10. Amitabh Bachchan – Paa
The only actor in this list with more than one mention, Amitabh Bachchan is truly a living legend of not just Indian, but world cinema. He has given more iconic performances than any other actor in the history of Indian cinema. Although Amitabh Bachchan holds the honor of being one of the most decorated Indian actors, he unfortunately never won an Oscar despite having plenty of chances to do so. And one of his best ones was in the 2009 movie ‘Paa’ where Bachchan disguised himself in the role of a child suffering from progeria with great finesse.
9. Guru Dutt – Pyaasa
Every time people try to chart out the list of best movies made in India, the name of Pyaasa first to comes to mind. In this marvelous tragedy, Guru Dutt plays a poet who falls in love with a women but gets disillusioned with the society and leaves it for a life in peace around his love one. Dutt just let himself lose in this movie churning the performance of a lifetime. Had he been nominated, Guru Dutt could have won the trophy at the 1959 Oscars. After all, it is one of the only two performance people remember fondly from 1958.
8. Om Puri – Ardh Satya
Om Puri is a legend, no doubt. He can do comedy as well as he can do intense drama. He proved the latter to be true when he played a policeman battling the evil around him in the society. I am in fact sure that Ardh Satya is one of the best movies of 1983 and could have even won an Oscar if it had been nominated. The film is laden with power-packed performances by icons of Indian cinema such as Amrish Puri, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Sadashiv Amrapurkar. It is Academy’s loss that such performances don’t make it to the nominations list.
7. Mammootty – Mathilukal
Biopics are a hotshot for getting an Oscar or at least getting nominated for one. And when we talk about biopics, one that stands out in Indian cinema is the 1990 Malayalam film Mathilukal (Walls). Mammootty nails the role of Basheer, a prisoner who falls in love with a female prisoner on the other side of his prison wall in this one. He played the role of a prisoner in love with a voice to perfection. And though the competition for 1990 was extreme with legends like Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons and Kevin Costner fighting for the trophy, Mammootty deserved to be added to the list.
6. Rajesh Khanna – Anand
Rajesh Khanna is widely regarded as the first superstar of Indian cinema. And he truly was one; his contemporaries are living witness to this fact. The popularity and following Khanna had in his days is still considered unparalleled in the history of cinema (despite the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikanth and Shahrukh Khan). And although he is more fondly remembered for his romantic roles, it is actually his role as a high-spirited cancer patient in the 1971 movie Anand that won him most accolades Surely, it was a role that deserved nothing less than an Oscar.
