Bollywood celebs who made their mark in first half of 2015

The first half of 2015 unarguably belonged to the sheroes of Bollywood Kangana Ranaut being the queen bee Her last outing Tanu Weds Manu Returns that saw her in a double role is the first femaleoriented film to have entered the elite Rs 150crore club worldwide within two weeks of its releaseKangana Ranautstarrer Tanu Weds Manu Returns became the first femaleoriented film to have entered the Rs 150crore club PicSatyajit DesaiAnushka Sharma shone in NH10 while Deepika Padukone and Shraddha Kapoor had much acclaim coming their way too A few actors also left an indelible mark on the audience hitlist takes a look at the winners of this year so farAnushka SharmaOn a high She is one actress who not only was got rave reviews for her performance in NH10 but also took the bold step of backing the offbeat film that many producers didnt feel fit to finance Apart from critical acclaim the film scored big at the box office tooWhats next Karan Johars Ae Dil Hai MushkilAkshay KumarOn a high He has had a great 2015 so far with two major hits mdash Baby and Gabbar is Back While the former had the critics sit up and take notice the latter had a smashing opening weekend at nearly Rs 40 croreWhats next Karan Malhotras Brothers and Prabhu Dhevas Singh Is BlingVarun DhawanOn a high With two diverse films this year so far mdash Badlapur and ABCD 2 mdash he has been reasonably successful in proving his versatilitySuccess note I do films for the audience and I am trying to reach all sections of film buffs I did ABCD 2 for the family crowd and also because I really believed in the storyWhats next Rohit Shettys DilwaleVarun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor PicSatyajit DesaiShraddha KapoorOn a high After proving that she can sing Galliyan from Ek Villain last year she showed us that she can dance too Her Vinnie act in ABCD 2 brought her several accoladesSuccess note Its heartening to see how the audience has given so much love to ABCD 2 Im happy that Remo DSouza sirs philosophy of anybody can dance has resonated with all age groupsWhats next Sabbir Khans BaaghiDeepika PadukoneOn a high She played the titular role in Piku which was much appreciated by the critics as well as the audience Whats more it was even hailed as one of her best performances till dateSuccess note As far as versatility is concerned I give credit to my writers and directors for believing that I can pull off different kinds of characters and the audience which is willing to go through different experiences with different films The last few years have been extremely exciting for me with the kind of roles I have been offered and the variety of directors I am getting to work withWhats next Imtiaz Alis Tamasha and Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Bajirao MastaniAyushmann KhurranaOn a high Though he started the year with a dud like Hawaizaade he impressed us with his chaste Hindi and boynextdoor acting in Dum Laga Ke Haisha a sweet love story set in HaridwarSuccess note I am glad Dum Laga is among the hit films of the year Its real and touches the right note of nostalgia set in the 90s yet progressive Getting my language and the body language right was the toughest challenge Its heartening that it connected with the audience I am proud of this filmWhats next Amit Roys Agra Ka DaabraSushant Singh RajputOn a high Though Detective Byomkesh Bakshy garnered mixed response from the audience this young gun garnered applause from various quarters for playing the protagonist with convictionSuccess note I am glad people said nice things about my performance We young actors should try and back stories that need to be told irrespective of our understanding of its commercial viability The films that are personal or have no references help actors to explore beyond the mere fundamentals of acting Im encouraged and will keep doing films like theseWhats next Neeraj Pandeys MS Dhoni The Untold StoryRadhika ApteOn a high Billed as the latest sensation of Bollywood this actress won several accolades for her small yet significant roles in Badlapur and HunterrrSuccess note I had never imagined that my role in Badlapur could generate so much appreciation and acknowledgement Hunterrr too has brought appreciation and quite a bit of success too The audience did notice that film as well and fortunately for me it came immediately after BadlapurWhats next Ketan Mehtas Manjhi The Mountain Man