Khan-tastic or Khallas

By Monojit Lahiri | March 31, 2014

Who says the Khans still rule Bollywood. No matter how deliciously hot and seductive the new Kapoor kid is or how attractive Akshay Khan, Ajay or Greek-god looker Hrithik are, every move of the Khan troika is watched, adoringly chronicled and breathlessly consumed by media, industry, folks and fans alike. The recent jaadu ki jhappi that warring enemies Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan engaged in last year’s Iftaar party in Mumbai, had media and fans in a tizzy unleashing a zillion speculations about a likely return of the Karan-Arjun days. However, perceptive trackers (of late) have begun to ask one uncomfortable question: Is their time (Jai Ho) slowly fading out? Is their magical charisma evaporating? Is their monopoly being challenged by a bunch of new directors, actors, theme, content, subjects, treatment, breaking new ground to scale new heights with new-age audiences? Most importantly, do heroines still consider sharing the frame with them, a dream-come-true and god’s greatest gift, a sublime opportunity to zoom up in their career — or a roadblock to their acting potential?

Interestingly, even two years ago, this poser would have been a no-brainer. A Khan-heroine sent out a tacit signal that irrespective of background — Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om; Anushka Sharma in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi; Asin in Ghajini; Bhumika Chawla in Tere Naam — she would definitely be noticed and bask in reflected glory, at least. According to perceptive Bolly-watchers, however, that monopoly and domination seems to be losing its luster for three reasons.

First, despite the gyms, fitness trainers and make-up, the Khans are not getting younger. They’ve been at it for over two decades and have come a long way from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Maine Pyar Kiya and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, right? Second, over time their individual star-power has been so overwhelming and all-consuming that (like Amitabh Bachchan in his heydays) their’s is a largely solo act and fans primarily come to see the Khan magic irrespective of which heroine is being coochie-cooed by them. Most importantly, in Sushant Singh Rajput, Siddharth Malhotra and gang, these heroines seem happy to (at last) co-star with actors in their age-bracket and not someone on the wrong side of 45. So be it, film-makers like Shoojit Sircar, Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Sujoy Ghosh, etc., or new found confidence and opportunities, there is every reason to believe that for young heroines, there is life beyond the Khans.

“Absolutely!” says movie-buff Anurag Batra. “The Bollywood heroine has traditionally been a victim of blatant gender-bias hero-domination, existing only as a necessary prop to further the glam quotient of the show: look beautiful and sexy, sing, dance, pout, cry and generally do stuff that are lightweight and doesn’t disturb the great heroes as Superman. Today’s new directors mercifully are breaking that mould and coming out with roles that challenge, explore and exploit the reservoirs of talent many of the heroines have and are yearning to demonstrate.

“Actually, there is an actor hidden behind all these Barbie Dolls and it takes a bold, insightful and daring director who has the gift and guts to bring it out in the open with all cylinders firing. This has nothing to do with the star-quality of the Khans who continue to be super hot. It has everything to do with heroines receiving the kind of roles and appreciation long overdue and detaching themselves from being considered nothing more than love interest.”

As for Shah Rukh Khan recent “Pehle aap” gimmick (played out in a recent ad and Chennai Express) Batra believes its “posturing of the filmy kind and shouldn’t be taken seriously.”

Muscat-based teacher Maya Tandon couldn’t disagree more: “The Khans are something else and power the Rs.100 crore club like no one can dare to or dream of. They just need to be seen with a heroine or director for media to freak out and do a zillion stories — that’s the power of the Khans. In this kind of a scenario (from newbies to established heroines) they continue to be the most preferred and to-die-for co-stars, any day. Ask any of the top babes — Piggy Chops (Priyanka Chopra), Katrina Kaif, Bebo (Kareena Kapoor) or Dips (Deepika Padukone) — whether they have the confidence or guts to refuse a role with any of the Khans? The humungous mileage in terms of publicity-value is matchless. They are headliners, newsmakers and game-changers all the way and any heroine denying that is doing it for attention-grabbing publicity or self-delusion.”

Phew!

Fact is while the overwhelming Khan-glow is undeniable for heroines, their role, contribution and part in any Khan-starrer will always be subordinate to them, positioning them as dazzling, romantic or hot accompaniments, never ever daring to upstage or challenge their star might. The proof of this lies in the fact that all the Khans have romanced several heroines across the decades, but these movies have clicked only because of the K factor, not the heroines or great chemistry, with perhaps the possible exception of the SRK-Kajol pairing.

However, while their towering impact remains, heroines, thanks to new-age directors and new-age audiences, are slowly being offered the supreme (and undreamt of) opportunity to showcase their acting skills (demonstrate soul-strip not body exposure) and celebrate new facets of self-discovery, self confidence and self-esteem. They no longer are forced to play the role of glam, dumb props, but can expect to play central roles in cinematic narratives that entertain while enriching and empowering.

Admittedly these films are few but they are being made, seen, noticed and written about, and many of them are also successfully romancing the box office. So for the new heroines, the choice is clear: Target for a Khan-heroine slot and be assured of Khan-tastic publicity basking in reflected glory — or wait patiently for a solid, heroine-oriented role with a bold director and hope to catch the eye of the people who count and make a difference to the biggest criteria of all — the Box Office.

Impossible? Remember Dirty Picture and Kahaani?