It
was
a
relatively
quiet
year
for
some
of
the
icons
of
showbiz.
Aishwarya
Bachchan
and
Abhishek
spent
most
of
the
year
shooting
Mani
Ratnam"s
Raavan
in
the
wilderness.
John,
Bipasha,
Preity
and
Shahrukh
also
had
a
quiet
year.
Saif
Ali
Khan
made
waves
with
Love
Aaj
Kal
and
then
vanished
during
the
second
part
of
the
year.
So
who
were
the
most
visible
faces
of
the
year?
Amitabh
Bachchan:
He
took
a
large
chunk
of
the
year
off
to
be
with
his
friend
Amar
Singh,
faced
a
thundering
failure
in
Aladn,
but
Amitabh
Bachchan
bounced
back
in
the
year-end
as
the
12-going-on-80
prematurely
aged
child-man
Auro
in
Paa.
Then
there
was
his
return
to
television
with
Bigg
Boss
3.
Once
again
at
year-end
the
question
is
not,
how
long
will
Mr
Bachchan
continue
to
surprise
us,
but
what
will
he
do
next?
Buzz
is
AB
Corp
Ltd
back
in
booming
business
with
Paa
will
be
producing
a
film
that
will
star
all
the
four
star-Bachchans
together
for
the
first
time.
In
the
meanwhile,
Paa
director
Balki
took
off
for
the
mountains
for
a
10-day
retreat
to
write
yet
another
startling
role
for
Mr
B.
After
courting
Tabu
and
Progeria
in
Cheeni
Kum
and
Paa,
what
next?
Balki
knows
best.
Ranbir
Kapoor:
So
okay
at
year-end
Ranbir"s
most
precious
film
and
the
performance
he
was
proudest
of
in
Rocket
Singh
Salesman
Of
The
Year
failed
to
take
off.
Rocket
aborted,
lekin
kya
missile
doon
Ranbir
ke
stardom
ki?
The
guy
proved
unstoppable
with
two
back-to-back
hits
both
with
weird
and
kinky
titles
Wake
Up
Sid
and
Ajab
Prem
Ki
Ghazab
Kahani
and
both
featuring
Ranbir
in
author-backed
roles.
The
quota
of
conviction
and
credibility
combined
with
a
star
presence
that
we
thought
went
out
of
vogue
with
Rishi
Kapoor,
makes
Ranbir
the
most
dependable
star-actor
of
our
times.
He
won"t
bend
to
break
the
rules.
He
will
just
do
what
he
wants,
regardless
of
repercussions.
All
through
the
year
he
remained
in
the
news
for
his
breakups,
linkups
and
what-not
though
he
swears
he
has
no
interest
in
being
newsworthy.
Katrina
Kaif:
Ek
Katrina
thi,
lakhon
diwane
the…could
be
the
song
this
wholesome,
lissome,
winsome
win-all
lass
could
sing
to
her
grandchildren.
With
3
blockbusters,
New
York,
Ajab
Prem
Ki
Ghazab
Kahani
and
De
Dana
Dan
to
her
credit
Katrina
left
the
female
competitors
far
behind.
At
year-end
she
suffered
a
bout
of
ill
health
but
was
on
her
feet
soon
enough.
You
can"t
keep
a
lucky-charm
down.
Pritam
Chakraborty:
Every
year
it"s
the
same
story
with
the
hot-hit
machine.
Practically
every
chartbuster
of
2009
was
Pritam"s.
No
wonder
he
can"t
stop
grinning
from
year
to
year.
Pritam
scored
bull"s
eye
with
songs
in
Ajab
Prem
Ki
Ghazab
Kahani,
Tum
Mile,
De
Dana
Dan
,
New
York…The
birth
of
a
baby
girl
ensured
that
the
goofy
smile
never
left
Pritam"s
face.
Akshay
Kumar:
He
ran
into
some
choppy
weather
during
the
earlier
part
of
2009
when
three
of
his
purported
blockbusters
Chandni
Chowk
To
China,
Tasveer
and
Kambhakkt
Ishq
under-performed.
But
the
second-half
of
the
year
with
De
Dana
Dan
and
the
singular
honour
of
carrying
the
Olympian
torch
proved
to
be
the
high
points
of
Akshay"s
year.
He"s
all
set
for
a
year
of
big
events
ahead.
AR
Rahman:
He
went
off
to
get
the
Oscar
for
us.
Came
back
to
a
cluster
of
pending
assignments
and
then
is
now
off
to
get
Grammy
for
his
Slumdog
Millionaire.
Not
since
Pandit
Ravi
Shankar
has
an
Indian
musician
made
such
a
grand
impact
globally.
It
would
be
no
exaggeration
to
say
that
when
it
comes
to
our
music
Rahman
is
the
global
'band" ambassador.
Salman
Khan:
With
Wanted
Salman
proved
that
the
old
fashioned
larger-than-life
hero
still
ruled
the
roost.
Salman"s
spate
of
non-starters
at
the
box
office
were
quickly
forgotten
as
he
single
handedly
revived
the
sagging
fortunes
of
Boney
Kapoor"s
production
house.
The
film
had
no
star
value
except
Salman.
As
though
to
prove
he
sells
solo
Salman"s
home
production
Main
Aur
Mrs
Khanna
with
the
hot-and-happening
Kareena
Kapoor
tanked
during
Diwali.
Vishal
Bharadwaj:
While
he
lit
up
the
pubs
with
Dan
tan
nan,
his
latest
stab
at
direction
Kaminey
got
the
nation"s
critics
swooning
in
ecstacy.
Yup,
Vishal
Bhardwaj
clicked
in
both
capacities
as
a
music
composer
and
a
filmmaker.
On
the
home
front
Vishal"s
wife
Rekha
made
headway
as
a
playback
singer
of
substance.
This
Bhardawaj
sure
has
come
a
long
way.