Best Performances Of April 2023

This is a monthly series where we highlight performances from the film and streaming universe that caught our eye. Since Film Companion watches widely, we decided to curate this list to foreground exceptional work, even if these actors did not have the proverbial spotlight on them. 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ponniyin Selvan 2

Theatrical release

As Nandini, “a poisonous snake”, a woman who wants to destroy the Chola empire because its prince — and her once-lover — Aditha Karikalan (Vikram) betrayed her and killed off her guardian, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan takes up a role that is filled with viciousness and longing, and in the second film, both of these qualities froth to the surface of the film, battling each other for space. It is a complicated dance — to want to punish Aditha, but to do so as someone who still, somewhere, loves him. 

Riteish Deshmukh, Ved

Streaming platform: Disney+ Hotstar

In his sprawling, self-assured directorial debut Riteish Deshmukh delivers one of his career’s most memorable performances. As endearing as he is as the younger, unburdened Satya, Deshmukh comes into his own when he hits his self-destructive stride as the heartbroken hero who lives in a prison of his own pain for over a decade. Equally impressive is his carefully calibrated command over masala storytelling elements, balancing alcohol-fuelled inner turmoil with massy swag. The sheer attitude of his “entry sequence” alone deserves its own fanbase.

Sidhant Gupta, Jubilee

Streaming platform: Amazon Prime Video

As Jay Khanna, the son of a theater director, he comes from Karachi to Lucknow to convince a friend to act in his play. With partition Jay, along with his family, find their way to then-Bombay. He falls in love with an actress (Wamiqa Gabbi as Niloufer) and through her is able to move a financier (Ram Kapoor as Shamsher Singh Walia) to back his dream project. Jay turns refugee land into a film studio. He becomes both actor and director. For Jay Khanna, a rank outsider, to emerge so suddenly is not just chance and circumstance, but charm too. And there is something extraordinarily, immediately charming about Sidhant Gupta’s performance of Jay Khanna. From the way he holds his cigarette, the way he dances, snaps his fingers, displaying his empty pockets, forcefully exhales when relieved. It is the kind of performance that can light a show up. 

Also Read: Jubilee’s Lucky Charm: Sidhant Gupta’s Light-On-Feet, Happy-Go-Lucky Jay Khanna

Vikram, Ponniyin Selvan 2

Theatrical release

Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan might be the operatic story of the Chola dynasty’s struggle to retain the throne. But Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan, is essentially the story of the fraught yet fragile Aditya Karikalan (Vikram). And it’s easy to see why because Vikram, who has portrayed the soup boy more than once to perfection in Tamil cinema, approaches this role with the sort of piercing emotion that might put many star-crossed romances to shame. His eyes carry unconditional love for Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), but also the depth of pain and the guilt of having taken many lives in a mindless war, which eventually ends up becoming his own undoing. “Even I don't know whose side I am on nowadays,” he says when he meets the Chola conspirators at Kadambur palace, capturing the essence of Karikalan with one feverish grin.

Vijayaraghavan, Pookalam

Theatrical release

In Pookalam, Vijayaraghavan achieves a tricky midpoint where his nonagenarian grumpy grandpa never becomes anything but loveable. He navigates complex situations, including the discovery of his wife’s extra marital affair, with a unique mix of toughness and softness. In the final portions, as we switch from a tragedy to a happy event, he holds the film in control without it falling into a sugary, feel-good space. Finally a lead role he deserved but never got in his four decade-long career.