Future of BOLLYWOOD

¥Á§-D said:

A subjective list of stars and their spots on the Bollywood horizon

For an industry that churns out 125 films a year, Bollywood is faced with a peculiar problem. Strangely enough, there aren’t enough actors to go around. This is odder still, given that anybody with a full head of hair and shiny teeth seems to think that ishtardom (talent not withstanding) is just a train ride away.

So let’s look at this scientifically. All three of today’s top actors (not counting the increasingly inaccurately named Aby Baby) are 39 years old, give or take a few months, while the large majority of the film-going audience is between 15 and 25. Does the word dichotomy ring a bell?

So if we give today’s reigning actors a generous five years more to continue playing the lead, whom do we have to look forward to in the coming years? Ay, therein lies the rub. Would you believe [shudder] Vivek Oberoi?

LEO MIRANI offers the unsuspecting viewing public a completely subjective guide to the future of Bollywood and profiles the actors who are going, those who are coming, and those who have no clue whether they’re coming or going.


THE GOING


Amitabh Bachchan (62)

This one just keeps going. It’s been 35 years since his first film. It’s been 29 years since Sholay. It’s been five years since abcl went bust, three years since kbc, a year since Baghban, his last hit, two months since his last three flops, two weeks since his most recent flop, and he keeps going. He’s been written off once, twice, a 100 times, but he keeps going. Amitabh Bachchan is at the head of the list of the going because even at 62, and even playing character roles, he manages to sell films on his own name. Legendary status though, can only last so long, and with the good Mr Bachchan’s face plastered on practically every hoarding and billboard, appearing in every film, and selling everything from chawanprash to life insurance, it’s only a matter of time before we get tired of it.

Aamir Khan (39)

This Khan commands the highest price in Bollywood and for good reason. He needs the money. Aamir Khan has been dining out on the success of his last film, Lagaan, for three years now. His next film, the hyper-expensive The Rising is still months away from release. In the meanwhile, Khan has priced himself out of reach for most producers and as he approaches the peak of his career as a studied, method actor, the limited number of films he does means that even the ones who can afford him have to wait years for dates.

Shah Rukh Khan (39)

He’s finally stopped playing the college kid. Sort of. He was last seen playing an undercover army operative who had to save the world by posing as (surprise surprise) a college student. Even so, Shah Rukh Khan believes that the film industry will move with him. And by the time he’s 45, they’ll be writing roles for 40-year-olds. He’s already been proven right with Main Hoon Na and he believes he has the longevity to last.

The secret? His theory is that the younger actors made a mistake. They started ‘doing all this bodybuilding’ and they showed the older ones ways to look younger. ‘They screwed themselves,’ he smirks. Even so, Khan has no projects on hand and will not see a release for a long time after Yash Chopra’s Veer-Zaara at Diwali.

Ajay Devgan (37)

You’ve seen his smouldering eyes in Zakhm. You’ve seen them in Company and in Bhoot and in Gangaajal and in Khakee and in Yuva. You’ve seen him play menacing and dangerous, angry and self-righteous, but can you think of what else you’ve seen him play? The rightful heir to Bachchan’s angry young man is facing the same problem Bachchan did: that accursed middle-age. And with only more of the same sort of roles to look forward to, Devgan seems to be in a sort of a rut, albeit a somewhat successful rut.

Salman Khan (39)

The critics were still writing obituaries for Garv when the action-packed Salman Khan starrer surprised everyone by raking in the big bucks in small centres. They wrote of David Dhawan’s Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and that’s become one of the biggest hits of the year. And the same critics were busy lauding Phir Milenge and Salman Khan’s ‘restrained, silent performance’ while the audience was rolling in the aisles watching the macho man cry. So what’s the moral of the story? People love the bare-chested action hero but when he gets into the sensitive Salman act, it gets to be a bit much for his dishum-dishum loving fans to stomach. Which is great, except that in five years, a middle-aged man with a sagging bosom is bound to lose the core audience that makes him the star he is.

Sanjay Dutt (45)

At 45, Dutt’s eyes look sleepier than ever, but here’s one actor for whom there will always be roles and there will always be a market. Whether he plays a gangster, an armyman or a David Dhawan dope, he manages to get away with it. Munnabhai MBBS, undoubtedly the sleeper hit of 2003, owes a large part of its success to Sanjay Dutt’s deadpanning and versatility.

He’s lucky that way. He’s accepted in whatever sort of genre he dabbles in and is most likely to have roles written for him as long as he can keep his eyes open.


THE COMING


Shahid Kapoor (23)

After the release of his first film (Ishq Vishk), he was compared to Shah Rukh Khan. Unfavourably. There were those who were convinced Ishq Vishk was a one-off thing. But Shahid Kapoor has shown that though his second film, Fida, tanked at the box office, he’s here to stay. A good actor to boot , the 23-year-old Shahid Kapoor is just what Bollywood needs at a time when the youngest successful star is Hrithik Roshan at 30. With films like Boney Kapoor’s Milenge,Milenge with Kareena, he seems all set to revitalise teen movies.

Zayed Khan (24)

Son of Sanjay Khan and Zarine Khan, cousin of Fardeen Khan, brother-in-law to Hrithik Roshan, and a bit of a mystery in himself, the youngest Khan around has the chiselled good looks needed to play everything from dopey college lover to charming anti-hero. If one were to judge him by his first film, the disastrous Chura Liya Hai Tumne, one would have written him off. But despite a catastrophic debut Zayed Khan has improved by leaps and bounds over time. In Main Hoon Na the young Khan held his own in scenes with the usually dominating Shah Rukh Khan.

John Abraham (32)

John Abraham is the exception to the rule that generally accompanies a model-turned-actor. His debut film, Jism, was the first big hit of 2003 and although there are those who credited that entirely to co-star Bipasha Basu’s never-ending legs, there are no such excuses for his latest, Dhoom. Playing the sexy bad boy seems to work for him, and his popularity with the ladies doesn’t hurt at the box office. With prestigious projects, including ab Corp’s Virrudh/Versus and Deepa Mehta’s River Moon lined up, John Abraham seems to have finally broken the curse of the model.

Hrithik Roshan (30)

Hrithik Roshan fits in all three of our categories. He’s been around long enough to be in with the established names, he’s got enough of a career ahead of him to be a rising star, and he’s had enough flops to put him in the going-nowhere category. So why did we decide to put him here? Because Hrithik Roshan may be down, but he’s not out. He’s had many high profile flops. Snide remarks float around about how only Roshan senior can give him a hit.Yet, he has proved he can act, been a huge sensation and also seen the downside of it. If he picks his films with care, he could be the next number one.

Saif Ali Khan (34)

At 34, he’s the oldest in the list of stars of the future, but after 12 years of playing second fiddle to bigger stars, Saif’s finally a star in his own right. But what makes him star material? With enough clout to pick only the films he really believes in, and enough security to experiment with offbeat small budget films, Saif is someone who will give urban multiplex films a reliable star to bank on. Proof? His next films are Akoori and Parineeta. Parineeta is a remake of a Bimal Roy classic and Akoori is a takeoff on Bombay’s bawas. The proof, they say, is in the Akoori (Parsi scrambled eggs).


THE STATICS


Abhishek Bachchan (2icon_cool.gif

He’s had almost 20 releases, with no major successes, and he still has films on hand. He’s still constantly interviewed and profiled and spoken about. And although Dhoom might break his unbroken record, a three-hero hit is hardly what any man needs to feel like a success. So what is it about Abhishek Bachchan then? Is it the intensity of Lallan in Yuva? The smug yet charming Sameer in his Hum Tum guest appearance? The supportive lawyer in Phir Milenge? There’s something about Abhishek that makes us want to put him in the list of those who are coming, but right now, Abhishek Bachchan and his career are both standing still.

Fardeen Khan (30)

Six years ago, it was papa’s Prem Aggan. This year, it was a much more mature Fardeen we saw in Dev, not only muscles and stubble but some acting prowess thrown in for good measure. While it may be unfair to compare him to his father Feroz Khan, there are snide remarks doing the rounds in the industry that he is starting to resemble his dad, only without the style. Ouch! Six years, a dozen flops and a huge fan club of lusty young girls do not a star make though. So with no successes in hand and no major films announced yet for the near future, this young Khan’s career seems to be headed nowhere. Fast.

Vivek Oberoi (2icon_cool.gif

He was rumoured to have been paid one crore for his debut film. He even managed to live up to the hype. Company was an excellent film and it looked like Vivek Oberoi was the next big thing. Since then though, it’s been a downward spiral and the young Mr Oberoi hasn’t scored any hits, he’s cheesed off the press with his little ‘Salman Khan’s 41 messages’ escapade and then he cheesed them off again, calling them to cover the first day of Aishwarya’s return to shooting after she recovered from a broken toe. The not particularly attractive Vivek has little going for him, specially when his usp is limited to half a smile and floppy hair.

Bobby Deol (37)

He should have inherited Sunny’s action hero status once the older Deol was put out to pasture, but instead he’s always remained the lesser Deol while Sunny continued to go on and on. At 37 he’s already approaching middle age. His last film Bardaasht, passed unnoticed. And he has little to look forward to if he doesn’t do something about his image. But things might turn around for him. His next release Ab Tumhare Hawaale Watan Saathiyon, is another Anil Sharma epic. If it does for Bobby what Sharma’s Gadar did for Sunny, the younger Deol could make his way into another list.

Arjun Rampal (32)

He has it all. Charm, charisma, great looks, acting ability and screen presence. Yet, not one of his films so far have worked. His last film Asambhav was supposed to be the ‘big one.’ But the audience had other plans. Like going and watching that week’s other release, Julie. Blame it on bad luck, bad choice or bad films, this is one static who could change his star on any given Friday. With Rakesh Mehra’s Rang De Basanti (co-starring Aamir Khan), that day might not be too far away. But for now, Rampal is hardly one of the torchbearers of tomorrow’s Bollywood. Another victim of the model’s curse.

Paki_Kuri said:

sorry but i don't like ASH AT ALL...don't know why she just irritates me.

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