Ever so often and for good reason too, actresses have rued that Bollywood films do not give them ample opportunities for performance-driven roles, using them merely as arm candy for the heroes and eye-candy for audiences. 2011 was different. The industry seriously attempted a different narrative for women actors. Among the most noticeable performances of the year, many were those by actresses who ften outshone their male counterparts in film. The year began with the much-anticipated No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ), based on the controversial Jessica Lall murder and court case. The film’s two protagonists ? Vidya Balan as Jessica’s sister Sabrina Lall fighting for justice and Rani Mukerji as a television reporter ? delivered performances that helped the film become a sleeper hit winning both actors nominations for the Best Actor (Female) category.
NOKJ also set the tone for the rest of the year. 7 Khoon Maaf’s release in February saw Priyanka Chopra essay the character of a psychotic woman, in search for the perfect man. She has few qualms in killing her husband each time she is disappointed. The film may not have fared too well at the box-office, but the actress’ performance remains amongst the most memorable ones, helping her bag a nomination for the coveted award. The audience endeared themselves to grey shades in women and Kalki Koechlin’s enfant terrible act in Shaitan won acclaim too, winning her nominations in both Best Actor (Female) and Best Actor in a Negative Role (Female) categories. Before the year ended, Balan’s versatility had become drawing room conversation, it got her a lot of well deserved attention for her portrayal for her bold, uninhibited act as Silk in The Dirty Picture. Amidst all this, Kangna Ranaut’s effervescent performance in Tanu Weds Manu also ranked amongst the top acts of the year.
Ranaut’s male co-actor, R Madhavan, also made it to the Best Actor (Male) category nominations. The nominees for this award yet again represent the jury’s careful selection of actors who effectively portrayed nuanced characters. Ajay Devgn for his tough-cop-with-a-heart-of-gold act by in Singham, Ranbir Kapoor as the angsty lover in Rockstar, Amitabh Bachchan as an idealistic principal in Aarakshan and Shah Rukh Khan for his suave, anti-hero in Don 2 will contest for the this trophy.
The nominations for the Best Actor in a Negative Role (Male) category too indicate that there are winners all the way. Amole Gupte as the ruthless teacher in Stanley Ka Dabba is pitted against the corrupt cop act of Abhimanyu Singh in Onir’s sensitive I AM, Jimmy Shergill headstrong Saheb in Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster, Prakash Raj’s good-old baddie in Singham and Prashant Narayan’s bloody act in Murder 2 are the contenders.
With ensemble cast in films being the order of 2011, supporting cast was as important as the lead actors. Nominations for Arunoday Singh for Yeh Saali Zindagi, Kunal Roy Kapur for Delhi Belly, Neil Nitin Mukesh for Saat Khoon Maaf, Rajesh Sharma for No One Killed Jessica and Saif Ali Khan for Aarakshan stood out. Among the women, debutantes dominated the nominations for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category. Parineeti Chopra in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, Poorna Jagannathan in Delhi Belly, Aditi Rao Hydari for Yeh Saali Zindagi, Swara Bhaskara for Tanu Weds Manu and Kirti Kulhari for Shaitanare competing.
Standing tall among the big names are the young, child artistes. Armaan Verma who played the video game addict kid in RA.One has bagged the nomination for Best Child Artist award alongside Harsh Mayer for I Am Kalam, Partho Gupte for Stanley Ka Dabba and Naman Jain and Irfan Khan of Chillar Party.