Actors who are blurring the line between indie and commercial cinema in 2019!

The Hindi film industry is divided into two main verticals one is called commercial cinema and the other is non as Indie cinema or art films as addressed earlier in the ’80s and ’90s. Earlier often actors graduating from NSD or FTII were first seen exploring Art Cinema or Indie Cinema and then depending upon their acting skills and popularity was offered with commercial cinema. Some of the best actors in Bollywood began their acting career with Indie cinema.

Actors such as Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Satish Kaushik, Ashutosh Rana, Sanjay Mishra, Pankaj Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah, amongst many others who dabbled their career between Indie cinema and commercial cinema. Both the mediums give the actors a great platform to showcase their talent immensely, one gives them inner satisfaction as an actor and the other delivers fame, money and exposure to a larger audience.

Let us look to some of the actors from a current breed that had a great start from the indie cinema at the beginning of their career and are blurring the line between indie and commercial cinema successfully in 2019. 

Richa Chadha in Shakeela Biopic and Panga

Actress Richa Chadha started her acting career with a bit role in Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye which went unnoticed for her. Gangs of Wasseypur I and II carved the path for her in Indian cinema as an actor to look for. Masaan changed her destiny that proved to be a milestone in her career. The film won accolades at the Cannes film festival. Her first full-blown commercial stint came with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Goliyon Ki Rasleela – Ram-Leela followed by sleeper hit Fukrey. Since then, the versatile actress has been dabbling between both the genres of cinema. In 2019, she will be seen in playing the titular commercial masala film Shakeela which is a biopic on south adult star Shakeela followed by courtroom drama film Section 375, a political satire Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui and a film on Kabaddi titled Panga.

Radhika Apte in two international projects!

It wouldn’t be wrong calling actress Radhika Apte a jack of all trades. She began her acting career in regional languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali and Hindi. Her films Hunterrr, Parched, Manjhi The Mountain Man proved her versatility as an actress. Her commercial films also did well on the box office Badlapur, Padman, Andhadhun proved she has liking from all genres of cinema. The reigning queen of web series and shorts films Radhika has her set eyes across all medium of entertainment. The year 2019 will see her in some of the best projects across all medium. She this year has two key international projects including The Wedding Guest with Dev Patel and The Ashram with Kal Penn.

Vikrant Massey in Chhapaak

Actor Vikrant Massey started his acting career from television. After successfully exploring the television world he got his first break in Lootera with Ranveer Sing and Sonakshi Sinha. And then a brief role in Dil Dhadakne Do and Half Girlfriend! At the same time, Vikrant was seen exploring the indie genre cinema with A Death in the Gunj and Lipstick Under My Burkha. Vikrant was also seen dabbling between web series and shorts films successfully. This year Vikrant will be seen Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, Chhapaak and Cargo amongst others.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Bole Chuddiyan and Photograph

One of the best actors in today’s time Bollywood has is Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He is the perfect example who has explored all the mediums of entertainment successfully and true predecessor to carry forward the legacy of actors passed out from acting schools. From doing a small-time crook in Sarfarosh released in 1999 to play the titular role in the recently released biopic Thackeray, Nawaz has a clear message for all he is here to stay and could not be shaken from the place that he has achieved. The web series Sacred Games proved to be a milestone of his career and is shooting for the season 2. In 2019 he will be seen with Sanya Malhotra in Photograph, with Shraddha Kapoor in Bole Chuddiyan.

Vicky Kaushal in Takht

Actor Vicky Kaushal is the new blue-eyed boy for many filmmakers currently in Bollywood. Being the eldest son of ace action director Shyam Kaushal, Vicky achieved all his goals on his own efforts and hardships. After proving his acting chops in indie films such as Masaan, Raman Raghav 2.0, Zubaan, Vicky gave 4 back to back commercial hits with Sanju, Manmarziyaan, Raazi and the recent hit Uri: The Surgical Strike. This year he already delivered a mega-hit and years first film first film to cross more 100 crores on box office and is being touted as a front runner for Saare Jahan Se Achha and will begin shooting for Karan Johar’s Takht.

Pankaj Tripathi in Luka Chuppi, Shakeela and Panga

The versatile actor Pankaj Tripathi has come a long way to carve his own path in Bollywood. A small role in the film Run to his latest release Stree last year, Pankaj has shown many shades of his acting skills on screen. Pankaj has dabbled across mediums of entertainment; he has done more than 60 television shows, shorts films, video on demand series, regional cinema, indie cinema and commercial Bollywood films. He was highly applauded for his performances in films like Gangs of Wasseypur I and II, Masaan, Nil Battey Sannata, Fukrey, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Gurgaon, Newton, Stree amongst many others. His performance in Newton earned him a National Film Award – Special Mention. His web shows Sacred Games and Mirzapur made him household names. In the year 2019, he has multiple and interesting lines up such as Kaagaz, Shakeela, Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai, Panga, Drive, Luka Chhupi, 83, season 2 of Sacred Games and Mirzapur among others.

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