Overrated actors in Indian cinema

Ram Pothineni is an Indian actor who predominantly works in the Telugu film industry.

His uncle, Ravi Kishore, owns a film production company, Sri Sravanthi Movies. He is known for producing hit romantic comedies like Nuvvu Naaku Nachchav (2001), Linga Babu Love Story (1995) and many others.

Actor Sharwanand, who has acted in numerous films like Engeyum Eppodhum (2011), for which he received the SIIMA Award for the best male debut- Tamil is his cousin.

Pothineni made his theatrical debut with the film Devadasu (2006). This film is a romantic drama directed by Y.V.S. Chowdary. He played the role of Devadas and won the Filmfare Award South under the category of Best Male Debut in 2007.

He went on to work in the Telugu film Jagadam (2007), written and directed by Sukumar.

In 2008, he worked in the action-comedy film Ready (2008) directed by Sreenu Vaitla, opposite actress Genelia Deshmukh. He was nominated under the category of Best Actor - Telegu in the Filmfare awards South for his role in the film.

Pothineni worked in two movies in 2009. He worked in the romantic action-comedy film Maska (2009) where he played the role of Krishna, and the romantic drama film Ganesh (2009) where he played the role of Ganesh.

In 2010, he worked in Rama Rama Krishna Krishna (2010), an action-drama film produced by Dil Raju, where he played the role of Rama Krishna.

In 2011, Pothineni acted in the film Kandireega (2011) as Srinivas or Sreenu. This film is a romantic comedy action film directed by Santosh Srinivas. He was again nominated under the Best Actor - Telegu category in the Filmfare awards South.

He played the dual role of Ram and Krishna in Endukante... Premanta (2012), a fantasy romantic comedy written and directed A. Karunakaran.

He went on to act in films like Ongole Githa (2013), Masala (2013), Pandaga Chesko (2015), Shivam (2015), Nenu Sailaja (2016), Hyper (2016), Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi (2017), and Hello Guru Prema Kosame (2018).

In 2019, Pothineni acted in the film iSmart Shankar (2019) as Sankar. He was nominated for Best Actor in the 10th South Indian International Move Awards and Zee Cine Awards Telugu in 2021 for his role in this film.

He also won the Zee Cine awards Telugu Sensational star of the year.

In 2021, he worked in the film Red (2021). He also made a cameo appearance in Romantic (2021).

Besides Telegu films, Pothineni acted in a Tamil short film titled Adayaalam, in which he essayed the role of an 18-year-old drug addict. He was highly appreciated for this role and won the Best Actor award at the European Movies Festival. He was only 11 when he played this role.

In 2022, he debuted in the Tamil film industry with the film The Warriorr (2022).

Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan was born on December 27, 1965, in Mumbai to legendary screenwriter Salim Khan, who penned many super-hits in the yesteryear's like Sholay (1975), Deewaar (1975), and Don (1978). Khan started his acting career by doing a supporting role in the movie Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988). The following year he had the leading role in the box office romantic hit Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). From there he became a heartthrob of Indian cinema.

Following with other box office hits he showed his terrific performance in Saajan (1991), Andaz Apna Apna (1994), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Khamoshi the Musical (1996), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). His transformations can be sensitive, vulnerable, funny, aggressive and charming as his role demands.

In 1998, he was arrested by the local police from the shooting location of the film Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999), for killing protected wild animals and spent about a week behind the bars. The actor is facing trial in three cases of killing blackbucks and Chinkaras and another of illegal possession of arms. In September 2002, Khan had hit the headlines after he crashed his Land Cruiser near the American Express bakery in Bandra, killing one man and injuring others.

Being known for those roguish behaviors, he tried to balance his troubled life with his career. He gave his emotionally charged performance as playing an obsessed lover in In Your Name (2003) that translated into good reviews and a good run at the box office. He not only managed to revive his career but also to restore the confidence of his producers and distributors alike.

His work was noticed internationally in the moviePhir Milenge (2004) where he played the role of an AIDS patient. It was well appreciated by the World Health Organization (WHO) for presenting the problems of AIDS patients in today's world.

In 2007, he launched Being Human - Salman Khan Foundation. This charitable organization aids the underprivileged in areas such as education and health care.

More recently, he starred in the multiple record-breaking box office super-hits Dabangg (2010), Ready (2011) and Bodyguard (2011).

While Vicky Kaushal was born and raised in Mumbai, his family hails from Hoshiarpur, Punjab. His father, Sham Kaushal, is a well-known action director, and his younger brother, Sunny Kaushal made his Bollywood debut in 2016.

While growing up, Kaushal was interested in playing cricket, studying, and watching films. His father wanted him to pursue a stable career away from the silver screen. This led Kaushal to study engineering at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology in Mumbai. He graduated as an Electronics and Telecommunications engineer in 2009.

As an engineering student, Kaushal once went on an industrial visit to an IT company. When he saw the staff sitting in front of desktop computers and working, he could not visualise himself doing the same in the future. After earning his engineering degree, he appeared for a corporate job interview and was offered the role. However, he tore up the offer letter and decided to try acting instead.

Kaushal joined Kishore Namit's acting academy to prepare himself for a film industry career. He spent the next two years dabbling in theatre and going for auditions. He began his acting career in 2011 with the theatrical production Laal Pencil.

Around the same time, Kaushal started assisting Anurag Kashyap on the sets of Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). He got to play minor roles in films like Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012), directed by Sameer Sharma, and Bombay Velvet (2015), directed by Anurag Kashyap. He also appeared in Geek Out (2013), a short film directed by Vasan Bala.

Kaushal debuted on the big screen as a lead with Masaan (2015), an independent drama film directed by Neeraj Ghaywan. The film was selected for screening at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won two awards- the Promising Future prize in the Un Certain Regard category and the FIPRESCI, which is an International Jury of Film Critics prize.

In 2016, Kaushal won several awards for his debut movie, including the Best Debut Actor at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA), Screen Awards, and Zee Cine Awards. He was also nominated for the 10th Asian Film Award for Best Newcomer in 2016.

His second big screen release was Mozez Singh's Zubaan (2015), a musical drama that was filmed before Masaan (2015). Kaushal plays the role of a young man with a speech impairment. He consulted a speech therapist to prepare for this role. Zubaan (2015) was screened at the 20th Busan International Film Festival held in 2015 as the opening film.

In 2016, he appeared as an unbalanced and troubled character in Anurag Kashyap's neo-noir psychological thriller Psycho Raman (2016). To prepare for this role, he went into isolation for five days. The film premiered under the Directors' Fortnight section at the 69th Cannes Film Festival held in 2016, receiving positive reviews. It received a good response from critics at home as well.

He was next seen playing the lead along with Angira Dhar in Love Per Square Foot (2018), directed by Anand Tiwari. This romantic comedy film was released on Netflix and was later screened at the Beijing International Film Festival in 2019.

Kaushal continued to prove his mettle as a versatile actor with movies like Raazi (2018), Sanju (2018), and Husband Material (2018).

In Raazi (2018), Meghna Gulzar's spy action thriller, he plays a Pakistani army officer. The film went on to gross more than Rs. 200 crores. Sanju, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, proved to be another bit hit in his career.

His performance as Kamli in Sanju (2018) earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2019. He also won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2018 and Zee Cine Awards 2019. This blockbuster earned over Rs. 586 crores worldwide.

In 2019, Kaushal appeared as a military officer in the action film Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019). To prepare for this movie, filmed in Siberia, Kaushal underwent military training for five months to gain muscle weight. The film grossed more than Rs. 340 crores at the box office. Kaushal received the Best Actor Award at the National Film Awards in 2019, jointly with Ayushmann Khurrana for Andhadhun (2018).

His next film was Bhoot: Part One - The Haunted Ship (2020), directed by Bhanu Pratap Singh.

In Shoojit Sircar's biographical historical drama film Sardar Udham (2021), Kaushal played the role of Indian freedom fighter Udham Singh. The critics appreciated his performance in the film, and he won the Filmfare Critics Award 2022 for Best Actor and IIFA Award 2022 for Best Actor.

He followed this up with a comedy thriller, Govinda Naam Mera (2022). He was also seen in the romantic musical drama Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat (2022) by Anurag Kashyap.

Kaushal is married to actor Katrina Kaif.

Kartik Tiwari Aaryan was born in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh to Dr. Manish & Mala Tiwari. He is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood films. He started to struggle for his acting career in 2009 where he lied to his parents that he wanted to study engineering in Mumbai but he instead would skip his college and went for film auditions and would get rejected every time. He finally got his first film, Pyaar Ka Punchnama in 2011 where he played Rajjo (Rajat), one of the leads opposite Nushrratt Bharuccha & Sonnalli Seygall. After the release of his first film, his mother insisted him to complete his engineering course. After completing his college, he made his comeback with the 2013-box office failure Akash-Vani where he was paired with Bharuccha again and this film was also directed by their PKP director Luv Ranjan. Aaryan changed his name on the day of Kaanchi: The Unbreakable (2014)'s release. His first biggest success came with the 2018-buddy drama Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety where he starred opposite Bharuccha again & Sunny Singh Nijjar (his co-star from Akash-Vani & Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2). After the success of this film, he bought a bungalow in Mumbai and invited his parents also to live with him there. He also starred in movies like Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 (2015), Guest inn London (2017), Luka Chuppi (2019), Pati Patni Aur Woh (2019), Love Aaj Kal (2020) etc.

Siddharth is an actor, playback singer and screenplay writer! He is an avid cricket lover, and has experience in cricket commentary and writing.

After completing his MBA from Mumbai, Siddharth landed the role of assistant director for Mani Ratnam's "Kannathil Muthamittal" and later made his debut in "Boys" in 2004. Siddharth worked on Mani Ratnam's "Aayutha Ezhuthu" in 2004 which was dubbed from Tamil into Telugu (Yuva) and he worked with Prabhu Deva in the film "Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana" that gave his first Filmfare Best Actor award. In 2005, Siddharth also ventured into the writing forum as well as the singing forum as he wrote the screenplay for his Telugu film "Chukkallo Chandrudu" directed by Siva Kumar and sang as a playback singer.

Siddharth made his Bollywood debut as part of the critically and commercially acclaimed "Rang De Basanti", alongside Aamir Khan and Kunal Kapoor. Siddharth received the Star Screen Debut Award for his role as Karan Singhania in the movie.

He has worked with director Vishal Bhardwaj and Oscar winning cinematographer Guillermo Navarroon a short film titled "Blood Brothers" which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

His second Bollywood movie "Striker" portrayed the life of a carrom player and became the first Bollywood film to release on YouTube and in theatres on the same day.

Siddharth's latest release was "Anaganaga O Dheerudu - Once Upon a Warrior", produced by Walt Disney, co-starring Shruti Hassan.

He has also sung "Appudo Ippudo" and "Oy!" which became No.1 Singles.

Do look out for Siddharth as he is set to conquer both the South Indian and the Hindi Film Industry.

Sidhu Jonnalagadda was born on 7 February 1992 in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. He is an actor and writer, known for DJ Tillu (2022), Maa Vintha Gaadha Vinuma (2020) and Krishna and His Leela (2020).

Sundeep Kishan was born on 7 May 1987 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is an actor and producer, known for The Family Man (2019), Gundello Godari (2013) and Maayavan (2017).

Arshad Warsi was born on April 19, 1968 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and did his schooling at a boarding school, Barnes School, Deolali in Nashik district, Maharashtra. He was orphaned at the age of 14 and struggled for a living in Mumbai during his early days. He is an actor, dancer, film producer, television personality, choreographer and playback singer.

Financial circumstances forced Warsi to start work as a door-to-door cosmetics salesman at age 17. Later he worked in a photo lab. Meanwhile, he had a keen interest in dancing and received an offer to join Akbar Sami's Dance group in Mumbai, which started his dancing and choreographing career. He also assisted Mahesh Bhatt in Thikana (1987) and Kaash (1987). Then in 1991, he won the Indian dance competition, followed by the fourth prize in the Modern Jazz category in 1992 World Dance championship, London, at the age of 21. Soon, he started his own dance studio, 'Awesome' with that money and also formed a dance troupe. It was here, his future wife, Maria Goretti, a St. Andrew's College student joined him, before she became a VJ. He was also associated with English theater group in Mumbai, choreographing shows for Bharat Dabholkar and got an opportunity to choreograph the title track for the film, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993). He made his screen debut with the 1996-film Tere Mere Sapne where he starred opposite Simran & Chandrachur Singh.

Naseeruddin Shah was born on July 20 1950, in Barabanki, a small village in Uttar Pradesh. He is a seasoned Bollywood actor and has received several awards for his notable performance in several movies. The actor has also been awarded the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan awards for his enormous contributions to Indian cinema.

Shah was born into a Nawab family. He studied at St. Anselm's Ajmer School in Rajasthan and St. Joseph's College in Nainital. He completed his graduation from the Aligarh Muslim University in 1971. He also attended the National School of Drama, New Delhi.

At the age of 19, Shah married Manara Sikri, who was 36 years old and a divorcee. Post one year of their marriage, their daughter Heeba Shah was born. However, the relationship didn't work out, and they decided to part ways after 12 years of marriage.

Shah met Ratna Pathak Shah, daughter of Dina Pathak and a Bollywood actor in the 1970s. They fell in love and went on to co-star in several films. They tied the knot in 1982. They have two sons together - Imaaduddin Shah and Vivaan Shah. The couple currently resides with their children in Mumbai.

At the age of 18, Shah acted in Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1969), starring Hema Malini and Raj Kapoor. However, his scene was removed before the release of the movie.

He made his Bollywood debut with an uncredited role in Aman in 1967, a film starring Rajendra Kumar Tuli and Saira Banu. From then onwards, he went on to feature in various movies like Nishant (1975), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Katha (1983) and Junoon (1979).

In 1974, Shah founded a theatre company called Motley Productions, and their inaugural production was Waiting for Godot. He is also part of a theatre troupe and has performed across different cities like New Delhi, Lahore, and Mumbai. He has directed a few plays written by Lavender Kumar, Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto.

He started gaining popularity with his films Hum Paanch (1980) and Masoom (1983), which was shot at St Joseph's College, Nainital, where Shah had studied during his childhood. Another movie called Karma (1986), where he starred beside Dilip Kumar gained much acclaim.

Shah has been a part of several multi-star Bollywood movies like Ghulami (1985), Tridev (1989), and Tridev (1989). In 1994, he completed his 100th movie as an actor with Mohra (1994), where he played the role of a villain.

Shah has also been a part of international projects like the Hollywood adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003). He played the role of Captain Nemo in the film, which gained him a lot of praise.

In 2003, he acted in Vishal Bhardwaj's Maqbool (2003), an Indian adaptation of Macbeth, and in 2004, he appeared in Rajiv Rai's Asambhav (2004) with Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra.

Shah has won several awards, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare awards, one IIFA award and two Bengal Film Journalists' Association awards. He also received the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival in 1984.

Vishwak Sen is a Telugu actor, screenwriter, and director, known for his work in the Indian film industry. He changed his name from Dinesh Naidu, his birth name, before entering the industry, following his father's suggestion due to his belief in numerology.

Sen pursued a degree in journalism at Little Flower College in Hyderabad. Later, he pursued theatre at Actors Prepares in Mumbai.

Sen debuted with the Telugu film Vellipomakey (2017) in 2017, where he played the role of Chandrashekar. The romantic drama was written and directed by Mohammed Ali. He was nominated for the SIIMA Award (2017) for Best Debutant Actor for his role in the film.

In 2018, Sen acted in the comedy-drama Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi (2018), directed by Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam. He won the award for Best Debut Actor at the 17th Santosham Film Awards for his portrayal of Vivek in the movie. The next year, Sen acted in the romance action Falaknuma Das (2019), which he also wrote and directed, while his father, Karate Raju, produced the film.

In 2020, Sen acted in the popular film HIT (2020), directed by Sailesh Kolanu. Sen played the role of inspector Vikram Rudraraju. The film was picked up for a Hindi remake, Hit: The First Case (2022), starring Rajkummar Rao and Sanya Malhotra.

He played the role of Prem in the 2021 romantic comedy film Paagal (2021), directed by Naresh Kuppili and produced by Lucky Media. In 2022, he portrayed the character of Arjun Kumar Allam in the Telugu romantic comedy film Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam (2022), written by Ravi Kiran Kola and directed by Vidyasagar Chinta.

Vishwak starred in the film Ori Devuda (2022) in 2022 as Arjun Durgaraju, a remake of the Tamil film Oh My Kadavule (2020) directed by Ashwath Marimuthu. He also appeared in Mukhachitram (2022) as Vishwamitra in 2022 and in HIT: The 2nd Case (2022) as Vikram Rudraraju.

Vishwak's films also include Das Ka Dhamki (2023) and Gaami (2023) and October 31st Ladies Night (????), where he has a cameo appearance.

Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, also credited by his initials S.T.R. or nickname Simbu, is an Indian actor, director, writer, composer, dancer, music director, lyricist and playback singer in the Tamil film industry. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, before his first lead role in Kadhal Azhivathillai (2002), under his father's direction and produced by his mother Usha. Silambarasan was born in Thogarapalli Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, as the eldest child of T. Rajendar and Usha Rajendar. He has a younger brother Kuralarasan and sister Elakkiya. From early age he was a Hindu devotee and an ardent follower of Lord Shiva. He studied at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School. He studied at Loyola College. Silambarasan entered the film industry from a young age and acted in many of his father's films until 2002, when he acted in Kadhal Azhivathillai, his first main role as a hero. He has completed 37 years in industry now (Dated 2021) and has 45 films being released.