Today’s actors are very different from the Govindas and Akshay Kumars of yore who signed everything that came their way after their debut. Nowadays, they wait. Here are the ones who are willing to bide their time rather than jump the gun.
1. Abhimanyu Dassani: For Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, Abhimanyu literally slogged it out. He put himself through a gruelling discipline of broken bones and shattered limbs to play a weirdo who feels no pain. The effort was worth it. Abhimanyu got the kind of reviews that his mother Bhagyashree never did for her debut in Maine Pyar Kiya 30 years ago (so cut out those cynical comments about nepotism). However, after the long and tedious journey to acclaim, Abhimanyu was in no hurry to sign another film. After almost a year of his debut, Abhimanyu signed another film Nikamma directed by SabbirKhan (who once upon a time launched Tiger Shroff). Knowing Abhimanyu he will make his post-debut film as special.
2. Ishaan Khattar: After Ishaan’s back-to-back debut in Karan Johar’s production Dhadak and the prestigious Majid Majidi’s Beyond The Clouds, there was absolute stillness on Ishan’s front. He just didn’t feel excited enough about his post-debut offers. After nearly a year of churning, Ishaan is now doing Mira Nair’s BBC series based on Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy and Ali Abbas Zafar’s Khali Peeli. In-between, Ishaan said no to a Vishal Bhardwaj film when Bhardwaj had no script ready. Way to go, Ishaan.
3. Priyanshu Painyuli: He was brilliant in the title role in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Bhavesh Joshi in 2016. But brilliance often takes time to find its own level. After a long period of hibernation, we saw him in the underrated Netflix series Upstarts. Priyanshu will also be seen in a Hollywood biggie alongside Chris Hemsworth in Dhaka. This very accomplished actor waits to go beyond Bhavesh Joshi. When will he get his Uri?
4. Vikrant Massey: He was immediately noticed as Ranveer Singh’s best friend in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Lootera. Ever since then Massey has been struggling to find his bearings in the film industry. He was eminently watchable in the web series Criminal Justice and Broken But Beautiful. Sadly forthcoming films like Chhapaak and Haseen Dilruba seem to cast him as the new Vinod Mehra, that dependable actor who was typecast as the supportive co-star in women-oriented films in the 1980s. Vikrant Massey awaits that one big explosion in his career. Konkona Sen Sharma’s directorial debut A Death In The Gunj did justice to Vikrant Massey’s talent. But no one saw that film outside film festivals.
5. Radhika Madan: Bleeding brilliancy in her first two films Pataakha and Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota—both of which required monstrous labour of physical and emotional labour from a newcomer—Radhika Madan waits for that one hit which makes all the difference between a Vicky Kaushal and Vikrant Massey and Deepika from Radhika. A Uri for Radhika Madan?
