Stree and Surekha Sikri in Badhaai Ho that bought audiences to the theaters. Let’s take a look at the winners of the year 2018 vis-a-vis performances, and rejoice that we are finally moving towards a better future for Bollywood.

# Vicky Kaushal: The new-found national crush of this past year Vicky Kaushal, is on hyper mode, giving us amazing performances. With five releases, of which two were on OTT platforms, Love Per Square Foot (LPSF) and Lust Stories, and three theatrical films, Sanju, Raazi and Manmarziyaan as his arsenal, he blazed his way into public hearts, and doesn’t look likely to leave soon. With his unique earthy charm and versatile acting, we are quite in love with him.

# Radhika Apte: It was hard not to spot Radhika Apte last year even for someone living under a rock, as she was ‘omnipresent’, like Netflix India titled her. Radhika was everywhere—on the big screen and  OTTs with a strong screen presence and unique roles. She appeared in six projects, of which two (Sacred Games, Ghoul) were Netflix Original series, one (Lust Stories) was a Netflix Original film, and three (Padman, Andhadhun and Bazaar) were theatrical releases. Whoa! Let me get my breath back! Every part she played was a treat, and we love that she’s all over the place, as long as she gives us the kind of performances she is.

# Ayushmann Khurana: The man for whom a normal storyline is boring and who needs something unconventional every time, Ayushmann without breaking his streak  did two very out-of-the-box roles last year. Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho were his releases that made the last leg of the year worth going to the theatres. Damn, this man even impressed us as a blind pianist. Ayushmann, is there something you can’t do?

# Rajkummar Rao: The day is not far away when Rajkummar will be the name of a genre, and his films, the master-classes. Last year, the National Award winning actor entered the Rs 100 crore club with his film Stree, where he played a ladies tailor in a village that has spirit who makes an annual festival visit. Rajkummar did what he does best, portraying vulnerability on screen has been his super power, and with such a script, magic had to happen.

# Taapsee Pannu: Taapsee is winning us with her candid Instagram profile and her superb choice of characters. Playing a lady trying to save her in-laws from false allegations in Mulk, and the complexed Rumi from Manmarziyaan, Taapsee had her heart in both, and our hearts for both. After Pink, Taapsee has become more conscious about her choices and we are the happier for that.

All of these actors were revelations last year, and we definitely crave for more from them. Luckily for the public, this lot also has a good number of projects in 2019, and the wait is getting difficult. Who is your breakout star for 2018? Do let us know in the comments section what do you feel about them!