Time to give them their due. Review on Five Most Underrated Bollywood Actors

In a media made world where actors like Fardeen Khan , Zayed Khan , Esha Deol to name a few manage to get tones of mileage in the media inspite of their * talent*( or the lack of it) or I guess just cause of their star parents, there are some really talented performers in Bollywood who in spite of their superb performances never really got their due from a media which looks only at hype but never the content. And  here are some of the most under rated performers of Bollywood.

1 Anil Kapoor : He is not the greatest of the actors nor the most brilliant. But yet on his own, he can give a run to any actor. He made his debut in a soft role in Voh 7 Din . During the early years of his career he managed to hold his own against veterans like Dilip Kumar( Mashaal), Naseeruddin Shah(Voh 7 Din). He was not a prisoner of an image and could easily flit between a lover boy role in Mohabbat to a tapori role in Andar Baahar to an angry young man role in Mere Jung . He is equally at home in comedies like Deewana Mastana and actioners like Tezaab . And in movies like Biwi No 1 and Taal he stole the show from the main characters.  I guess one reason he couldn’t make it  was in all his biggest hit movies he was overshadowed by his leading lady Mr. India, Sridevi , Tezaab,  Beta, Madhuri Dixit . But he has shown his mettle as a performer with movies like Lamhe , Viraasat and more recently My Wife’s Murder **. Another reason was at the height of his success with Tezaab and Ram Lakhan, he went and signed on a lot of mediocre movies and many of them proved to be duds.

2 Pankaj Kapoor: One of the most talented actors, he could just slip into any role and bring a sort of sensitivity to it. Problem was even in the world of parallel movies he had to live under the shadow of Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri. But of his talent, no doubts about it at all. He was a highlight of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron as the corrupt builder Taneja. As a terrorist in Roja he played a negative character with such intensity and sensitivity, that today it becomes painful to watch the likes of Mukesh Rishi and Mukesh Tiwari hamming it out in such roles. And of course as the gang lord betrayed by his mistress in Maqbool he was just outstanding.  And in a terrible movie like Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon he was the only redeeming factor. One of the finest actors whose talent has never been recognized.

3 Utpal Dutt : Can any one ever forget Bhavani Shankar of Golmaal , the guy who hated clean shaven people and thought of sports as a waste of time? And not too often can one forget the actor who played him Utpal Dutt , one of the best actors whose contribution has never been recognized much. Utpal Dutt was one of those rare actors who could just slip into the role and he was always a delight to watch on the screen. He was a versatile actor in the league of Ashok Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar and Balraj Sahni, but somehow he never got the recognition he deserved. No doubt he was great at comedy rules, but his versatility was unmatched. He could be the leering villain of Amanush, the no nonsense father of Julie , the father who has to contend with his selfish sons in Saaheb . He was as good at doing serious and villainous roles as he was in comedy roles. One of the greatest actors.

4 Juhi Chawla : Most of us associate her with romantic comedies, but as Teen Deewarein and My Brother Nikhil showed Juhi can wallop a power packed performance. Juhi earlier showcased her brilliance in movies like Aaina and Hum Hain Raahi Pyaar Ke, but she then went on to do a host of forgettable movies . And around this time she was eclipsed by Madhuri Dixit and new stars like Karishma Kapoor. Also she was unlucky that the media choose to give prominence to * sexy stars * like Mamta Kulkarni who camouflaged their lack of talent with bold quotes and sexy pictures. Juhi with her sweet girl image lost out on such sort of appeal. But she hit back with strong performances in movies like Yes Boss, Saat Rang Ke Sapne etc. Juhi was a really good actress who unfortunately never got her due.

5 Dharmendra : Too often we remember him for his Kutte Kamine dialogues, which is quite sad. Dharam played a lot of sensitive characters in his early days in movies like Anupama , Bandini, Satyakam. In movies like Chupke Chupke, Sholay and Pratigya he showcased his comic ability. And he had a long innings in Bollywood. Every time he had to share the limelight with some one else. During the 60’s he was dominated by Shammi Kapoor and actors like Rajendra Kumar. During the 70’s again he had to contend with Rajesh Khanna and then later Amitabh Bachan. But every time he has held his own and consistently delivered. But in the latter half of his career, he again signed up some absolutely rotten movies and that spelt his eclipse.

Some of the other under rated performers whom I would include are

Rishi Kapoor-Unfairly slotted as a lover boy, but has given some great performances in movies like Doosra Aadmi and Ek Chadar Maili Si.

Shashi Kapoor- Great performances in movies like Kalyug, Vijeta, Junoon, New Delhi etc. But most of the time ended up as one of the supporting actors.

Victor Banerjee - A very talented actor like Pankaj Kapoor who didn’t get much fame.