The 12 best Bollywood actors

Key films: ‘Deewaar’ (1975), ‘Kabhie Kabhie’ (1976), ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ (1977)

Active: 1969 to present

With his breakthrough hit, the ‘Dirty Harry’-style ‘Zanjeer’ in 1973, Amitabh Bachchan (born 1942) shattered all Hindi film hero norms. He looked unconventional. He was thin, tall and had a deep baritone voice.

From there, his regular angry young man roles saw his characters taking up arms against a corrupt, unjust society. This resonated with mid-1970s Indian audiences, who were becoming increasingly disillusioned with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s rule and the emergency suspension of civil liberties in 1975.

Bachchan proved his versatility from the off by also taking on romantic and comic roles with equal success. The ‘Big B’ has constantly reinvented himself, having also been a politician and television host, and he continues to take elder statesman screen roles today.

Read our interview with Amitabh Bachchan

Key films: ‘Baazigar’ (1993), ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (1995), ‘Swades’ (2004)

Active: 1992 to present

The massive successes of Shah Rukh Khan’s NRI (‘Non Resident Indian’)-themed films were directly responsible for establishing Bollywood on the global film map.

A former TV actor, Khan (born 1965) started off playing antiheroes before graduating to romantic roles, which made him the boy all girls (and boys) wanted to take home to meet their parents.

He is also an eager brand ambassador for many luxury products in India. With his latest film ‘Happy New Year’ (2014) raking in the box-office bucks, Bollywood’s ‘King Khan’ looks firmly ensconced in his throne.

Key films: ‘Sadma’ (1983), ‘Nayakan’ (1987), ‘Indian’ (1996)

Active: 1960 to present

Debuting as a child star, Kamal Haasan aged six, won the President’s Gold Medal for Best Child Actor for his debut film, Kalathur Kannamma. He’s gone on to become the Tom Cruise of India, starring in myriad genres from action to drama and popularised the lip-to-lip kiss in Indian cinema (even if Bollywood did it in 1933).

So popular was his 1987 Tamil film Nayakan, Haasan dubbed himself in Hindi version, helping make it a pan-Indian hit. It is based on the life of the Bombay underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar juxtaposed with the cinematic style of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather.

His global fans still hope he will revive his unfinished magnum opus, Marudhanayagam, a biopic of actor Dilip Kumar, which Queen Elizabeth launched very publicly during her 1997 visit to India. His fascination with Hollywood took him to LA, to find technicians, frequently collaborating with Star Trek make-up wizard Michael Westmore.

Key films: ‘Raja Hindustani’ (1996), ‘Lagaan’ (2001), ‘3 Idiots’ (2009)

Active: 1984 to present

Aamir Khan (born 1965) is now considered Bollywood’s most intelligent and versatile A-list actor. After debuting as a romantic hero in the late 1980s, he starred in several duds, forcing him into a rethink. Instead, he decided to look for sensible scripts and act in just one film at a time, going against the Bollywood norm that sees actors overlapping various projects.

The strategy worked, and Khan has been responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed and successful films of recent years, including the Oscar-nominated ‘Lagaan’ (which he produced) and the recent and controversial ‘PK’ (2014), which questioned blind religious faith.

Key films: ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!’ (1994), ‘Tere Naam’ (2003), ‘Dabangg’ (2010)

Active: 1988 to present

Along with Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan (no relation), Salman Khan (born 1965) has dominated Bollywood for at least two decades. Audiences loved his romantic image in his early films, especially his clean-cut looks and gym-toned body. Since 2000, Khan has buffed up even further and now specialises in playing mean and moody, lovable characters who kick ass and flash washboard abs.

His devoted fans, mostly young men, worship him and turn out in their millions to see his films, regardless of their quality or the hero’s dubious acting skills. As a result, Khan has consistently churned out mega-blockbusters in the last few years. To his fans, ‘Sallu-bhai’ (brother) can do no wrong.

Key films: ‘Andha Kanoon’ (1983), ‘Thalapathi’ (1991), ‘2.0’ (2018)

Active: 1975 to present

Known as ‘Superstar’ in India, Rajinikanth has worked in over 160 films in several Indian languages, since his explosive debut as a nefarious villain. He starting off his career as an go-to villain, before moving on to more dramatic roles, becoming a style icon in the process. When the word ‘Superstar’ appears on screens before his films, fans still get up and scream.

His screen presence, iconic moves with a cigarette and sheer finesse as an action star have also earned him a massive fanbase in Japan. His 1998 genre-mash ‘Muthu’ became the highest-grossing Indian film in Japan, until it was surpassed by ‘RRR’ in 2022. Japanese fans cosplay as him even to this day.

Key films: ‘Guide’ (1965), ‘Jewel Thief’ (1967), ‘Johny Mera Naam’ (1970)

Active: 1946-2011

India’s Gregory Peck, Dev Anand (1923-2011) perfected the image of the ultimate suave and debonair romantic hero. He established his own banner, Navketan Films, and produced, directed and acted in many blockbusters.

He had a keen eye for spotting new talent, especially young actresses. Several top heroines like Zeenat Aman, Tina Munim, Shabana Azmi and Padmini Kolhapure received their big break in his films.

He continued making and acting in films in the latter part of his life, but he was never able to recreate the ‘Dev magic’ of his golden period in the 1960s.

Key films: ‘Devdas’ (1955), ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960), ‘Gunga Jumna’ (1961)

Active: 1944-1998

Known as the ‘tragedy King’, Dilip Kumar (born 1922) brought a refreshing naturalistic style to Bollywood acting and specialised in romantic roles often portraying the Indian male as a weak, sad and selfish loser.

In his later roles, he successfully experimented with various genres and took up key character roles as the morally upright elder. Along with Amitabh Bachchan, Kumar is regarded as perhaps India’s greatest ever actor. Satyajit Ray called him the ‘ultimate method actor’.

Key films: ‘Awara’ (1951), ‘Sangam’ (1964), ‘Teesri Kasam’ (1966)

Active: 1935-1982

Raj Kapoor (1924-1988) perfected a screen image of a lovable, Chaplin-like tramp with roles that often saw him playing an innocent lad in an unjust society, especially in the bleak economic years following Indian independence.

Gaining the nickname ‘The Showman’, Kapoor then established his own company, RK Films, and produced and directed several iconic and lavish films starring himself and his muse, Nargis, and his films became extremely popular outside India too, especially in the former USSR.

In the latter part of his career, Kapoor developed an obsession with female sexuality, often pushing the boundaries of permitted norms. His father, brothers, sons and grandchildren were or are successful actors, and the Kapoors are known as the premiere Bollywood ‘filmi’ family.

Key films: ‘Rockstar’ (2011), ‘Barfi!’ (2012), ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ (2013)

Active: 2007 to present

Grandson of the legendary Raj, Ranbir Kapoor famously dropped his towel to reveal his bare buttocks in his debut movie, ‘Saawariya’ (2007) – but the film crashed at the box office. Kapoor soon bounced back by accepting diverse and complex roles in films that proved his real acting talent and dancing skills.

He symbolises a new type of bold and brash Bollywood actor – one who’s willing to take risks with challenging subjects, while still keeping a foot firmly in the mainstream of Hindi cinema.

Key films: Gangs of Wasseypur series (2012), Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), The Lunchbox (2013)

Years active: 1999-present

No one in Bollywood embodies the underdog’s journey better than Nawazuddin Siddiqui. 

Originally trained as a chemist before getting by the acting bug, he spent years in theatre plays and blink-and-miss bit roles, before earning memorable supporting parts such as a kind-hearted Pakistani reporter in Bajrangi Bhaijaan and an ever-smiling accountant in Ritesh Batra’s BAFTA-nominated The Lunchbox. 

But Siddiqui is also a master of playing morally grey heroes who shift between moments of inducing empathy to displays of unhinged savagery. See his breakout in Anurag Kashyap’s two-part crime epic Gangs of Wasseypur, in which Siddiqui’s Faizan evolves from a marijuana-smoking slacker to a vengeance-seeking gangster upholding his family’s respect. 

Siddiqui might not have the conventional looks of a mainstream Bollywood star, but his chameleonic energy sets him apart. Whether he’s playing the titular sadistic killer in Raman Raghav 2.0 or a Mumbai gangster with a God complex in Netflix’s Sacred Games, Siddiqui can humanise the worst of human society.

Key Films: Lootera (2013), Gully Boy (2019), Rocky Aur Raani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023)

Years active: 2010-present

Ranveer Singh is a firecracker of an actor, ready and willing to burst into pelvic dance routines and over-the-top dialogue when required. 

But that’s not why he’s one of the industry’s best fresh faces at the moment. Not one to stick to a comfort zone, Singh often takes on challenges to strip away his physical energy for more restrained performances, such as playing a thief with a heart of gold in the period thriller Lootera. 

As for his usual reserve of hyperactive energy, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s majestic period dramas put his larger-than-life screen presence to good use. Whether it’s a tyrannical invader in Padmaavat or a righteous warlord embroiled in a love triangle in Bajirao Mastani, leave it to Singh to take over all four corners of the screen.