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Back in the 1950s, in the very first decade of his illustrious acting career, Dilip Kumar would immerse himself so deep in the minds of the tragic heroes he played in a series of films that the intensity began to take its toll on him.
The actor, who was barely out of his twenties, had to seek psychiatric help in order to rid himself of the "morbid thoughts" that assailed him as a result of the ‘negativity’ that surrounded him on the sets. He was advised to diversify and look for roles in comedies as well. Dilip Kumar did just that, came out of the trough, and continued the journey that enabled him to emerge as one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema. Cut to the present times. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, one of the leading poster boys of a new kind of Bollywood cinema, is seeking fresh pastures. His next film is the out-and-out action flick, Kick, starring Salman Khan. Says Siddiqui, "This is a conscious move on my part. As an actor, this assignment is both challenging and exciting. My job is to make every role that I play believable, no matter what kind of film I am a part of." But that clearly isn’t the way it works for many of Bollywood’s reigning superstars, who prefer to play it safe by sticking to the tried and tested.
Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar have built their careers around clearly defined screen personas. Their stardom stems from the adulation that is showered upon them by their die-hard fans — a reality that severely limits their choice of roles. Shah Rukh’s fans pay to see him play the charming romantic hero on the screen. The megastar’s biggest hits have been films in which he has lived up to those expectations. He has attempted to break the mould occasionally in films such as Shimit Amin’s Chak De India and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Swades. But these out-of-the-box roles have not altered the course of Shah Rukh’s career.
His attempt to give himself a video game avatar in Ra.One did not yield the kind of dividends that the makers of the film would have anticipated. So it is back to square one for him. Akshay Kumar, too, has for long been a prisoner of his screen image. Action comedy is his forte and he has stuck to that template for much of his career. He donned a realistic garb in Neeraj Pandey’s Special 26, in which he was cast as a fake CBI officer, who cons the wealthy. The film did reasonably well at the boxoffice but that wasn’t enough to deflect Akshay away from his core territory. Several of his recent action-comedies, notably Boss and Joker, have been embarrassing boxoffice duds, but his latest release, Holiday — A Soldier is Never Off Duty has tasted significant commercial success, strengthening the conviction that Akshay the star is most viable as a larger-than-life action hero. Believability may be a key goal for an actor of the nature of Nawazuddin but for his Kick co-star Salman Khan, psychological realism is the last thing to aspire for. Salman’s fans relate to his over the top, comic-strip acts of bravado on the big screen and that is what the star delivers in film after film. Earlier this year, the much-hyped Salman Khan starrer Jai Ho underperformed, but the superstar is back with Kick in the hope of proving his critics wrong and showing the world that Salman, the action star, isn’t past his sell-by date yet. Hrithik Roshan, on his part, has sought to foray into regions that Bollywood powerhouses usually avoid but the superhero epic has continued to be his primary forte. After a rousing start with the super successful debut film Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai in the year 2000, Hrithik fell into a bit of a rut. He paid a heavy price for being monotonous and a string of his films (Yaadein, Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage) sank without a trace. He bounced back with Koi…Mil Gaya. With that science fiction fantasy drama directed by Rakesh Roshan, Hrithik acquired the superhero cloak that has stood him in good stead in two sequels — Krrish and Krrish 3. He has occasionally deviated from the straight and narrow by appearing in films such as the historical epic Jodhaa Akbar and the offbeat romantic drama Guzaarish. The former was a hit; the latter was a damp squib. All said and done, it is the fighting, dancing and singing Hrithik Roshan that the ticket-buying public seems to prefer the most. But two contemporary Bollywood stars — Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor — have consistently defied the industry norm by steering clear of the pitfall of being typecast. The very act of not repeating themselves has become their career signatures. But Aamir and Ranbir are exceptions rather than the rule. Bollywood’s top male stars have so much money riding on them that few can afford to take the risk of venturing into uncharted terrains. They cannot play characters; they are compelled to play themselves in film after film. For them, the image trap is actually a shield against failure.
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