Hindi Cinema: Where are the New Big Stars?

All the superstars in Hindi films will soon reach their sell-by date. From where will the industry find a bunch of young men who will replace them? It’s an uneasy phase of transition

The three Khans will turn 50 this year. Major stars like Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn are in their late 40s. Five big names in the same age group, who are nearing their sell-by date as male leads in mainstream Hindi cinema. Clearly, the trade needs newcomers who are sufficiently established by the time the Famous Five take a bow and move on. And this must happen while these seniors are still at the top of their game.

Having finished shooting for Fan, Shah Rukh has now turned to Raees in which he is acting opposite the Pakistan actor-VJ Mahira Khan. In both films, his characters are wrapped in secrecy. Both films are dramas, which suggests a possible departure from films of the Farah Khan variety. What remains to be seen is whether or not Shah Rukh will reconcile to the reality of his advancing age in two successive films.

Salman is filming for Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. In PRDP, he will be seen opposite Sonam Kapoor, and in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kareena Kapoor-Khan. He is also reportedly working on a biopic on the wrestler Gama Pehelwan in which his character must grow old and die in neglect. If the story is manipulated a little too much in order to make the most of his superstardom, it will fall flat on its face. For Salman, whose films are driven by his star power alone, shedding the image of the quintessential superstar will be extremely difficult. But it has to happen, sooner rather than later.

Wrestling is also the chosen subject for Aamir Khan’s Dangal. The only megastar who doesn’t settle for compromises in Hindi mainstream cinema, Aamir has put on weight and is sporting a salt and pepper look to play the central role in the film based on wrestler Mahavir Phogat’s life. And he is hardly uncomfortable about appearing in public, looking his age, which is both new and terribly real, unlike his dyed Mangal Pandey moustache. Somewhere in his mind, he surely knows that he cannot keep on sporting his young boy looks forever. Showing his grey beard to his fans might be his first well-timed step towards new professional objectives.

Somewhat younger but not by much, Devgn and Kumar can continue to play male leads in action-oriented films. But they have to stay away from comic multi-starrers, if not right away, then very soon. Being a quality actor with a special intensity, Ajay can shift to major supporting roles a lot more easily. In fact, he has already shown his ability to make an impact in serious acting-centric multi-starrers and solo male lead films. Akshay being a lesser Salman will find it much more challenging. But he too must consistently look for scripts that respect his stature while having younger stars as leads.

While the Khans are the megastars, Akshay and Ajay cannot be written off as just two more participants in the game. That all of them must gradually make way for a new generation is a huge worry for producers. Finding a bunch of replacements, each of them capable of delivering blockbusters that justify a film’s big budget, won’t be easy.

One man who is already there, the fourth biggest superstar, is Hrithik Roshan. At 41, he still has quite a few years ahead of him. Saif Ali Khan isn’t getting any younger. Besides, the only memorable character in his entire career is that of Langda Tyagi, an outstanding interpretation of the scheming Iago in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara based on Othello. He has played the suave urban star with flair on several occasions. But he has to come up with a series of miracles to send out signals of assurance to potential investors.

Abhishek Bachchan has had his moments in Guru and Yuva, a hardly convincing summary of his accomplishments as an actor who has been around for a fairly long time.  Emraan Hashmi is less untalented than it usually seems. But he has been single-handedly guilty of signing up too many bad small-budget films that have converted him into a safe bet for producers who are satisfied with making small investments and managing to recover that amount and earn some more. By acting in such projects, Emraan has facilitated his own destruction.

Farhan Akhtar is a fine actor; but he juggles with other constructive distractions like direction and production. These energy-sapping, time-consuming engagements will prevent him to rising to the top.

After the three Khans and a couple other major players fade away, will Hrithik become the third solo superstar after Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan? Possible, but highly unlikely at a time when no film is a hit until it actually is. The environment has become so competitive that even Aamir and Salman, who preferred to let their films do the talking earlier, have to show up for press conferences, appear on TV shows, and give countless interviews before the release of their films.

Akshay’s career has been full of ups and downs, and a classic instance of his inability to save his own film was Boss, a turkey at the box office in spite of extensive promotion for months. Ajay has always maintained a low profile; yet, he gives more interviews than earlier with reluctant unease.

Shah Rukh talks about everything under the sun. A fantastic dancer, Hrithik is often requested to dance to a song from his new film on TV shows. He obliges since that works for him.

In spite of heightened visibility, many major films crash. There are more sleeper hits than ever before. Because of the collective dominance of his seniors, a few like Shahid Kapoor have suffered. So what if he is only 33 and fine performances in films like Kaminey and Haider  feature in his track record? He has not only had a 12-year-long career but also acted in many disappointing films that might have worked for a young Shah Rukh or a Salman but not for him. Buried under the heap, he never enjoyed the sort of power that is essential for becoming the quintessential superstar.

From the look of things, the future will throw up a fractured mandate with more surprising winners and losers than one can possibly imagine.

If Hrithik doesn’t redefine his approach to acting and appear in viewer-friendly films more frequently than he now does, he will definitely be a leading player who will ask for an obscenely high fee: and get it very often. For Mohenjo Daro, an Ashutosh Gowarikar period epic set in the days of the Indus Valley civilization, he had reportedly asked for Rs 50 crore. Nobody except the producers and he himself would know how much he eventually settled for. But if the report can be trusted, it couldn’t have been brought down to Rs 10 crore, the budget of a much appreciated film like Queen.

Had Hrithik played a risk-free game, he might have been a much bigger superstar. Krrish 3 and Bang Bang!, both mediocre films, were stupendous successes because they were unapologetic  about making the most of his strength as a larger-than-life charmer. But he also needs to satisfy his creative urge by working in a Guzaarish and, now, a Mohenjo Daro that would challenge him as an actor.

Whatever demand he may or may not have made cannot overlook the fact that the acting in the Gowarikar film set around 2500 BC will require complete devotion which a Bang Bang! would not. If the film fails to evolve like it should, it might be reduced to merely a wonderful memory for those who worked in it.

Much younger than Hrithik is Ranbir Kapoor, a fine talent who has acted in a few really good films in his short but interesting career. Naturally, Ranbir’s dedicated fan following is much smaller, because he entered the business much later. But in urban centres, he is already a superstar whose performances in like Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Wake Up Sid, Rockstar and Barfi! in particular have been widely appreciated.

In recent times, when he decided to take the pure commercial route by appearing in the rom-com Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, the film became a blockbuster of the kind any star would have settled for. Now, he is working in Bombay Velvet, which is the fulfillment of a long-nurtured dream for maverick filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. This is a tricky area to tread, Anurag being the sort of filmmaker for whom taking chances with storylines and treatment is a creative compulsion.

But Ranbir, like Hrithik, doesn’t wholly subscribe to the idea of an unchallenging journey either. He can act in one YJHD, and deliver his counterpart of Hrithik’s Bang Bang!. Working at a time when many producers are teaming up with directors who have exciting offbeat ideas, Ranbir prefers to capitalize on the possibilities offered by a liberated environment. That will make him a commercially inconsistent performer; yet, someone who will periodically challenge Hrithik as he continues to grow with his forays towards the obvious.

There is another exciting possibility though. If he starts making the right kind of unconventional choices, he could very well reach where Aamir Khan finds himself today. Remember his cameo in PK?

When Ranveer Singh played a Delhi ka chhokra in Band Bajaa Baraat, the film became a sleeper hit which surprised many. What nobody would have expected is that he would emerge as a potential threat to his seniors so soon. He has been lucky, with a bizarre film like Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela based on Romeo and Juliet becoming an astonishingly big hit. In Gunday, in which he shared screen space with Arjun Kapoor, another promising young star, he played a criminal in a performance appreciated by the audiences as well as the critics.

Ranveer’s really big one is going to be Bajirao Mastani. in which plays the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I with Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra as costars, by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who had directed him in the mysteriously successful GKRR. Bhansali has been planning to make this film for a long time, which can only mean two things. Either he will make a terrible film—don’t forget his version of Devdas—or a truly touching one like Hum Dil Chuke Sanam.

If this period drama works, Ranveer will be catapulted to the league of genuinely big stars. If not, he may have to wait for some more time for his turn.

Arjun Kapoor has been a bit of a surprise. In Ishaaqzaade, he had the role of a boy who falls in love with a girl he had raped. The character was too challenging for him, and he failed to impress. He came into his own with Gunday as Ranveer’s partner in crime, consolidated his position with 2 States in which he struggled to gain the approval of the parents of the girl he wants to marry, and played a ruffian in Tevar whose hype failed to save the film.

What makes Arjun a candidate in the list of major stars is that he is likely to pick and choose among commercial films, his odd experimental film like Finding Fanny notwithstanding. If he operates in that space without pushing himself too hard, he will definitely deliver more big films that get good or better viewership without being able to charm the critics.

Hindi cinema in modern times is like a never-ending series of one-day internationals in cricket. Just as too many ODIS have given opportunities to too many cricketers, not all of them good or competent enough, numerous young actors including terrible ones have been able to find work  in Hindi commercial cinema.

Among them, Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra come across as cute poster boys who are good enough to feature in ads and can be even made to deliver a superb performance by a quality director whose selection will be based on the kind of role he can offer. But they are urban stars, and here too, their appeal will be easily overpowered by the likes of Hrithik, Ranveer and Ranbir.

Ali Zafar isn’t bad, but he has to get the right roles, unlike in Kill Dill, in which Govinda’s mere presence and his costar Ranveer’s skills gave him very little opportunity to perform with complete freedom. Ayushman Khurrana is a fine actor, but he is not the kind of performer who can be expected to select his film while keeping box office success in mind. This will keep him out of the race, not a form of sport he appears to be interested in anyway.

The Hindi film trade is aware that many major names will make a gradual exit, and not because producers are refusing to pay the kind of higher salaries they ask for. The bunch of stars in their late 40s are fully conscious that, while many viewers accept a wide range of themes today, they continue to be alert about an actor’s advancing age. That’s the way things were, and that’s how they are, a reality the stars must confront before it is too late.

Immunity from failures is history. But Hindi cinema still needs superstars on whom expenses can be justified because their films are accompanied by the possibility of massive returns.  It needs a Shah Rukh, a Salman, or even an Akshay who has had some excellent runs in the past. Hrithik and Ranbir are compulsive risk takers, and they can choose films that require so much time and effort that they cannot take up additional work. Ranveer has taken the chance of his lifetime with Bajirao Mastani.

To sustain the momentum given by the three Khans in particular, alternatives must be found. If that does not happen, many producers with deep pockets may prefer to make nominal investments in their projects. That is perfectly understandable, since hardly anybody among the newcomers seem capable of giving a huge solo hit. Apart from Hrithik, only Ranbir has been able to deliver big winners while Ranveer also has a surprising blockbuster to his credit.

But, from where will the industry find a bunch of major stars who have redefined the manner in which money is spent in big-budget Hindi films? This phase of transition is a particularly uneasy one as the search continues.