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After 'Total Dhamaal' and 'Kalank', here's how multi-starrers are the toast of 2019

After Total Dhamaal and Kalank, many other projects featuring a bevy of actors are slated for release

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(clockwise): Kalank; Tara Sutaria, Tiger Shroff and Ananya Panday, the three lead actors Student Of The Year 2, which releases this summer —Pic- Ashwini Sawant/DNA; Total Dhamaal
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When Total Dhamaal released in February, it rained stars on screen with names such as Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Riteish Deshmukh and more. And now, Karan Johar’s Kalank is up for release, with a star cast boasting of stalwarts such as Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri along with younger stars like Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapur. Needless to say, the Abhishek Varman directorial has generated a lot of buzz. These two films seem to have set the mood for multi-starrers in 2019, compared to the last couple of years. In 2017, Golmaal Again was the biggest multi-starrer, while Rangoon, Mubarakan, Bareilly Ki Barfi and Baadshaho were some other movies where two or more actors shared screen space. The following year saw Padmaavat, Race 3, Thugs Of Hindostan, 102 Not Out and Veere Di Wedding, which saw biggies facing the camera together.

UPCOMING MULTI-STARRERS

After Total Dhamaal and Kalank, one can look forward to Mission Mangal (Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha and Sharman Joshi) and Good News (Akshay, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani). Apart from this, there’s also Anurag Basu’s as-yet untitled movie (Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanya Malhotra), Housefull 4 (Akshay again with Kriti Sanon, Riteish, Kriti Kharbanda, Bobby Deol), Pagalpanti (Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Ileana D’Cruz) and Marjaavaan (Sidharth Malhotra, Riteish, Rakul Preet Singh and Tara Sutaria). Apart from a big star cast, there are three-actor projects to look forward to, as well, such as Bharat (Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Tabu), Student of The Year 2 (Tiger Shroff, Ananya Panday and Tara Sutaria), Pati Patni Aur Woh (Kartik Aaryan, Bhumi Pednekar and Ananya), and Panipat (Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Kapoor and Kriti Sanon).

“One does enjoy a solo-actor movie, but to see so many stars in the same film, or even frame, is the most exciting thing for any cinegoer,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh while talking about why they are such a big draw. Along with the larger-than-life canvas, it’s a treat to watch powerhouse performers or the glam brigade on screen together. And, “If the content is good, then it’s the icing on the cake,” he adds.


Housefull 4

CONTENT IS EVERYTHING

In recent times, the emphasis has been on the content and characters, even if not the lead. Actors such as Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao in Badhaai Ho, Pankaj Tripathi in Newton, Stree, and Seema Pahwa in Bareilly Ki Barfi and many more have walked away with praises galore. Ergo, bigwigs aren’t shying from such projects either. Taran concurs, “Actors have realised it’s a fruitful idea to do a multi-starrer if the character is strong and they have good lines as well as scenes because they can shine in their individual roles.”

RESULTS IN MORE VIEWERS

When individual star power is combined, it also means more footfalls of fans. Like Salman Khan had observed in an interview to After Hrs, dated November 11, 2017, “Two guys or three guys get together for a film, and if the casting is superb, then instead of them individually doing Rs 60-70-100 crore each, their film together will straightaway touch the Rs 150-200 crore mark.” For instance, Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff both have an enormous fan following, so one can only imagine the brouhaha when Hrithik vs Tiger (tentatively titled) releases; or for that matter Takht, which stars immensely popular names such as Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Bhumi Pednekar, Vicky Kaushal, Janhvi Kapoor and Anil Kapoor. “Imagine what a big hit a Rohit Shetty movie will be if he were to combine the cop universes of Singham, Simmba and Sooryavanshi,” says Taran.


Mission Mangal

MORE VIABLE THAN BEFORE

A multi-starrer may or may not translate into more viewers in cinema halls, but it certainly entails an increase in production cost, in terms of actors' remunerations, especially if the artistes are top of the crop. Taran says that’s something that the stars need to co-operate about. However, OTT deals are proving to be the game changer of late. “Non-theatrical revenues constitute a substantial amount. Overseas, music and satellite rights have already been contributing to the returns and today there are digital platforms. And, now, China has opened up as a market and if you find a release there, there’s no stopping your film,” he concludes.

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