'Khakee ki kasam'

Wanted, Singham, Dum Maaro Dum, Force, Department, Jannat 2… all these films in recent times saw B-Town’s leading men don the khakee vardi. But seems like Bollywood just can’t get enough of the cop act, as its romance with the men in uniform continues in the months ahead too. While Akshay Kumar’s just donned the uniform in his latest release Rowdy Rathore, Salman Khan reprises his role of a cop in the sequel of Dabangg. Aamir Khan plays a cop in Reema Kagti’s Talaash, Arjun Rampal in Prakash Jha’s Chakravyuh. Anil Kapoor who was seen playing a Brit cop in Tezz, will once again be playing a cop in Sanjay Gupta’s Shootout At Wadala and also in Roger Donaldson’s Cities, albeit a corrupt one. Though Abhishek Bachchan doesn’t don the uniform, he’s no less a cop in the Dhoom series and will once again take on the baddies in Dhoom 3. Then there’s also Abhay Deol, who though not a cop, plays a man of the system as an IAS officer in the upcoming Shanghai.

Trade analysts and industry observers point out that barring a few almost all the A-listers have played a police officer at some point or other. “Bollywood’s fascination with the uniform is an old one. It was Amitabh’s (Bachchan) cop act in Zanjeer that shot him to stardom and fuelled the filmmakers’s imagination to churn out several cop films post that. Since then, every other film had the hero play a police officer,” informs trade analyst Komal Nahta. “The audience love to see their hero play a man of power and as an upholder of the law. That apart, women tend to find men in uniform attractive as well. So, it’s a win-win for the actor,” say filmmakers. Aamir too agrees, but insists that though the role maybe that of a cop, it’s the portrayal that makes all the difference. “So, my cop in Talaash is nothing like that in Singham or Dabangg. That’s what keeps the audience interested too. The roles may be similar, but the presentation differs and that works.”