Cheekily Yours: Script Bollywood’s superstar now?

Hordes of selfie hunters outside his gate keep reaffirming his crowd magnet superstar status. But a licking at the box office has left him worried. His charm, wooing of women and ‘saving them’ is not working.

When he summoned the top exec of a digital platform to discuss a web series (Though he’d scoffed at the idea in the beginning he now cites top Hollywood names doing web series) he realised how much the halo around him was flickering as the response suggested they were as excited about meeting him as a picnic on a wet afternoon. Livid, the actor gave his team coordinating the meet quite a earful.

All this, while rank juniors deliver hit after hit in smaller projects with lesser money involved which are making enough profit too. As the script unseats those who reigned from the high throne of fame for decades, is the superstar as we know him, dead?

“Hope not,” says South Asia consultant to the Berlin Film Festival and independent film curator Meenakshi Shedde. “Star driven blockbusters help make big bucks. This gives studios the luxury of releasing small budget meaningful films in between.”

She admits smaller films not only get critical acclaim and awards but are also becoming commercially successful. “With a big budget film with a superstar aboard, every film is a big gamble. Largely they never get critical acclaim or awards. They’re only made of money. And that too is not happening.”

Shedde caught Zero on the first day, first show at Bandra’s Gaiety Galaxy and found tickets for 3pm selling in black despite bad reviews. “Such traditional audiences are ‘the inflexible backbone’ of the industry as they go irrespective of any review for an SRK or Bhai film.”

For long big production houses have used stars to make money so that they can afford to make meaningful independent cinema. But if the trash arrives in quick succession then even these audiences get cold feet. Salman Khan’s Tubelight, Aamir Khan’s Thugs of Hindostan and Shahrukh’s Zero are examples.

But Bollywood is a slow learner. As nepotism still foists born-to-privilege actors on audiences. A historical slated for a December 2019 release is a case in point. A filmmaker’s not-exactly-fit son (in headlines for seeing a superstar’s ex-bhabhi) is finding it tough simply getting astride a horse and off despite four people propping him up and a stool placed conveniently below his feet. Every shot is taking five times longer than it should and the budget has already gone through the roof! 

— Mysterious Mr X