/> As we move into the second half of 2009, it's time to look back at the year gone by and see how Bollywood has performed so far.

While the producers strike resulted in a virtual draught of movies for full two months, poor quality films that released didn't help the cause either. Still, there were a few actors who did make a mark even if some of their films didn't.

John Abraham [New York]
In New York, John Abraham came with his career best performance ever. Period. He did well in his debut film Jism and showed a lot of 'jism' in Dostana too.

Still, over all these years, all he was being credited was for his 'jism' even as he was seeing bigger and better projects coming his way at a regular frequency.

With New York, audiences as well as industry have been left surprised as John has come up with a bravura act that required him to bare his heart, body and soul. And yes, he did exceedingly well in all departments!

Irrfan Khan [New York, Billu]
Well, if this man continues to act the way he does, a day won't be far when it would be difficult for him to surpass his best. Superbly consistent ever since one can remember and the man of all seasons, Irrfan played two diverse characters this year.

In Billu, he was an intimidated villager while in New York he was an intimidating officer. He was excellent in both and it is difficult to choose his best amongst these two films even though he was a central character in the former and a supporting actor in the latter.

Farhan Akhtar [Luck By Chance]
This man is certainly someone who can act. And act well. This is why it is surprising that he didn't rope himself for Dil Chahta Hai in the capacity of an actor when he could have clearly been the trailblazer in the coming of age film.

Who knows, his acting career too would have shown the kind of escalation there and then in a manner similar to that of Aamir and Saif who worked in the cult classic! After Rock On, all eyes were on Farhan if he would be able to deliver goods again in Luck By Chance. Well, the result was there for everyone to be seen.

Abhay Deol [Dev D]
With his biggest ever success under his belt, Abhay Deol has made big daddies of the industry wake up. And why not? Ever so consistent over the years in his 'small' films, he took a minor leap with Dev D and did quite well there as well.

Giving an altogether different dimension to Dev D, he came out of the tragic tale alive only to be happier and much in demand in the industry today.

It's good that he is still not signing projects by dozens (a mistake that many of his contemporaries may have committed after a successful film) and one is yet to hear him sign on the dotted line for a fresh project. Take your time buddy, we don't mind!

Rishi Kapoor [Luck By Chance]
The veteran actor certainly has a lot of hunger left in him to keep doing something new. One can sense his enthusiasm when he gets to play a role that he has never done before and that was pretty much on display in Luck By Chance.

Reuniting with Juhi Chawla, his co-star from the past, he was terrific in the role of an old time Bollywood producer in Luck By Chance.

Though he had to walk a thin line in the film that could easily have become a spoof fest if handled loosely, Rishi Kapoor brought in all his experience from over the decades and announced loud and clear that he still has the fire in him to perform.

Preity Zinta [Videsh - Heaven on Earth]
In this pathetic film, the only bright spot was Preity Zinta. One can't say though that she was the saving grace of the film since even her presence couldn't help the film from sinking to the kind of depths that she had never experienced earlier in her career.

As a woman tortured and battered at her husband's place, she did well. However, one request for her - 'Please get out of those boring suit-salwars and get back into the Karan Johar/Yash Chopra world of designer costumes. You are made for that lady!'

Madhavan [13B]
Finally it was a moment of celebration for Madhavan as 13B made Hindi film audiences realise that he truly existed. In a film where he was required to be present in each and every scene, he came up with a very controlled and high impact act.

He may not be seen singing and dancing around the trees with his lady love in arms but give him a challenging assignment and he is sure to pass with flying colours. South realised it quite a few years back; now it's time for Bollywood to wake up as well.

Akshay Kumar [8X10 Tasveer]
It was being stated till the release of 8X10 Tasveer that the film boasted of his best act ever. Though that may be debatable since his best in recent times has to be Namastey London, the fact remains that it was his presence that made 8X10 Tasveer watchable before a poor climax spoilt it all. In a role that didn't quite allow him to even smile for 90% of the film's duration, Akshay had to get into a serious persona and he did well.

Emraan Hashmi [Raaz - The Mystery Continues]
After watching Raaz - The Mystery Continues one thing is quite clear - 'Emraan Hashmi has pretty much understood where his target audience lies'.

Pseudo intellectual critics may not warm up to his act but he has a loyal share of audiences that has only seen an increase in number with every year.

This horror thriller was yet another example where all Emraan had to do was keep a straight face and keep that naughtiness in his act alive. He did it well all over again and the result was a box office success.

Abhimanyu Singh [Gulaal]
Now this one was the surprise performance of the year. Not many knew about Gulaal. There were hardly who were even aware about the name of the lead protagonist from the film.

And least of all, Abhimanyu Singh, who was one of the major protagonists in the film and died mid way into the film, was a truly unknown name. And still, this man rocked. And how!

A clear scene stealer in the role of 'Ransa', Abhimanyu Singh made quite a few exclaim that "Gulaal died when his character died". Yes, that was indeed the fact!