Ageless wonders of Indian cinema

Five decades, over 400 films, out of which more than 100 were released after the star touched 50! This is not something like a 'Believe It or Not' kind of a statistic. 68-year-old Mammootty, Kerala's tallest matinee idol has actually done it, with his box-office charisma as enduring as ever. Across the country in India's cinema capital, Mumbai, Amitabh Bachchan, at 77, has his own impressive numbers to show. He too has been featured in main and special appearances in 80-odd films, after he turned 60 in 2002. Prior to this, his three-decade odd career saw him being featured in 140-odd films in all kinds of roleplays.

Chiranjeevi and Rajinikanth, both 64 and 69 respectively, have also kept their records going. They may have had lesser releases after they turned 50 (Nine in the case of megastar, with a political career intervening in between) and 12 in the case of Rajini. Yet, their commanding screen presence still draws in the big bucks as Indian film industry enters into the new leap year.

For the past seven decades or so, with patriarchy ruling the roost all across the major film centres of Indian cinema, heroes have seemed to go on forever. Even if that is an accepted fact, there are, if one closely observes, only a few who can command a lion's share in a film, be it characterisation or remuneration. Only a handful of heroes in Indian cinema fit the bill today – Mammootty in Kerala, Chiranjeevi in Telugu States and Amitabh Bachchan in the Mumbai film industry.

These are the three heroes, one senior to Rajinikanth ( Big B at 77) and the other two junior to him by a few years – the Kerala star at 68 and megastar at 64 who still can generate on-the-table business and also create an ambience which can be conducive to the film seeing the light of the day on schedule, with or without, budgetary fluctuations and allied developments, typical of commercial ventures in Indian film industry. The 1980's batch of Hindi film heroes like Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor too are now senior citizens in the right side of 60s. Their box office appeal is very suspect and definitely not a single- hero based one.

Nagarjuna at 60 is just about entering the super senior club, with his solo hero status taking more knocks than beating it back in the past decade. Heroes like Mohan Lal, Balakrishna, Venkatesh are getting there this year.

A little data mining about how the heroes have endured the new millennium as it enters the third decade would be an eye-opener. While it is anybody's guess as to what will be the status of our all-weather heroes by the end of the 2020's, it is for sure that the next lot who have entered the senior citizen status this year will still continue to hover around.

As has been the case over the years, prior to the high-stress week of Pongal in 2020, film banners, backed by respective big guns, either from film families or with long-time distribution background had locked horns, put up mock fights to heighten so-called 'pre-release' tensions and tried their best to hype up their respective films. If this was the condition with the local producers and distributors, yet another time, the superstar from Chennai – Rajinikanth- who commands the maximum market across the southern territories put together also threw his hat into the ring with 'Darbar'.

Well, the dust settled down faster, as theatres were squeezed in to give a two-day slot to the icon who has been commanding an impressive market in Telugu States when his film was released on January 9. The film too opened to mixed reviews, but be it film critics or ardent fans, none could miss out on the vital point that Rajinikanth was oozing energy, frame after frame, not only while doing action scenes but also with his sheer screen presence even when surrounded by actors and actresses nearly half his age of 69, pushing on 70.

Interestingly, as far as numbers go, the Malayalam film industry, admired for its path-breaking themes and low-budget, yet cost-effective films have offered its superstars many films to showcase their amazing range of work. Beginning in the 1970s and emerging as a solo hero in 1980, Mammotty has more than 400 films to his credit in the last four decades. Not surprising, one may say.

What is striking is how the Keralite icon scored a century of releases in the last two decades as he stepped into his 50th year with the break of the new millennium. He had 61 releases in the first decade of the 21st century, many of them notable hits following it with 44 releases in the last decade. This lot includes his reprisal of YSR's character in 'Yatra' one of the biopics released last year.

Numbers may not be all that critical in the case of the Telugu and Tamil film industry numero unos. Known for its excessive hype, formula fare and shot with astounding budgets film after film, the ventures have enjoyed pan-Indian support of late, commanding a decent dubbing figure across multilingual and digital platforms. Fast on the draw to tap and exploit emerging technologies to push in their masala films, the film banners of both these industries have continued to accord a vital slot to their senior most stars.

What would be vital to explore is how fast these stars turn to playing their respective ages onscreen too, a distinct impossibility as of today. While Amitabh Bachchan distinguishes himself on this score, Rajinikanth's softer, humane roles in a few of his recent releases like 'Kabaali' and 'Kaala' were disappointments for his hardcore fans, who seem to be coming in waves, generation after generation. It looks like the stars themselves are stuck in a vicious circle of commercial considerations and pandering to their last fan, who does everything to keep him at the top of the heap, release after release. The ever present cinema craze in two of the biggest cine zones of India in Telugu and Tamil States has every reason to rejoice as long as their onscreen idols keep pandering to them and fattening their bank balances.