Content dwarfs superstars in B-town

The superstars have been failing on a regular basis to deliver notwithstanding their Eid, Diwali, Christmas and other festival release dates not to mention 4000+ screens and enhanced ticket rates! Anything goes in the name of stunts and the special effects will do the job is not working anymore! So, now is the time to turn to content-oriented films.

When a maker has solid content, a superstar is not needed. Of the reigning but 50+ superstars, only Aamir Khan seems to have realized this fact! Or, so his film 'Dangal' and his portrayal of a determined Haryanvi father, wanting to turn his daughters into world class wrestling champs, has proved!

Also, the two who fit the definition now are Salman Khan and Aamir Khan; while Shah Rukh Khan has lagged behind, Hrithik Roshan seems to have given up on the rat race soon after he attained superstardom. After doing varied roles, Salman Khan did a series of action/comedies starting with `Wanted' for over half a decade, changed tracks with 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' and 'Sultaan.' It is this shift in genre that aptly sums up his three-decades long career as an actor.

There are the second rung stars with Akshay Kumar leading the pack followed by Ajay Devgn. Akshay Kumar has his strategy well sorted out. Akshay does three to four films a year and yet manages to survive. His choice of subjects is varied, relevant to what is happening around us.

He has done his share of action, romance as well as comedy. But, a glance at his recent films will give a lead to what makes his films eagerly awaited. The films include: 'Rustom,' 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha,' 'Padman,' 'Gold' along with the forthcoming 'Kesari' and 'Prithviraj.' Khiladi days are over. Count on subject and variety.

Ajay Devgn has a limited range and, hence, also a limited following. But, he has survived alternating between action and comedy. All these stars put together along with some woman centric films being made often now, account for a dozen or so films a year. Also, they employ a favourite few makers of these stars.

These stars who reigned assured on the first day draw at the box office, rest depending on the content and the entertainment value. Stakes were high and so were losses. Chasing superstars and waiting endlessly was not for those with creative urge and wanting to break into the mainstream. The makers waiting in the wings had to turn to the newer talent and there was lots of it available.

(Talking of waiting for dates, producer Sajid Nadiadwala was asked once that what had changed for him now that he was a successful and reputed filmmaker. His reply was: Well, earlier I went to my hero for dates in a rickshaw and had to wait for four hours to talk to him; now I go in a Bentley and wait for four hours!) The problem was again the risk factor.

This new breed of actors did not comprise stars who could guarantee audiences flocking to cinema halls on the first day. For, that matter, not even the second and third day - the weekend. The first day, one could expect to be weak but there had to be something whereby the first day served as people-generated promotion of a film that would bring in the footfalls in the days to follow.

In such an event, the star had to be the content, stuff away from the mundane that has long been vended. The process started with films like 'Tanu Weds Manu', 'ABCD,' 'Piku,' 'Masaan,' '2 States,' 'Ek Villain,' ' Queen,' 'Vicky Donor,' 'Fukray,' 'Dirty Picture,' 'Kahaani,' 'Neerja,' and lot more. In the last year or so, the stories are the real heroes, making films run.

One of the reasons being that the new breed of stars like Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan, Ayushmaan Khurana, Tiger Shroff, Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Kangana Ranaut, Yami Gautam or even Shahid Kapoor and John Abraham are all willing to try newer themes and have avoided being

slotted.

Not to rob them of due credit, these actors - male and female - are getting a great band of talented supporting actors who have become stars in their own right. The current favourites are Saurabh Shukla, Annu Kapoor, Piyush Mishra, Yashpal Sharma, Pavan Malhotra, Zakiir Hussain, Rajesh Sharma, Brijendra Kala, Vipin Shrma, and many more with Sanjay Mishra, Deepak Dobriyal, Rajesh Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi leading the pack. Their contribution makes all the difference.

Look at how the year 2019 has started and been so far. About 21 new releases. No superstar to hog the premiere release dates like the January 26 weekend! And, we already have five hits, all content based and controlled budget. All these films did not break box office records on day one.  But eventually made pots of money.

-Vinod Mirani