Has 'Hero No 1' Govinda’s career come ‘full circle’?

In a matter of 20 years, life has come back ‘full circle’ for Govinda, who has gone from being Hero No 1 to (Chal) Aa Gaya Hero. A rethink about his career needs to happen... soon!

“With many doors shut on him, Govinda thought of taking one last shot at reviving his career as a leading man. Clearly, the move has backfired. It is nothing short of embarrassing to see such horrendous results for the film of an actor who ruled the ’90s. Of course, it is easy to say this in hindsight, but then Govinda should not have made the film at all. It is painful for his fans,” says an observer.

“The last film of his to do any sort of business was Partner (with Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif) and that film was one decade ago. Before that, his two hits were Jodi No. 1 (2001) and Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999), both of which had David Dhawan as the director and Sanjay Dutt as his accompanying partner,” says a trade guru.

“As a matter of fact, his last clear hit as a solo lead was Dulhe Raja (1998). Basically, we are talking about an actor, whose last clean success as the central protagonist was 19 years ago, and every hit film since then (and that, too, just a handful of these), has been a two-hero project, with the last one being a decade back. When it is quite apparent that the current generation of audiences are not really lining up to watch you as a solo lead, why make a film for yourself in a masala hero avatar at all?” he asks.

That said, the fact that Govinda is still in front of the camera for over 30 years means there is possibility of a turnaround, provided he decides to change gears.

For starters, it would help him a great deal if he picks on strong supporting roles from this point on. An industry insider comments, “He has tried this too with films like Raavan, Happy Ending and Kill Dil. Success may have evaded him in each of these films but then that’s because the final product was bad. Why should the failures of a select few experiments deter him from choosing some really interesting scripts and then delivering his best? He has it in him to get it right.”

“The talent doesn’t go away anywhere though,” the observer adds, “He is 53 and it isn’t as if he has to retire now. One good film, one good director and one well promoted film could indeed result in a turnaround. Once that happens, it could well be a new innings for Govinda.”