Birthday Special: November-born actors and their best movies to watch this month

This November has brought with it many reasons to celebrate and enjoy. For one, Diwali is just around the corner, the World Cup finals are slated for the latter half of the month, and finally, some of our favourite stars celebrate their birthdays this month, giving us just another reason to revisit their work. Shah Rukh Khan, Tabu, Matthew McConaughey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, and Scarlett Johansson are going to leave you hooked to your screen.

Shah Rukh Khan (November 2)

Swades (2004)

This film was nothing like anything SRK had done before. Khan's character, Mohan Bhargava a NASA scientist, leaves his larger-than-life dreams and job and shows us what it is like to feel at home among your people, in your country. While he knows India isn’t perfect, he doesn't detest it. Instead, he urges those around him to make the most of the talent and capability we have to fulfill our dreams of becoming a superpower. The movie has an unforgettable soundtrack by A R Rahman and some iconic scenes.

Chak De India

This redemption story makes us cry, laugh, and cheer for Kabir Khan and his girls as they overcome the many challenges on their way to victory. Khan, the coach, brings together a team that didn't see eye to eye to work towards one cause—victory. He instills sportsmanship, confidence, and courage in them with his words, training and attitude. And after an inspirational and emotional speech in the final moments of the movie, it is no surprise that the girls move heaven and earth to prove a point to the world.

Tabu (November 4)

Haider (2014)

Why speak when you have one of the most expressive eyes in the industry? Tabu, as Ghazala, the mother of the central character in this modern-day adaptation of Hamlet, plays the part of a manipulative woman who is torn between her love for her son and her husband’s brother, who played a part in the murder of her husband. The finesse with which she expresses anger, love, and guilt makes her an absolute scene stealer.

Andhadhun (2018)

While Ayushmann Khurrana garnered all the praise for the film, Tabu proves yet again that no role is impossible for her to play. Tabu’s character has many sides to her personality; she goes from playing a devoted and loving wife in one scene to plotting her husband's death in another. Through the many scenes, she convinces viewers that there is more to her than what meets the eye. This role needed an actor who had to made the dark humour in the film stand out and the makers surely struck bulls-eye by making the right choice with Tabu. 

Matthew McConaughey (November 4)

Mud (2012)

In this Jeff Nichols drama, the actor plays the role of a mysterious criminal who tries to outrun his past. With his brilliance, McConaughey carries an entire film on his shoulders. While the movie revolves around two boys who help a fugitive on an island escape, Mud, is running from the authorities and a group of thugs who want him dead. The performance earned a lot of praise and the film got an 18-minute-long standing ovation, when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

Interstellar (2014)

The actor plays Cooper, a former pilot-turned-farmer who leaves behind his family to try and save humanity by finding a planet for mankind to survive after the resources on Earth start to diminish and deteriorate. While director Cristopher Nolan manages to have you right at the edge of your seat in this sci-fi visual masterpiece, it’s McConaughey who never lets the audience forget that this story is all about love—something that transcends speed, distance and time.

Leonardo DiCaprio (November 11)

The Aviator (2004)

Directed by Martin Scorsese, the movie revolves around the life of Howard Hughes (DiCaprio) a billionaire and aviation trailblazer. Spanning 20 years (1927-47), the film sees the actor come to the fore as his rise to the top comes crashing down with equal pace as he struggles not just to deal with power and greed, but with OCD as well. It was a performance that changed perception as audiences no longer saw him as the heartthrob who swept us off our feet in Titanic to carry an entire film on his more-than-able shoulders. 

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Scorsese and DiCaprio teamed up again (their fifth in seven films) to give us a film all about sex, drugs, and stocks. It is the story of stockbroker Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio), who earned millions by scamming investors during the '90s and saw his life, career, and empire come crashing down due to the FBI and SEC. Bringing his A-game on display, DiCaprio was full of swag and confidence as he delivered one power-packed one-liner after another to give one of his career’s best performances.

Anne Hathaway (November 12)

The Princess Diaries (2001)

Hathaway hit it right out of the park in her very first film when she was just 19. She plays a 15-year-old teen who discovers that her father is Crown Prince Philippe Renaldi of Genovia. She not only has to come to terms with being a princess, but has to also deal with the tabloids who want to know every single detail of her life and a host of acquaintances who want to befriend her to get famous themselves. Thanks to her grandmother (played by Julie Andrews) Hathaway is transformed into royalty and goes on to become the heir to the throne.

Les Miserables (2012)

This performance earned the most number of awards in her career. She had a great character arc—she goes on from being a factory seamstress to a sex worker. Despite having just 30 minutes of screen time, she steals the show among a power-packed cast including Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfried, and Eddie Redmayne. The cherry on the cake was her singing the song 'I Dreamed I Dream'. 

Here are some movies by other stars born in November including Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling and a couple of others.