These are 15 random-favorite male performances of just the 21st century that quickly come to mind. No order.
- Manoj Bajpayee - Gangs of Wasseypur
- Irrfan Khan - The Lunchbox
- Kamal Haasan - Anbe Sivam
- Ranbir Kapoor - Rockstar
- Dhanush - Asuran
- Mammootty - Peranbu (Personal Fav of All)
- Nawazuddin Shah - Raman Raghav 2.0
- Fahad Faasil - Maheshinte Prathikaaram
- Aamir Khan - Rang De Basanti
- Upendra - Raktha Kanneeru
- Nivin Pauly - Premam (A Personal, Re-visitable Bond)
- Shahid Kapoor - Haider
- Nani - Hi Nanna
- Vikram - Pithamagan
- STR - VTV (Most Deeply-Personal Connect)
Vijay Sethupathi just missed the cut for Super Deluxe. Same for Suriya for SP.
I would also like to specially mention Ram Charan’s performance in RRR, which was a shocker for me. Great improvement from Rangasthalam.
I wouldn’t rate many of these as the best performances of this time period, but they were acts that either shook, blissed, or thrilled me with their poignance.