Aamir Khan: Mr. perfectionist Aamir Khan made his highly impressive small screen debut with his TV show Satyamev Jayate. Highlighting various social issues ranging from honour killing to child abuse, the show not only attracted ordinary viewers but even politicians. Aamir even met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the plight of manual scavengers who engage in cleaning human waste. He had spotlighted the problems of manual scavengers in an episode of the show. Before meeting the Prime Minister, Aamir had also met a parliamentary panel to discuss medical problems plaguing India that were highlighted in one of the episodes of the television show. On the big screen, Aamir’s act as tough cop , Surjan Singh Shekhawat, in his much awaited release ‘Taalash’ succeeded in gaining accolades though the film evoked mixed response from reviewers and viewers.
Alia Bhatt: Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s daughter Alia Bhatt was one cute student in director Karan Johar’s ‘Student of the Year’ as the actress made her debut in the tinsel town quite successfully. From dancing to the tunes of ‘disco deewane’ to romancing his co-stars Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan in ‘Ishq wala Love’, Alia surely promised to show more reflections of her talent in the upcoming years.
Arjun Kapoor: Filmmaker Boney Kapoor’s son made his debut opposite Parineeti Chopra in the romantic tale- ‘Ishaqzaade’. Both the actors made an impressive mark in the world of Bollywood with their debut film and convinced Indian audience of getting ready to witness stronger performances ahead.
Abhay Deol: If it is Abhay Deol then his fans can always be assured that he has something new to offer. The talented actor and a favourite of the crossover genre once again showed his strong acting skills in director Dibakar Banerjee’s political thriller ‘Shanghai’. However, his ‘Chakravyuh’ failed to impress both critics and viewers.
Abhishek Bachchan: One can say junior Bachchan had an average 2012 as far as the success of his films are concerned. Beginning the year with action thriller Players, Bachchan finally tasted moderate success with his ‘Bol Bachchan’. While ‘Players’ tumbled down like nine pins, his comic avatar in ‘Bol Bachchan’ was successful in pulling some crowds towards theatres.
Akshay Kumar: With five releases this year, Akki was surely one of the kings in B-town in 2012. Akshay made good impact on the box office as his films like Housefull 2, Rowdy Rathore, OMG: Oh My God! gained accolades from his fans besides doing good business this year. His last release of the year, Khiladi 786 is reportedly making impressive business. Coupled with southern beauty Asin, the original Khiladi of Bollywood still has the potential to draw his followers to the theatres. However, his attempts to capture the hearts of India movie buffs as space scientist Agastya in ‘Joker’ crashed badly.
Amitabh Bachchan: The same old sounds of the hooter, claps and some moment of excitement were back as Big B hosted the sixth season of popular TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati (also called KBC 6).On the silver screen, he was seen making a special appearance in director Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish. The superstar, however, mesmerised Bengalis along with the rest of the country as he sang Rabindranath Tagore’s creation ‘‘Ekla Cholo Re’ for director Sujoy Ghosh’s ‘Kahaani’. In his personal life, Bachchan’s health remained the matter of concern as he spent nearly two weeks in a Mumbai hospital and underwent an abdominal surgery.
Anil Kapoor: While he was the talk of the town in 2011 after sharing the screen space with Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise in the ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’, the actor re mained mostly invisible this year. The only film where Anil Kapoor was seen in 2012 was ‘Tezz’ and sadly it failed to draw the attentions of his fans.
Arjun Rampal: Arjun Rampal and Kareena Kapoor’s hot scene in Madhur Bhandarkar’s much hyped film ‘Heroine’ grabbed too many eye balls this year. The film earned mixed response at the box office but it received negative reviews from film critics. The handsome model turned actor’s other major releases of the year- Chakravyuh and Ajab Gazabb Love, stumbled miserably.
Asin: Whether it is Aamir Khan or Akshay Kumar, Asin always pairs with the best in the business. In 2012, the southern beauty joined Akshay Kumar in the laugh-riot named ‘Housefull 2 and then again in Khiladi 786. She was also seen joining Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan in another fun-filled merry-go-round ‘Bol Bachchan’. Asin played the perfect icing in the comic cakes.
Anushka Sharma: Anushka is slowly emerging as the next big thing in the tinsel town. The pretty-faced girl once again paired with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in late filmmaker Yash Chopra’s last creation- ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’. Along with Katrina Kaif, the film was one big release of the year and Anushka played her part well to make her audience utter only one word for her- ‘Wow’.
Bipasha Basu: Well, the bong beauty was seen scaring her fans in Vikram Bhatt horror thriller ‘Raaz 3’. Bipasha, who was a part of the first film of the Raaz series, made a comeback to it after opting out of the second film. Biapasha’s scary avatar as Shanaya Shekhar in the film gained appreciations from her fans. She was also seen pairing with R Madhavan in ‘Jodi Breakers’ and shared screen space with Abhishek Bachchan and Neil Nitin Mukesh in multi-starrer ‘Players’. Both the films, however, chocked at the box office.
Deepika Padukone: Deepika’s bikini sequence in her last released film Cocktail became the talk of the town earlier in the year. The hot-bodied actor grabbed some eyeballs as she played the ‘bold and beautiful’ Veronica in the film. Both her fans and critics gave positive response to Deepika for her performance though the film was trashed by one and all.
Emraan Hashmi: The ‘Murder’ actor gained appreciations from his fans and critics for his performance in filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee’s political thriller ‘Shanghai’ this year. However, Hashmi continued his long connection with thrillers with the other two releases in the year- ‘Raaz 3’, Jannat 2 and ‘Rush’. While, ‘Raaz 3’ and ‘Jannat 2 ‘ drew some crowds towards theatres, his Rush totally failed.
Esha Deol: Hema Malini’s eldest daughter tied the nuptial knot with businessman Bharat Takhtani this year.
Farhaan Akhtar: The happening guy of Bollywood Farhan Akhtar remained mostly busy with the shooting of his upcoming film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. The film is on Milkha Singh where Farhaan is portraying the character of the former Indian athlete. Though, Indian 70 mm missed Farhan’s acting in the year he co-produced Aamir Khan starrer ‘Talaash’ .
Farah Khan: Choreographer-turned- filmmaker Farah Khan finally appeared in front of the camera as she made her debut as an actress in director Bela Bhansali Sehgal’s ‘Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi’. However, the film met with a dull response at the box-office.
Hrithik Roshan: Hrithik gave Bollywood its first major hit of the year as his ‘Agneepath’ did not fail to thrill and entertain his fans. Released on the Republic Day, it opened with a staggering amount of Rs 23 crores over the weekend. The Hrithik Roshan-Priyanka Chopra starrer remake of the 1990 Bollywood film of the same name made a gigantic collection of around Rs 107 crores at the Box Office in just eleven days since it hit the silver screen on Jan 26.
Imran Khan: After giving ‘boldness’ a new meaning with his performance in ‘Delhi Belly’ in 2011, Imran was seen romancing Bollywood beauty Kareena Kapoor onscreen. The romantic comedy Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu emerged as a moderate box-office success.
Irrfan Khan: The thinking actor of B-town had an eventful 2012 as his Hollywood appearances caught the attentions of India movie buffs. He was seen playing ‘Dr. Rajit Ratha’ in super hero film ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’. His another international project ‘Life of Pi ‘ has already captivated the attention of global audience. In Bollywood, Irrfan, played a notorious bandit in ‘Paan Singh Tomar’. The film impressed the audience with fresh story and interesting settings.
Jacqueline Feranandes: The pretty-faced diva from Sri Lanka joined Akshay Kumar and John Abraham in the laugh-riot ‘Housefull 2’ that managed to make good business at the box office.
Kareena Kapoor: Bebo finally tied the knots with Saif Ali Khan. However, she tasted limited success in reel life as her films like ’Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu’ ,‘Agent Vinod’, ‘Heroine’ failed to reach the expected height of success. Her much anticipated film of the year, ‘Heroine’, tasted failure. Kareena’s ghost act in ‘Talaash’ received appreciations as she portrayed the character of a prostitute named Rosie quite brilliantly in the film. Coupled with Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherjee, the film received good attentions from movie buffs.
Katrina Kaif: Katrina maintained her numero-uno position in 2012 with fans still going gaga over her beauty and fashion statement. Her item song for the film ‘Agneepath’ swept the country like wildfire. She was seen pairing opposite the two Khans of Bollywood, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, in ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ and ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ as both the films made impressive business and helped the gorgeous actress maintain her dominance in B-town.
Karishma Kapoor: Karishma made her comeback in the world of films with her ‘Dangerous Ishhq’. But keeping in mind the negative reviews it received, the actress will surely love to forget the film as fast as possible.
Manoj Bajpayee: Away from the club of 100-crore heroes, Manoj has surely created a place of his own in glitzy world of Bollywood. 2012 surely witnessed his strong performance in as many as three films- ‘Chittagong’, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ and ‘Chakravyuh’. His fans will surely hope to see him deliver equally mightier roles in 2013.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Consistency can be the only word that suits actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui who delivered one powerful performance on-screen after the other in 2012. ‘Kahaani’, ’Talaash’, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1’ and ‘Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2’, Nawazuddin forced movie buffs to love him every time he appeared on the silver screen this year. He is the new exciting actor on the block.
Prateik Babbar: More than film it was Prateik and his love story that caught the attention of the media this year. It was speculated that the actor was busy romancing co-actor Amy Jackson. However, the Jodi soon split and both decided to take separate ways. Pertinently, Amy and Prateik’s reel love story also failed to impress India as their Ekk Deewana Tha had a lukewarm reception at the box office.
Priyanka Chopra: After winning hearts with her acting skills, Piggy Chops unveiled her debut single, “In My City”, in September. It gained commercial success in India. In the reel world, she roared with her performance as her ‘Agneepath’ and ‘Barfi’ reached new altars of success. Barfi, where she played the character of an autistic girl, bagged the nomination as India’s entry at the Oscar in the foreign film category. But it was finally unable to qualify for the best foreign language film category at the 85th Academy Awards.
Ranbir Kapoor: After playing a heart-broken rockstar in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rockstar’ last year, Ranbir captivated his fans by playing the role of a deaf-mute man in Barfi!. The film bagged the nomination as India’s entry at the Oscar in the foreign film category. However, the film finally failed to qualify for the best foreign language film category at the 85th Academy Awards.
Riteish Deshmukh: Riteish passed through several ups and downs in his life this year. The actor received a jolt in his life when his father and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh passed away in 2012. However, Riteish earlier in the year tied the nuptial knot with charming actress Genelia D’ Souza after secretly dating each other for nine long years. In the reel life, Riteish continued to score hits as allhis films released this year, including ‘Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum’ and ‘Housefull 2’, performed well at thebox office.
Rani Mukerji: Rani’s fans surely expected something special from her in 2012 but all their hopes were shattered when her ‘Aiyyaa’ turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year. However, her ‘Talaash’ with Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor did find some place in the hearts of her followers.
Rekha: After sizzling the big screen with her strong performance, Rekha started a new innings in her life as she took oath as Rajya Sabha MP. Rekha made her first appearance in Parliament during the Budget session as she took oath as a Rajya Sabha member on May 15.The voting for the Vice-Presidential election this year was the first time when she exercised their ballots as MP of the upper house of the Indian Parliament. Former Indian President Pratibha Patil had approved the names of Rekha and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar for nominated seats in the Rajya Sabha earlier this year.
Saif Ali Khan: Saif perhaps went through the saddest year in his life as he lost his father Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi in 2011. The death of the legendary Indian cricketer made him formally assume the title of 10th Nawab of Pataudi. His next film will be a 2012 release- Agent Vinod. Love of his life Kareena Kapoor also stars in the film. Well the good news is that finally he got married to Kareena this year.
Salman Khan: Sallu again rocked the big screen with his releases like Ek Tha Tiger and he returned as Chulbul Pandey in Dabangg2 opposite Sonakshi while speculations over his marriage plans continue. The stylish Bollywood star passed through some tough phases in real life due to health reasons. The actor continued to dodge questions on his marriage. Asked on a TV show about his marriage, he said in his Dabangg style, that will it will follow only after Jodhpur and Mumbai courts announce their verdicts on the blackbuck and vehicle mishap cases against him.
Sanjay Dutt: Sanjay started the year with a bang as he scared his fans as the dreaded villain Kacha Cheena opposite Hrithik Roshan in ‘Agneepath’. His performance in Son of Sardaar also drew appreciations. However, his charishma failed to sail ‘Department’ out of rough water.
Shah Rukh Khan: After four long years, SRK finally laughed aloud and danced merrily in Kolkata’s Eden Garden as his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final match to win the fifth edition of Indian Premier League under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. In the world of films, he was seen romancing two lovely ladies, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, in late filmmaker Yash Chopra’s ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’. Box Office India declared the film a “hit” in India and a “blockbuster” overseas. However, Yash Raj Films and independent trade analysts called the film a “worldwide blockbuster”.
Shahid Kapoor: Shahid had an unexpected slide at the Box Office as his only release of the year-Teri Meri Kahaani- disappeared fast from theatres and public minds.
Shilpa Shetty: The original ‘item girl’ of Bollywood, Shilpa Shetty, gave birth to a baby boy at a Mumbai hospital this year. The gorgeous actress had tied knots with London-based businessman Raj Kundra in 2009.
Sonam Kapoor: Sonam hardly made an impression in the minds of her fans this year as her ‘Players’ failed to play big shots in the Box Office.
Sushmita Sen: Sush remained busy with her ‘I Am She – Miss Universe India’ project this year and remained completely invisible from the big screen. Hopefully, the former Miss Universe will make a comeback on the silver screen in the coming year.
Sridevi: Ending her long disappearance from Bollywood, Sridevi made a comeback with English Vinglish. The film revolved around housewife Shashi Godbole, played by Sridevi, who enrolled in an English language course during a visit to New York so that she could escape the humiliation at home from family for her poor English language skills. Sridevi’s performance did not fail to draw her fans attentions as the film was quite successful in dragging movie buffs towards theaters.
Tusshar Kapoor: Tusshar may have tasted success with his adult comedy flick ‘Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum’ but his other release of the year ‘Chaar Din Ki Chandni’ failed to make a mark on Indian audience.
Vidya Balan: Vidya continued to reign as the supreme ‘queen’ of Bollywood with her ‘Kahaani’ forcing Indian audience to fall in love with the actress once again. Vidya as the pregnant protagonist in director Sujoy Ghosh’s thriller charmed, captivated and mesmerised her fans over and over again. The film resulted in renewed interest in Kolkata as a filming location, and the character of contract killer Bob Biswas (played by Bengali actor Saswata Chatterjee) became an internet phenomenon in India. Adding one more feather to her crown, Balan also clinched the Best Actress award for her notable performance in the film of previous year ‘The Dirty Picture’. In the personal front, she tied the nuptial knots with UTV Motion Pictures head Siddharth Roy Kapur in December.
Yami Gautam: Her pretty face and Bengali act did not go unnoticed as she made her Bollywood debut with ‘Vicky Donor’ this year. After commencing her career in the world of glamour with a bang, the actress is surely promising to deliver more stronger performances in the upcoming years.
Rest In Peace:
Yash Chopra: The King of Romance is no more. He died this October at a Mumbai hospital after spending a week in hospital coping with dengue fever. He was 80 when the end came. Chopra, who was born on Sept 27, 1932, had announced his retirement from directing this year on his 80th birthday. His last directorial venture was SRK-starrer Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Chopra had made his directorial debut with ‘Dhool Ka Phool’ in 1959, a melodrama about illegitimacy and followed it with the hard-hitting social drama ‘Dharmputra’ (1961). Chopra has charmed Indian audience with films like ‘Daag’, ‘Joshila’, ‘Silsila’, ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’, ‘Veer-Zaara’.
Rajesh Khanna: India’s first Bollywood superstar, Rajesh Khanna, whose popularity touched the sky in the early 1970s after he scripted a history of unbroken hits for years, died in July this year at the age of 69.
Dara Singh: India’s iconic wrestler turned actor Dara Singh, who entertained audience with his acting skills and brawn for over nearly five decades and played the Hanuman in epic teleserial Ramayanan died in July. He was 84.
AK Hangal: Veteran Bollywood actor AK Hangal, who had worked in more than 200 films, died in Mumbai this year. He was 95 year old when death came.
Jaspal Bhatti: Actor and political satirist Jaspal Bhatti, who had Indian idiot box viewers in splits during the 1990s with his shows like ‘Flop Show’ and ‘Ulta Pulta’, died in October 2012 in a road accident. He was 57.
Achala Sachdev: Actor Achala Sachdev, who was well-known for playing roles of mother and grandmother in Hindi films, died at the age of 91 in Pune after suffering from various ailments
Ravi Shankar: Indian musician and sitar exponent Pandit Ravi Shankar passed away at age 92 at a San Diego hospital in United States in December, leaving behind countless mourners from every walks of life and a musical legacy that he built over a lifetime of dedication to the plucked string instrument and international collaborations, including the Beatles.
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