When
first
half
of
the
year
is
dominated
by
actors
like
Akshay
Kumar,
Hrithik
Roshan,
and
Amitabh
Bachchan,
it
is
expected
that
they
would
deliver
in
each
of
their
films.
This
is
what
one
saw
in
2008
as
well,
which
hasn't
really
seen
great
box
office
returns
but
has
been
a
witness
to
some
decent
performances.
We
look
forward
to
far
more
eventful
second
half
of
the
year
though!
[In
alphabetical
order]
Akshay
Kumar
[Tashan]
'Maa,
Picture
To
Achchi
Thi
Par
Main
Flop
Ho
Gaya'
-
So
were
the
famous
opening
words
of
Akshay
Kumar
at
the
recently
held
IIFA,
where
he
was
spoofing
the
box
office
failure
of
Tashan.
Of
course
he
was
kidding
when
he
said
so
because
in
reality
it
was
just
the
opposite.
Akshay
Kumar
was
the
best
part
about
this
Yash
Raj
Film
for
which
gigabytes
have
already
been
spent
on
its
countless
weaknesses.
It
is
to
the
credit
of
Akshay
Kumar
though
that
he
still
lighted
up
the
proceedings
whenever
he
appeared
on
the
frame.
Have
a
full
fledged
'Ramleela'
that
takes
on
from
where
his
'Ravan'
act
left
and
we
won't
really
mind
a
sequel
to
Tashan.
Amitabh
Bachchan
[Sarkar
Raj,
Bhoothnath]
After
Cheeni
Kum
in
2007,
Amitabh
Bachchan
was
again
seen
playing
a
pivotal
role
in
Bhoothnath.
Though
Sarkar
Raj
didn't
quite
have
him
roaring
the
way
he
did
in
the
prequel,
the
pre-climax
and
the
climax
sequences
reinforced
the
fact
that
Big
B's
presence
in
a
project
can
never
be
discounted.
He
may
have
been
getting
some
nasty
reviews
for
his
performances
in
a
section
of
media
while
the
other
may
not
be
really
happy
with
him
getting
into
an
angry
old
man
mould
with
his
Blogs,
but
who
really
minds
that?
Getting
to
sink
his
teeth
into
something
unconventional
with
Bhoothnath
while
also
making
sure
that
third
in
the
series
of
Sarkar
Raj
may
just
have
a
lot
more
of
him,
Amitabh
Bachchan
continues
to
make
a
statement.
Bipasha
Basu
[Race]
One
still
doesn't
know
whether
Bipasha
Basu
was
indeed
in
love
with
Saif
Ali
Khan
when
both
walked
away
into
sunset
in
the
climax
of
Race.
Such
was
the
beauty
of
the
role
that
she
enacted
so
very
well
that
one
continues
to
be
intrigued
about
this
lady
who
got
together
elements
of
Ajnabee
as
well
as
Jism
and
bluffed
the
audience
from
the
first
till
the
last
frame
of
the
film.
Carry
on
with
stylish
roles
like
these
lady;
we
would
love
to
see
much
more
of
you
in
the
coming
years!
Devgans
[U
Me
Aur
Hum]
After
going
through
their
share
of
conventional
love
stories
with
Pyaar
To
Hona
Hi
Tha
and
Raju
Chacha,
Ajay
and
Kajol
Devgan
had
to
do
something
really
path
breaking
with
their
prestigious
U
Me
Aur
Hum.
First
half
of
the
film
was
hardly
path
breaking
but
Devgans
caught
the
bull
by
its
horns
the
moment
they
got
into
a
dramatic
mould.
With
a
complex
subject
revolving
around
Alzheimer's
disease,
the
film
could
have
fallen
flat
had
the
performances
been
any
weaker
but
Devgans
made
sure
that
they
give
it
all
to
a
film
which
was
a
complete
in-house
product.
Emraan
Hashmi
[Jannat]
Emraan
Hashmi's
top
performance
would
always
stay
on
to
be
Awarapan
but
5
years
down
the
line
when
his
successful
films
would
be
listed;
Jannat
would
be
remembered
more.
This
year's
biggest
hit
if
one
considers
the
ROI
(Return
on
Investment)
factor,
Jannat
also
owes
its
success
to
the
fact
that
Hashmi
played
to
the
gallery
and
gave
his
audience
what
they
expect
out
of
him.
He
used
his
mischievous
streak
to
the
maximum
and
didn't
mind
playing
the
bad-good
young
man
yet
again!
Hrithik
Roshan
[Jodhaa
Akbar]
From
sheer
effort
perspective,
Hrithik
would
lead
the
charge
for
giving
his
all
to
make
sure
that
his
'Akbar' act
looked
convincing
enough
on
the
big
screen.
It
is
quite
a
difficult
task
to
leave
behind
an
image
created
by
a
Krrish
or
a
Dhoom
2
but
Hrithik
still
managed
to
achieve
that
and
the
results
were
seen.
Hrithik
worked
hard
on
his
diction,
body
language
and
presentation
and
succeeded
well.
Second
half
of
the
year
could
see
numerous
good
performances
coming
in
but
Hrithik
would
still
find
himself
as
one
of
the
Top-5
contenders
for
the
Best
Actor.
Rahul
Bose
[Shaurya]
If
Hrithik
made
a
big
impression
in
a
big
film
like
Jodhaa
Akbar,
Rahul
Bose
too
achieved
something
similar
in
one
of
the
smallest
films
of
the
year
so
far!
Rahul
has
been
a
consistent
performer
ever
since
the
days
of
Thakshak
and
though
a
notable
act
by
him
is
a
given
for
each
of
his
films,
Shaurya
was
special.
Not
just
did
the
film
feature
him
as
a
central
protagonist,
it
also
allowed
him
to
demonstrate
various
facets
of
his
personality.
The
film
not
only
turned
out
to
be
a
'choti
si
success
story'
but
also
further
increased
the
fan
base
of
Rahul
Bose.
Rajeev
Khandelwal
[Aamir]
In
a
year,
which
has
seen
some
inconsequential,
debuts
so
far
(with
only
Sikandar
Kher
coming
close),
Rajeev
Khandelwal
has
made
everyone
stand
up
and
take
notice
of
his
bravura
performance
in
Aamir.
And
to
think
of
it,
this
by
no
means
was
a
conventional
'hero'
debut
since
Rajeev
was
shown
as
a
man
on
the
run
for
the
entire
length
of
the
film
who
ultimately
turns
into
a
victim
of
circumstances.
One
just
hopes
now
that
Rajeev
continues
to
make
good
choices
and
instead
of
being
slotted
as
a
'thinking
actor',
he
gets
to
play
a
variety
of
characters
in
films
to
come!
Ranvir
Shorey
[Mithya]
Talking
about
'thinking
men'
and
enacting
the
role
of
a
'fall
guy',
Ranvir
Shorey
was
just
perfect
in
Mithya.
Yet
again,
he
played
a
character
who
was
a
victim
of
circumstances
and
got
embroiled
in
a
series
of
events
which
ultimately
led
to
his
downfall.
If
at
all
an
actor
has
come
close
to
getting
Charlie
Chaplinsque
comic-tragedy
on
screen
in
Bollywood,
it
has
been
Ranvir
with
Mithya.
He
is
a
man
for
all
seasons,
an
ingredient
for
all
recipes
and
an
actor
who
can
be
handed
over
any
part!
Riteish
Deshmukh
[De
Taali]
Everyone
loves
Riteish.
And
there
would
hardly
be
anyone
who
could
dislike
his
performance.
Or
to
put
it
differently,
there
is
hardly
a
reason
why
anyone
would
love
to
hate
him!
He
is
a
man
who
can
be
trusted
to
give
a
good
performance
every
time
and
the
same
happened
very
recently
with
De
Taali
too.
Consistently
delivering
successful
films
year
after
year
and
upping
his
popularity
quotient
with
every
release
of
his,
Riteish
has
been
quietly
forming
an
alternative
market
for
himself.