MUMBAI: If I say 2020 was not a  good year for new acting talent in  Bollywood, you will turn around to ask, what was the year good for?  But seriously, there were some who made an impact beyond the ordinary. Here is my pick from the bright bunch.

A  recognizable name in  Gujarati cinema and theatre, Pratik Gandhi’s debut as Harshad Mehta in Hansal Mehta’s Scam 1992 wasn’t supposed to make the impact that it did. What made him such a household name? His 'everyman quality'! Pratik wasn’t trying to be a star. He played a character. He stayed there. The fact that he was an unknown face in Hindi gave him an immediate edge as Harshad. Pratik has gone from the mob to mobbed in one swift stroke. 

The lovely newcomer named Alaya F (not to be confused with Alia) made her striking debut as Saif Ali Khan’s illegitimate daughter in Jawani Jaan-e-Mann.  There is something quietly arresting about this star kid. She is eloquent, expressive, confident, chic-poised and wise beyond her tender years. She has a long road ahead.

Whatever one’s quibbles with Anurag Kashyap’s cinema, there is no denying the fact that Roshan Mathew has an eye for new talent. Roshan, a brilliant Malayali actor played Sayami Kher’s wastrel husband in Kashyap’s Choked with such empathy that he immediately proved here was an actor who knows the chops. I can’t wait to see what he does next in the Hindi industry.

Not many know Surya Sharma as yet. But make no mistake he is destined for stardom. In the excellent web series Undekhi, Surya plays the kind of ruthless amoral spruced-up lout who brings a bad name to money. Rinku (an ironically wimpish name for someone so brutal) presides over the narrative, though it was inherited property. Sharma is chilling in the way he normalizes crime and treats women like vassals, and vessels. He nails the character and gives the series a seriously breathless spin. Watch out for Surya Namaskar. 

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Though she did a bit of a role earlier, Sanjana Sanghi made her debut as a leading lady in Sushant Singh Rajput’s farewell film Dil Bechara. To play a dying girl with pipes running out of your nose in your first film is hardly anyone’s idea of a dream role. Sanjana made her presence felt.  

Not many could spot Prit Kamani in a Netflix flick called Maska. Kamani plays Rumi, heir to a crumbling  Irani café, with a sense of melancholic innocence. He is ambitious but not quite clued-in enough to support his ambitions. In one hilarious sequence, he walks into a film audition stark naked because it’s the role of a man caught with his pants down. This chap is way too earnest and roast-worthy. But Rumi is kind generous and compassionate. Kamani is able to convey all of this. It’s quite a debut performance.  

In Baba Azmi’s Mee Raqsam, newcomer Aditi Subedi played Mariam, a Muslim girl from a conservative family who decides to do something forbidden. She is a pro 'Bharat Natyam' dancer. It’s hard to believe that  Aditi had no experience in acting or dancing, which clearly implies that she is showcasing her natural talent.  

Shardul Bhardwaj was seen as the gentle compassionate autorickshaw driver in Nitya Menon’s Chand Mubarak (in the Unpaused anthology). Shardul brings to his part a kind of empathy and understanding that is rarely seen. He was sweet-tempered but not cloying. Rest assured, we will get to see a lot more of him in 2022. 

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Credit: SpotboyE