The rise and fall of stars in 2013

If one sits down to rate Bollywood personalities on the basis of their performance in a film, it won't take much of a criteria to decide whether they were good or not. Given the scale of time considered -- an entire year to be precise -- the process becomes a bit complicated. However, it's worth a try and we think some folks in B-Town were indeed overestimated while others, grossly understated. As a result, HitList points out a few names from both the category with respect to the year that's fast passing by...

Troughs

Priyanka Chopra

Even though it's admirable to witness a Hindi film actress taking key interest in singing (if we're not mistaken, yesteryear star Suraiya was the last one to efficiently balance both the disciplines), it was a cringeworthy year for PC thanks to horrible film choices -- especially after her work in Barfi! -- and two forgettable item songs. Also, Krrish 3 was a superhero film.

Akshay Kumar

Going by his box-office standards, Akki had a rather lukewarm year and it almost bordered on despair given the huge budgets he's known to be part of. Even his commercial films didn't ring a gong at the ticket counter. On the brighter side, his work in Special 26 was appreciated. But then, he seems more comfortable doing guaranteed blockbusters.

Sonakshi Sinha

She had four big releases and two special appearances and none of them made a blast at the box-office. In fact, Sona was pointed out for the repetitiveness in the characters she portrayed. Perhaps signing too many films is the reason. Maybe not. However, what's certain about her is that she can ace a role like Pakhi (Lootera) but masala cinema is too hard to resist.

Abhinav Kashyap

After the negative critical response to Besharam, the director went on an offensive stating that critics unfairly targeted the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer. Well, he deserves credit for convincing a talented actor like Ranbir to sign a debacle like Besharam. Other than that, everything about the Dabangg director seemed extremely overrated before the film released.

Shahid Kapoor

2013 was touted to be his comeback year. There were intense speculations that he's the only one among the younger lot capable enough to dethrone RK. Going by the verdict -- critical and commercial -- nothing of that sort materialised. Both his onscreen attempts, Phata Poster Nikhla Hero and R... Rajkumar could barely prove a point. Next year perhaps?

Crests

Raj Kumar

He's undoubtedly a talent worth investing time in and going by his exploits in Kai Po Che and Shahid, it'd be criminal to overlook him. Last year saw the traces of his command in Gangs of Wasseypur, Talaash and Chittagong. This year took the scale a bit higher and it's beyond doubt that the non-conventional-looker has to be one of the most underrated actors in our country.

Rishi Kapoor

While others in his age category were planning retirement, Rishi decided to make a comeback. And what a journey it has been. If Agneepath set the wheels of second innings moving, 2013 saw massive instances of him dominating even the leading actors -- be it Chashme Baddoor or Aurangzeb, D-Day, Shuddh Desi Romance. He came back in a splendid manner.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

If you were to draw a list of the most exciting actors in the country today, let alone just Bollywood, Nawaz's name would easily figure in it. But for some inexplicable reason, he comes across as someone who will play the second fiddle to the main character. By virtue of his rich filmography over the past two years, he keeps bettering himself with every role.

Subhash Kapoor

At a press conference, this director was told that his latest film Jolly LLB had left a benchmark in the otherwise neglected courtroom drama. The affable filmmaker quipped, "I don't see any benchmark. Where is it?" before taking on the next question. It'd be nice to have this director churn out films on a regular basis instead of the usual three-years delay.

Hansal Mehta

One of the most outspoken filmmakers today, he doesn't bother to mince words and his films reflect that very aspect. If it weren't for the Shahid (finally) receiving a proper Friday release after travelling on the film circuit, Hansal wouldn't have made the list. His next project should emulate the biopic or else he'd see himself on the other side next year.

Anil Kapoor

When this veteran actor decided to move to small screen with a thriller -- a genre of television audience isn't very used to in the country -- a lot of skeptics were working full time. Now with the 24 season one coming to an end, it's worth noting that the actor merits credit for going ahead with the idea by producing the small screen adaptation and acting in it.

Richa Chadda

This actress often finds herself in the news for all the wrong reasons. Regardless, the critics generally cite her choice of films and courageous performances in each one of them -- so far. Richa had two big-banner releases and one short film in the year. And she earned positive remarks for her work although she still remains in the shadows. u00a0